Dvůr Králové nad Labem

You’ve surely already heard of the Manuscript of Dvůr Králové. And have you seen the place where Václav Hanka discovered it? We bet you haven’t! Try to make time a for a tour of the church tower. On the 16th of September 1817, Czech writer, poet, linguist, literary historian, librarian and university professor Václav Hanka “discovered” the so-called Manuscript of Dvůr Králové in the vaulted church tower dungeon - the oldest written Czech text with 14 songs from the 13th century. Although it transpired that it is most likely a fake created by Václav Hanka together with friend and poet Josef Linda, and apparently also with other people, the document significantly influenced the atmosphere of national revival and wrote the town into Czech history in a significant way. At present, the Manuscript of Dvůr Králové is stored in the library of the National Museum in Prague.