#devil's den

LOCATIONS — 258/262 — The Devil's Den

The Devil’s Den is still today one of the smallest settlements in the Kuttenberg region. Unfortunately, no records of its appearance in 1403 have survived, but in the 16th century, the infamous Devil’s tavern stood on its site, where the lowlifes of Kuttenberg often gathered, and which served as a model for our Devil’s Den. The name of the settlement and the tavern comes from a legend, according to which, devils were said to come out of the local mines and fly over Kuttenberg at midnight. They were only driven from their dens by water, which later flooded the mines. We also learn about the dark character of the former inn from the memoirs of Mikuláš Dačický: ‘Michal’, a messenger of the mining authority, killed the innkeeper Št’astný with a spear in the Devil’s tavern near Kuttenberg, where there was a den of rogues and whores. They were fighting over some gloves.’

TRIVIA

— Besides preserving one of the best-known descriptions of the Devil's tavern, Mikuláš Dačický of Heslov remains one of the most interesting figures associated with Kutná Hora. Born into a wealthy armorial townsmen family, he inherited a considerable fortune after the death of his father, which he lived off of. He was sent to the Kladruby cloister in his youth for education, but it did little to dampen his unruly personality. Thanks to that personality, he survives in contemporary sayings such as "You are as wild as Dačický."

At 24 he purchased a house in Kutná Hora to acquire the status of a burgher. Even though he had to sell the house two years later due to financial issues, he retained his infamous status. This reputation was reinforced in 1582, when he killed the nobleman Felix Novohradský of Kolovraty during a duel in a Kutná Hora tavern. The affair led to years of legal disputes, imprisonment and financial losses. Although he later married Alžběta Mládková, the marriage remained childless, and towards the end of his life his fortunes declined together with those of Kutná Hora itself as silver mining started declining.

Despite his controversial life, Dačický dedicated great effort to preserving his family's chronicle. Building on records compiled by several generations of his ancestors, he expanded the work with observations of contemporary events, local traditions and stories circulating among the inhabitants of Kutná Hora. It is precisely due to these efforts that we still have records of the local everyday life, including that one of the Devil's tavern.