A conversation with a friend today made me re-visit the "other" meanings of the word "Blanik." For me my kennel affix was simply a combination of my two first German Shepherds pet names, Blade and Nikki. I remembered there was a montain in the Czech Republic called Blanik, and there was some connection with airplanes, (but that bored me a bit) Anyway I found this quite interesting and though I'd share it with you. "Blaník is a mountain in the Czech Republic. Its height is 638 meters above sea level. The surrounding area is a small natural reservation.
Ancient legends are associated with this mountain. The legend says that a huge army of Czech knights led by St. Wenceslas sleeps inside the mountain. The knights will awaken and help the Motherland when she is in great danger. According to legend there will be signs: trees in Blanik wood will get dry, but old dead oak under the mountain will be green again and a small spring by the mountain will become a river. Then during an epic battle between the Czechs and their overwhelming enemy the Blanik knights will come to their aid led by St. Wenceslas on his white horse. The enemy will retreat to Prague where they will finally be defeated.
According to the legend, Good King Wenceslas and his knights will arise from their slumber when the Czechs are attacked by a number of armies equal to or greater than four (from four cardinal directions). In the Jára Cimrman's play "Blaník", it was proved that this legend is not true because in 1968 at the end of the Prague Spring Czechoslovakia was attacked by five armies of the Warsaw pact and "in Blanik not a single leg moved".
