WWW.SHROUDEATER.COM - Vampire of Prostejov

The Source:

"Las exploraciones arqueológicas llevadas a cabo en el presbiterio de la capilla de la Santísima Trinidad, en la ciudad morava de Prostejov, propiciaron un espectacular hallazgo: la sepultura de un supuesto vampiro. El director del Instituto del Patrimonio Arqueológico de Brno, Milos Cizmár, precisó que los restos mortales del presunto vampiro fueron descubiertos en un ataúd asegurado con barras de hierro forjado para que no cometiera fechorías después de su muerte. Los científicos opinan que el hallazgo se remonta al siglo 16 o 17 e ilustra los temores al vampirismo reinantes en aquella época. Al abrir el féretro, los arqueólogos conocieron las precauciones tomadas por los contemporáneos del presunto vampiro para que éste no saliera del féretro: un montón de piedras cubría las piernas del cadáver y su torso estaba separado del resto del cuerpo..." © Copyright 1997 Radio Prague All Rights Reserved
Radio Prague, Vinohradska 12, 12099 Prague 2, Czech Republic
http://www.radio.cz/

This fragment, dated 11 June 1997, is part of what appears to have been a news item at the time. It was found on one of the web pages of Radio Prague.

The Case:

I will do my worst to try and translate this from Spanish :

"The archaeological investigation that has been carried out in the presbyterium of the Chapel of the Holy Trinity in the Moravian town of Prostejov has brought to light a lucky and spectacular discovery: the tomb of a suspected vampire. The director of the Archaeological Institute of Brno, Milos Cizmár, emphasises the fact that the remains of the supposed vampire were discovered inside a coffin which had been secured with forged iron bars to make sure that it would not commit any crimes after its death. The scientists think that this find must date back to the 16th or 17th Century, and that it demonstrates the fear for vampirism in those days. When the coffin was opened, the archaelogists recognised the precautions that had been taken by the supposed vampire's contemporaries to make sure that it would not come out of the coffin: a pile of stones covered the lower part of the legs of the cadaver and its torso had been seperated from the rest of the corpse."

The Date:

Not exact, but close enough for a case like this. The discovered coffin is said to date back to the 16th or 17th Century.

The Place:

Prostejov appears to be located about 15 kilometer to the southwest of Olomouc ( a town that may be better known as Olmuz to those who have read Dom Calmet's classic on vampires ). As could be expected in this day and age, Prostejov does have its own website: http://www.prostejov.cz/ .
And one of our visitors kindly sent us a link to another site about Prostejov: http://www.mestopv.cz/ . ( Thank you very much, Dieter Bruls. )

Personal Comments:

This is the sort of case where - at first sight - it looks as if it is of little interest. There appear to be no sensational stories told by eyewitnesses, there is no mention of official reports on what may or may not have taken place. Nevertheless it is important to unearth and record as many facts as we possibly can.

Possible Follow-Up:

The Archaeological Institute of Brno seems like the best place to start an investigation. It would be interesting to find out more about the history of the Chapel in which the coffin was found. Next, the Archaeological Institute of Brno seems like a good place to start a further investigation. If the facts that we have been given are genuine, then undoubtedly there will be records, probably sketches and photographs as well, of this particular find.

Thank you for your help:

And of course we do very much appreciate the kindness of the mysterious Sanguinarius, who appears to be a resident of Kansas, USA. Without your help it seems unlikely that we would have discovered the above vampire information which was well hidden away among the pages of Radio Prague. Thank you very much !

© 2001, 2005 by Rob Brautigam - NL - Last changed 03 October 2007
News item reprinted by courtesy of Radio Prague.
Links last checked 9 July 2007

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