Image after Petr Exner's Vexilologický Lexikon prapory obcí ČR (2003)
- Svatý Jan pod Skalou, Beroun district, Central Bohemian region - adopted
7 Oct 2003.
Thje villagename means: Saint John under the Cliff. The history of
the village dates back to the end of the 9th century when, according to
legend, the first Czech Christian hermit, Ivan, settled down in a cave
under a large cliff. The hermit Ivan, worshipped as a saint, lived in local
travertine caves, which have been preserved up to the present day. Ivan
was the son of the Charvatian duke Gostimysl. Legend has it that he turned
away from secular life and retreated to this silent landscape where he
lived for 42 years. He liked the local valley so much that he decided to
live there. God sent him a doe to feed him with milk. The hermit was tempted
by demons and decided to leave the area. On the day of his departure, however,
St. John the Baptist appeared on the hillock under the St. John Cliff and
gave him a wooden crosslet, which helped Ivan expel the demons. The legend
further narrates about the hermit's meeting with the first Czech Christian
duke and leader Borivoj during his hunt for bears in the local deep forest.
The duke accidentally wounded Ivan's doe. The injured doe brought Borivoj
to the hermit's cave where she later died. The duke was sorry for killing
Ivan's provider and invited the hermit to Tetin, his nearby castle, where
he offered him a place to live. Ivan, however, refused the generous offer
and returned back to his cave. Before his death, he sent the duke tidings
from St. John the Baptist: 'It was you whom God ordered through St. John
the Baptist to consecrate this place after my death as a church in honor
of the Virgin Mary and the St. Cross, and to designate St. John the Baptist
as its patron saint.' According to the legend, after Ivan's death, Borivoj
built a chapel which in the 11th century fell under the administration
of the Benedictine monastery (the Ostrov Monastery, located on an island
in Vltava River, south of Prague).
Info from this site.
Jarig Bakker, 15 Jun 2004
![[Svatý Jan pod Skalou flag]](../images/c/cz-be-sj.gif)
by Jarig Bakker, 15 Jun 2004
![[Svatý Jan pod Skalou Coat of Arms]](../images/c/cz-be)sj.gif)
from this site.
