Libuše, Libussa[1] or, historically Lubossa,[2] is a legendary ancestor of the Přemyslid dynasty and the Czech people as whole. Libuše was the wisest of the three sisters and prophesied the foundation of Prague (which in Czech means: "threshold") from her castle Libušín (according to later legends, Vyšehrad). She is supposed to have founded the city of Prague during the 8th century.
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Libuše is said to have been the daughter of the equally mythical Czech ruler Krok, and the youngest sister among his other daughters, the healer Kazi and the magician Teta. She was chosen by her father as his successor (a judge). Although she proved herself as a wise chieftain, the male part of the tribe was displeased that their ruler was a woman.
They asked Libuše to choose a male prince for the people, and she related a vision wherein she saw a farmer with one broken sandal, ploughing a field. She instructed her councilmen to seek out this man, noting that they would find him ploughing a field. Their search let them to Přemysl from the village of Stadice, who was found exactly as had been foreseen.
Since Přemysl abandoned his plough in the middle of the field he was ploughing, famine was anticipated for the land and did actually come about. The two grandees who found Přemysl brought him to the princely palace. Přemysl the Ploughman thus became ruler; Libuše married him and became the mother of Nezamysl. This was the beginning of the Přemyslid dynasty in the Czech lands.
The story of Libuše and Přemysl was recounted in detail in the 12th century by Cosmas of Prague in his Chronica Boëmorum.
The mythical figure of Libuše gave material for several dramatic works, including Libussa, a tragedy by Franz Grillparzer, Libuše, an opera by Bedřich Smetana and Pole a palisáda, a novel by Miloš Urban. She is also featured as a character in Edward Einhorn's play, Rudolf II.[3]
In 2009, an American-Czech film version of the Libuše and Přemysl story was released under the name The Pagan Queen.
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