Czech point: On the trail of Wenceslaus: Independent Online Edition > Europe Wenceslaus was born into the Premyslid dynasty, which had risen to hegemony in this part of central Europe a couple of generations earlier. His father was Duke Bratislav, his mother from a tribe from further north in the Czech lands. But his greatest influence was his grandmother, Ludmilla, who also picked up a sainthood after introducing Christianity to the Czech people.

The Independent set out on the trail of the Good King and found that he is inextricably tied to all that the Czechs hold dear about their history including a famous Prague square.

Ask someone to name an address in the Czech Republic, and the chances are that the one they will choose will be Wenceslaus Square. It is a couple of miles from the castle, on the far side of the river Vltava. And even with a giant, luminous Christmas tree at one end, it lacks the grace * * found elsewhere in Prague. "Square" it most certainly isn't: more of a broad avenue running from the edge of the Old Town to the National Museum. This is an ugly, stuffy institution of the kind that gives national museums a bad name. But in front of it stands an early 20th-century equestrian statue of Wenceslaus, surrounded by some lesser Czech saints - including his gran, Ludmilla.

And that the Good King might even have some future:

Many Czech people still believe that Wenceslaus may live to fight another day. He is, they say, currently enjoying a deep and dreamless sleep beneath the mountain of Blanik - about 35 miles from Prague. "When the worst time comes to this country," says Jan Stodola, "he will ride out of the mountain and will free the country. Then there will be peace in this country for ever."