Abstract
The names of important places and strongholds form the oldest layer of Czech words that we know from written Latin sources. The focus of this paper is especially on Chronica Boemorum by Cosmas of Prague and other sources from the 12th century.
There is presented a critical classification of toponyms related to power and administrative centers in the early medieval Bohemia. This topic is directly connected to the questions of dynasty of Přemyslids' territorial development and raising centrality of the Czech state.
Some strongholds of the early medieval administrative network are continuously archaeologically investigated. The distribution of centrality is examined in relation to the chronological, social, and regional aspects, development of settlement processes and landscape transformation.