Catholic · † 935
Saint Wenceslaus, Martyr
Commemorated: September 28
Life
Wenceslaus, in Czech Václav, was born about 907, the son of Duke Vratislaus of Bohemia, and was brought up as a Christian by his grandmother Ludmila, who was murdered in 921 amid the feuds of the court. Ruling as duke from about 924, he supported the Church, built a rotunda of St Vitus at Prague Castle and kept peace with the German king Henry the Fowler. In 935, or by another dating in 929, his younger brother Boleslaus invited him to a feast at Stará Boleslav, and the next morning, on 28 September, Boleslaus and his men killed him at the door of the church. He soon came to be venerated as the patron of the Czech land. The English carol “Good King Wenceslas” is a 19th-century tale about him.
Places
- Place of birth: Central Bohemian Region
- Place of birth: Stochov
- Place of death: Stará Boleslav
- Place of burial: St. Vitus Cathedral
Places and years: Wikidata (CC0), each saint matched by hand.