Premysl

Czechss name Přemysl (or Przemysl) as the reputed ancestor of the line of dukes and kings which ruled in Bohemia from 873 or earlier until the murder of Wenceslaus III in 1306. Premysl thus founded the Premyslid dynasty.

According to legend Premysl was a peasant of Stadice who attracted the notice of Libussa (Libuše), daughter of a certain Krok, who ruled over a large part of Bohemia, and is said to have been descended from King Samo. Premysl married Libussa, the traditional foundress of Prague, and during the 8th century became prince of the Bohemian Czechs. His family became extinct in the male line when Wenceslaus III died, but through females the title to Bohemia passed from the Premyslids to the House of Luxembourg and later to the House of Habsburg.

See List of Dukes and Kings of Bohemia

Bibliography: F. Palacky, Geschichte von Böhmen Band 1 (Prague, 1844).

Original text from 1911 Encyclopaedia Britannica

See also:

• Przemysl I of Poland - duke of Greater Poland (1239-1257)
• Przemysl II of Poland - duke of Greater Poland, Cracow and Pomerania, king of Poland 1295.
• Przemysl, Poland - a city in SE Poland, probably established by an unknown dukie called Przemysl
• Przemysl Voivodship - local government unit 1975-1998