Šemík

Neumětely is the setting of the legend of Horymír and his faithful horse Šemík. The nobleman supposedly had a fortress here, from which he attacked Příbram’s miners. Two kilometres north of the village runs the Housiny ridge. A moated fortress once stood on its Košík summit, identified in legend as Horymír’s castle. Václav Hájek of Libočany first recorded this in his Czech Chronicle. A quarry badly damaged the circular fortress site, leaving only slight remains, although a rampart is still clearly visible. Šemík allegedly came from Koněprusy, once famous for breeding pale-coloured horses. After his legendary leap from Vyšehrad, Šemík was buried outside the farm gates in Neumětely. Schemig and Schemming are horse names in German legends. The local tradition remains alive, as shown by the care given to his alleged grave. A natural boulder marks it, covered by an open masonry chapel built in 1887. (See Koněprusy.)