Lhota

Lhota is a popular name of Czech villages, founded during the Middle-age colonization in Bohemia, Moravia and Slovakia. It is assumed that most of them were founded in the 13th century and the first half of the 14th century. The name was first mentioned in 1199. The inhabitants of newly founded villages had obligations towards suzerains, but those duties were usually suspended for a certain period (such as 5 - 8 years) as a compensation for felling of forests and making the land available for agriculture. This period used to be called "lhóta" and often became a part of the village name. There are about 500 villages called Lhota or a derivation of this name (Lhotka, Lhotice, Lhoty, Lhůty in the Czech Republic; Lehota or Lehótka in...