Tetín (Beroun District)


Tetín is a municipality and village in Beroun District in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It is about 2 kilometres from the city Beroun on the river Berounka. As of 2012, it has a population of 744 people.

History

Historically, Tetín is one of the oldest villages in the Czech Republic. The place was already inhabited during the paleolithic period. Archaeologists found that the beginnings of the village date back to the 10th century, when local gord was founded by dukes from the Přemyslid dynasty. Yet, there is a legend which connected it with mythological figure Teta, the daughter of the mythological Duke Krok, who was supposed to have lived earlier than that.
In the 10th century, there was a wooden building there belonging to the duchess St. Ludmila, who was murdered in 921. In the 11th and 12th century, the place was home to the administrative district of Tetín that governed the whole area of Podbrdsko region. Tetín is also referenced in the Vyšehrad Charter.
In the year 1288, Tetín was the residence of the royal hunter and towards the end of the thirteenth century, the castle was rebuilt as a residence for the royal bastards of the Přemyslid line. By 1321, Tetín castle was owned by Štěpán of Tetín, who later sold it to Emperor Karel IV. The latter then joined the Tetín estate to Karlštejn. In 1422, during the Hussite wars, the castle was destroyed; the place was also heavily damaged in the 20th century by limestone mines.
Czech poet Jaroslav Seifert dedicated two of his poems to Tetín.

Sights