History of the Chodsko region and its people

Burial mounds, Milavče Culture bronze monuments and Celtic coins are all testament to the Chodsko area´s pre-Slavic inhabitants. Slavs first arrieved here in the 7th cedntury CE. Manned guard posts were built here starting in the 10th century to collect duties. The first wooden princely castle was built at this time in Domažlice. The Chod people are first mentioned in the chronicles of Cosmo and Dalimil regarding a battle at Brůdek in 1040, when Chod archers greatly aided the forces of Prince Břetislav I. For their service guarding and protecting the borders, the Chod people enjoyed various privileges, mainly personal freedom and being subject only to the king. Domažlice´s Chodsko area was self-governing, and its principles were upheld until the late-17th century. Villages were built with a view to guarding all inhabitants, nestled upon slopes with hilltop guard positions. Houses were grouped to bar entrance to the village and easily defend it. Today´s famous Chodsko flag with dog´s headis the work of Mikoláš Aleš - the true historical Chodsko flag depicted two pairs of felt boots.
When 13th-century Germanization of the Upper Palatinate Forest began, the Domažlice Chodsko Area avoided this, and villages up to the border remained Czech. Domažlice was part of the Hussite Union during the Hussite Wars, Hussites won the Battle of Domažlice here in 1431, scattering crusaders. Nobility later tried to limit the rights of the Chod people. In 1621, the eperor sold the Chodsko people to Wolf F. Lammingen, who scoffed at their principles. His aim was to develop industry and he needed his subjects to work. Though the Chodsko people fought back, they eventually lost, and their leader Jan Sladký Kozina was executed. Having taken their privileges, nobility succeeded in speeding up regional development. The Chodsko people´s freedom eventually returned by ensuing natural developments. Today, thirteen villages here from the Chodsko League microregion, all cooperating in cultivating and promoting the region.
 
 
IMPORTANT PERSONALITIES

The Chodsko area´s most famous native son is certainly writer Jindřich Šimon Baar. His work conveyed the feel of the Chodsko area, the original way of thinking and customs of its inhabitants. The distinctive region also left its mark on short-term visitors. Domažlice hosted writers Božena Němcová, Karel Jaromír Erben, Alois Jirásek and Jaroslav Vrchlický - though their image of the Chodsko people is idealized, they promoted the region´s fame. Though there are two sides to the story of Kozina and Lomikar cedrtainly remains the Chodsko area´s famed and beloved hero.