Dušníky u Rudné

From the ashes of war and plague, Dušníky u Rudná emerged. Dušníky u Rudná wasn’t always part of Rudná. It started as a humble village in 1228, belonging to a Benedictine nunnery. Imagine the nuns, their quiet lives punctuated by the ringing bells, tending their gardens within the shadow of the rising Homole hill. This hill, capped by the Church of St. George, is shrouded in mystery. Legends link it to the Battle of Loděnice in 1179. Some say it’s a giant’s grave, others a burial mound for a warrior encased alive in the earth. Dušníky u Rudná changed hands many times. King Wenceslas II gifted it to the St. Vitus Chapter. Later, it became part of the Prague Archbishop’s estate, then returned to St. Vitus Chapter. During the Hussite era, several secular owners controlled Dušníky u Rudná. It eventually went back to the Prague Chapter in 1628. The Thirty Years’ War brought devastation, leaving Dušníky u Rudná plundered. A plague ravaged the village in 1649, claiming many lives. A fire in 1753 destroyed half the village, with another fire consuming the rest two days later. In the harsh winter of 1799-1800, Russian General Suvorov’s troops found temporary shelter in Dušníky u Rudná. Count Kolowrat offered Suvorov lodgings in a local estate. The general refused, choosing instead to sleep on a hard bench at the local post office. In the 1860s, iron ore mining began in nearby Nučice, offering new opportunities. The men of Dušníky u Rudná toiled in the mines, then returned to farm their land. The mining continued for about a century. Dušníky u Rudná and Hořelice, once separate villages, grew and eventually merged in 1951 to form the town of Rudná. Today, Dušníky u Rudná is an integral part of Rudná, bearing its history and stories within its streets and beneath the watchful eye of St. George’s Church on Homole hill.