The Fiery Mystery of Drahomíra’s Column

Loreto Square once held the so-called Drahomíra’s Column, removed by order of the magistrate in 1788 and associated with a legend of Drahomíra being swallowed by flames. It stood at the opposite end of the square from today’s little cross, to which the legend later attached itself. The pagan Drahomíra was St Ludmila’s daughter-in-law during the turbulent period when Christianity was being adopted in Bohemia. She was said to harm Christians in every possible way and to be allied with the Devil. According to legend, she sank into the ground here with her carriage while Mass was being celebrated in St Matthew’s Church, then standing at the site. Her Christian coachman ran into the church and prayed while she cursed. People say that she appears in the area at night in a fiery carriage, crying, “Trouble is coming!” An hour after midnight the fiery team vanishes into an abyss. K. Škréta painted her fall in a lunette for the Discalced Augustinian monastery at Zderaz, now at Mělník Château (see Bezno). Another version says the Devil carried Countess Czernin from Czernin Palace underground here because she wore shoes made of white dough (see Vinoř).