900 years ago
The first official mention of the village of Zbraslav
Zbraslav is a municipal district of Prague (Prague 16) located to the south, on the banks of the Vltava, that covers an area of 9,85 square kilometres with a population of about 10,000 inhabitants. Its foundation dates back to the twelfth century, and in the thirteenth century, King Wenceslaus II of Bohemia founded an important Cistercian monastery here by the name of “Aula Regia”, which soon became the burial place for Bohemian kings. The first official written mention of Zbraslav is reported in a document dated 1115 and is kept at the monastery of Kladruby. This document refers to a village called Zbraslav that used to be part of the estate of the monastery. In 1924 the town areas of Žabovřesky and Záběhlice were annexed to Zbraslav, while in 1967 the village was elevated to the rank of “city”. However, it was only in 1974 that Zbraslav officially became part of the city of Prague. Today, there is a beautiful detached building of the Prague National Gallery, in what was once the monastery, that houses the collections of oriental art.