History of the Czech lands in the Middle Ages
Encyclopedia
Whilst an independent principality, the Czech lands
formerly within Great Moravia
were sometime vassals of the Holy Roman Empire
as the Duchy of Bohemia from the 10th century. The Přemyslid dynasty
which had ruled Bohemia since the 800s remained in power throughout the High Middle Ages
, until the extinction of the male line with the death of Wenceslaus III of Bohemia
in 1306.
The Duchy of Bohemia was raised to a kingdom
under Ottokar I
in 1198. In 1310, the Bohemian crown fell to the House of Luxembourg
, until the death of Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor
, in 1437. After the Middle Ages, the Kingdom of Bohemia
remained under Habsburg
rule until the collapse of Austria-Hungary
after the First World War
.
under the pressure of the Magyar incursions in the 9th century, Bohemia
began to form as an independent principality from the 880s. In 880, prince Bořivoj of the Přemyslid dynasty
, who was baptised by the Great Moravian bishop Methodius in 874, moved his seat to Prague
and started to subjugate the Vltava
Basin.
Great Moravia briefly regained control over the emerging Bohemian Principality in 888/890. In 895, the Prince of Bohemia becomes a vassal of the East Frankish king Arnulf of Carinthia
. As East Francia consolidated into the Holy Roman Empire
in the 10th century, Prince of Bohemia was thus a personal vassal. The March of Moravia
was given to Boleslaus I after the defeat of the Magyars at the Battle of Lechfeld
in 955, but it was conquered into the Duchy of Poland by Bolesław I Chrobry in 999. Moravia was re-acquired for Bohemia by Bretislaus I in 1035.
Cut off from Byzantium by the Hungarian
presence, the Bohemian Principality existed in the shadow of the Holy Roman Empire. In 950
Emperor Otto I
, a Saxon, led an expedition to Bohemia demanding tribute; the Bohemian Prince thus became a tributary of the Holy Roman Empire and its king one of the seven Electors of the Emperor. The Emperors continued the practice of using the Roman Catholic clergy to extend German influence into Czech territory. Significantly, the bishopric of Prague, founded in 973
during the reign of Boleslaus II (967–99), was subordinated to the archbishopric of Mainz
. Thus, at the same time that Přemyslid rulers used the German alliance to consolidate their rule against a perpetually rebellious regional nobility, they struggled to retain their autonomy in relation to the empire.
The Bohemian Principality was definitively consolidated in 995, when the Přemyslids unified neighboring Czech tribes and established a form of centralized rule. After a struggle with Poland and Hungary, Bohemia acquired Moravia
in the early 11th century. The March of Moravia
, however, continued to be a separate margraviate, usually ruled by a younger son of the Bohemian king. Although Moravia's fate was intertwined with Bohemia's, in general it did not participate in Bohemia's civil and religious struggles.
reign over Bohemia
. German Emperor Frederick II
's preoccupation with Mediterranean affairs and the dynastic struggles known as the Great Interregnum (1254–73) weakened imperial authority in Central Europe, thus providing opportunities for Přemyslid assertiveness. At the same time, the Mongol invasions (1220–42) absorbed the attention of the Bohemian Kingdom's eastern neighbors, the Hungarians
and the Poles
.
In 1212, Ottokar I
(1192–93 and 1197–1230), bearing the title "king" since 1198, extracted the Golden Bull of Sicily
(a formal edict) from the emperor confirming the royal title for Ottokar and his descendants. The imperial prerogative to ratify each Bohemian ruler and to appoint the bishop of Prague
was revoked. The king's successor was Wenceslaus I, from his second marriage. To make it possible for this son rule the country, Ottokar established inheritance by male-preference primogeniture, before which the oldest child could rule the country, irrespective of gender. His sister Agnes of Bohemia
, later canonized, was an extraordinarily courageous and energetic woman for her time; she refused to marry the Holy Roman Emperor and instead devoted her life to God. Corresponding with the Pope, she established the Knights of the Cross with the Red Star, the first order of knights in the Kingdom of Bohemia.
Ottokar II
(1253–78) married a German princess, Margaret of Babenberg, and became duke of Austria
, thereby acquiring Upper
and Lower
Austria and part of Styria
; he conquered the rest of Styria, most of Carinthia
, and parts of Carniola
. He was called "the king of iron and gold" — gold because of his wealth, iron because of fighting, he won against Hungary and he also fought and won against the Prussian pagans. In 1256, Ottokar II founded a city he named Královec in Czech, later known as Königsberg, now Kaliningrad
. From 1273, however, Habsburg emperor Rudolf
began to reassert imperial authority. Combined with problems he had with rebellious nobility in Bohemia, all of Ottokar's German possessions were lost in 1276 and, in 1278, he died in battle against Rudolf.
The 13th century was also a period of large-scale German immigration, during the Ostsiedlung
, often encouraged by Přemyslid kings hoping to weaken the influence of their own Czech nobility. The Germans populated towns and mining districts on the Bohemian periphery and in some cases formed German colonies in the interior of the Czech lands. Stříbro, Kutná Hora
, Německý Brod (present-day Havlíčkův Brod
) and Jihlava
were important German settlements. The Germans brought their own code of law — the — which formed the basis of the later commercial law of Bohemia and Moravia
. Marriages between Germans and Czech nobles soon became commonplace.
King Václav II. managed to get the crown of Poland and for his son also the crown of Hungary.
(1342–78) — is considered the Golden Age of Czech history.
In 1306, the Přemyslid line died out and, after a series of dynastic wars, John, Count of Luxembourg, was elected Bohemian king. He married Elisabeth, the daughter of Wenceslaus II. His son, Charles IV, the second king from the House of Luxembourg
, was raised at the French court and was cosmopolitan in attitude. He strengthened the power and prestige of the Bohemian kingdom. In 1344 Charles elevated the bishopric of Prague
, making it an archbishopric and freeing it from the jurisdiction of Mainz
and the Holy Roman Empire
; the archbishop was given the right to crown Czech kings. Charles curbed the Czech nobility, rationalized the provincial administration of Bohemia and Moravia, and made Brandenburg
(until 1415), Lusatia
(until 1635), and Silesia
(until 1742) into fiefs of the Czech crown. In 1355 Charles was crowned Holy Roman Emperor. In 1356 he issued the Golden Bull of 1356
, defining and systematizing the process of election to the Imperial throne
, with the Czech king among the seven electors. Charles also made Prague
into an imperial capital. Extensive building projects undertaken by the king included the founding of the New Town southeast of the old city. The royal castle, Hradčany
, was rebuilt. Of particular significance was the founding of Charles University in Prague
in 1348. Charles's intention was to make Prague into an international center of learning, and the university was divided into Czech, Polish, Saxon and Bavarian "nations", each with one controlling vote. Charles University, however, would become the nucleus of intense Czech particularism. Charles died in 1378, and the Czech crown went to his son, Wenceslas IV
, who had also been elected King of the Romans
in the first election since his father's Golden Bull, but who was deposed from the Imperial throne before he could be crowned Emperor, with his brother Sigismund
eventually succeeding to that position, being crowned in Rome in 1433.
The Hussite
movement (1402–85) was a national, as well as a religious, manifestation. As a religious reform movement, it represented a challenge to papal authority and an assertion of national autonomy in ecclesiastical affairs. As a Czech national movement, it acquired anti-imperial and anti-German implications and thus can be considered a manifestation of a long-term Czech–German conflict. The Hussite movement is also viewed by many Czechs as a part of the (worldwide) Protestant Reformation
.
Hussitism began during the long reign of Wenceslas IV
(1378–1419), a period of papal schism and concomitant anarchy in the Holy Roman Empire, and was precipitated by a controversy at Charles University. In 1403 Jan Hus
became rector of the university. A reformist preacher, Hus espoused the antipapal and antihierarchical teachings of John Wycliffe
of England, often referred to as the "Morning Star of the Reformation". Hus's teaching was distinguished by its rejection of the wealth, corruption and hierarchical tendencies of the Roman Catholic Church. It advocated the Wycliffite doctrine of clerical purity and poverty and insisted on communion under both kinds, bread and wine, for the laity. (The Roman Catholic Church reserved the cup — wine — for the clergy.) The more moderate followers of Hus, the Utraquists
, took their name from the Latin , meaning "under each kind". A more radical sect soon formed — the Taborite sect — the Taborite
s, who took their name from the city of Tábor
, their stronghold in southern Bohemia, rejected church doctrine and upheld the Bible as the sole authority in all matters of belief.
Soon after Hus assumed office, German professors of theology demanded the condemnation of Wyclif's writings. Hus protested and received the support of the Czech element at the university. Having only one vote in policy decisions against three for the Germans, the Czechs were outvoted, and the orthodox position was maintained. In subsequent years the Czechs demanded a revision of the university charter, granting more adequate representation to the native, Czech, faculty. The university controversy was intensified by the vacillating position of the Bohemian king Wenceslas. His insistence at first on favoring Germans in appointments to councillor and other administrative positions had aroused the national sentiments of the Czech nobility and rallied them to Hus's defense. The German faculties had the support of Zbyněk Zajíc
, Archbishop of Prague
, and the German clergy. Wenceslas, for political reasons, switched his support from the Germans to Hus and allied with the reformers. On January 18, 1409, Wenceslas issued the Decree of Kutná Hora
: (as was the case at other major universities in Europe) the Czechs would have three votes; the foreigners, a single vote. In consequence, German faculty and students left Charles University en masse in the thousands and many ended up founding the University of Leipzig
.
Hus's victory was short lived, however. He preached against the sale of indulgence
s, which lost him the support of the king, who received a percentage of the sales. In 1412 Hus and his followers were suspended from the university and expelled from Prague. For two years the reformers served as itinerant preachers
throughout Bohemia. In 1414 Hus was summoned to the Council of Constance
to defend his views. Hus accepted this offer, but was imprisoned at his arrival and never given a chance to defend his ideas.
The council condemned him as a heretic and burned him at the stake in 1415.
Hus's death sparked decades of religious warfare, the Hussite Wars
. Sigismund
, the pro-papal king of Hungary
and successor to the Bohemian throne after the death of Wenceslas in 1419, failed repeatedly in attempts to gain control of the kingdom despite aid by Hungarian and German armies. Riots broke out in Prague. Led by a Czech yeoman, Jan Žižka
, the Taborites streamed into the capital. Religious strife pervaded the entire kingdom and was particularly intense in the German-dominated towns. Czech burghers and Roman Catholic Germans turned on each other; many were massacred, and most German survivors fled or were exiled to the Holy Roman Empire. The fighting changed the face of Bohemia to this day, for Bohemia would have a much larger German populace had they not been forced out due to the war. Sigismund led or instigated various crusades against Bohemia with the support of Bohemian Catholics. The Hussite Wars followed a pattern. When a crusade was launched at Bohemia, moderate and radical Hussites would unite and defeat it. Once the threat was over, the Hussite armies would focus on ridding the land of Catholic sympathizers. While many historians have painted the Hussites as religious fanatics, one must not forget that they fought to protect their land from a King and Pope who did not recognize the right of the Hussites to exist. Under Zizka's leadership, his armies stormed castles, monasteries, churches, and villages, expelling the Catholic clergy, expropriating ecclesiastical lands or accepting conversions.
During the struggle against Sigismund, Taborite armies penetrated into areas of modern-day Slovakia
as well. Czech refugees from the religious wars in Czechia settled there, and from 1438 to 1453 a Czech noble, John Jiskra of Brandýs, controlled most of southern Slovakia from the centers of Zólyom (today Zvolen
) and Kassa (today Košice
). Thus Hussite doctrines and the Czech Bible were disseminated among the Slovaks, providing the basis for a future link between the Czechs and their Slovak neighbors.
When Sigismund died in 1437, the Bohemian estates elected Albert of Austria
as his successor. Albert died, however, and his son, Ladislaus the Posthumous — so called because he was born after his father's death — was acknowledged as king. During Ladislaus's minority, Bohemia was ruled by a regency composed of moderate reform nobles who were Utraquists. Internal dissension among the Czechs provided the primary challenge to the regency. A part of the Czech nobility remained Catholic and loyal to the pope. A Utraquist delegation to the Council of Basel
in 1433 had negotiated a seeming reconciliation with the Catholic Church. The Council's Compact of Basel accepted the basic tenets of Hussitism expressed in the Four Articles of Prague: communion under both kinds; free preaching of the Gospels; expropriation of church land; and exposure and punishment of public sinners. The pope, however, rejected the compact, thus preventing the reconciliation of Czech Catholics with the Utraquists.
George of Poděbrady
, later to become the "national" king of Bohemia, emerged as leader of the Utraquist regency. George installed another Utraquist, John of Rokycan
, as archbishop of Prague and succeeded in uniting the more radical Taborites with the Czech Reformed Church. The Catholic party was driven out of Prague. Ladislaus died of the plague in 1457, and in 1458 the Bohemian estates elected George of Poděbrady as king. There were problems, however: George was not noble-born, so his election to the monarchy would not be recognised, either by the Pope or by other European monarchs.
George sought to establish a "Charter of a Universal Peace Union", with the idea that all monarchs should tried to consolidate sustainable peace on the principle of national sovereignty of states, principles of non-interference and solving problems and disputes before an International Tribunal. Also, Europe should unite together to fight the Turks
. States would have one vote each, with a leading role for France. George did not see a specific role for Papal authority, however.
Czech Catholic nobles joined in the League of Zelena Hora, continued to challenge the authority of George of Poděbrady until his death in 1471.
as king. In 1490 Vladislav also became king of Hungary, and the Polish Jagellonian line ruled both Bohemia and Hungary. The Jagellonians governed Bohemia as absentee monarchs; their influence in the kingdom was minimal, and effective government fell to the regional nobility. Czech Catholics accepted the Compact of Basel in 1485 and were reconciled with the Utraquists.
In 1526 Vladislav's son, King Louis, was decisively defeated by the Ottoman Turks
at the Battle of Mohács
and subsequently died. As a result, the Turks conquered part of the Kingdom of Hungary; the rest (mainly nowadays Slovakia territory) came under Habsburg rule under the terms of King Louis's marriage contract. The Bohemian estates elected Archduke Ferdinand
, younger brother of Emperor Charles V
, to succeed Louis as king of Bohemia. Thus began almost four centuries of Habsburg rule for both Bohemia and Slovakia.
Czech lands
Czech lands is an auxiliary term used mainly to describe the combination of Bohemia, Moravia and Czech Silesia. Today, those three historic provinces compose the Czech Republic. The Czech lands had been settled by the Celts , then later by various Germanic tribes until the beginning of 7th...
formerly within Great Moravia
Great Moravia
Great Moravia was a Slavic state that existed in Central Europe and lasted for nearly seventy years in the 9th century whose creators were the ancestors of the Czechs and Slovaks. It was a vassal state of the Germanic Frankish kingdom and paid an annual tribute to it. There is some controversy as...
were sometime vassals of the Holy Roman Empire
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a realm that existed from 962 to 1806 in Central Europe.It was ruled by the Holy Roman Emperor. Its character changed during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period, when the power of the emperor gradually weakened in favour of the princes...
as the Duchy of Bohemia from the 10th century. The Přemyslid dynasty
Premyslid dynasty
The Přemyslids , were a Czech royal dynasty which reigned in Bohemia and Moravia , and partly also in Hungary, Silesia, Austria and Poland.-Legendary rulers:...
which had ruled Bohemia since the 800s remained in power throughout the High Middle Ages
High Middle Ages
The High Middle Ages was the period of European history around the 11th, 12th, and 13th centuries . The High Middle Ages were preceded by the Early Middle Ages and followed by the Late Middle Ages, which by convention end around 1500....
, until the extinction of the male line with the death of Wenceslaus III of Bohemia
Wenceslaus III of Bohemia
Wenceslaus III Premyslid was the King of Hungary , King of Bohemia and the king of Poland ....
in 1306.
The Duchy of Bohemia was raised to a kingdom
Kingdom of Bohemia
The Kingdom of Bohemia was a country located in the region of Bohemia in Central Europe, most of whose territory is currently located in the modern-day Czech Republic. The King was Elector of Holy Roman Empire until its dissolution in 1806, whereupon it became part of the Austrian Empire, and...
under Ottokar I
Ottokar I of Bohemia
-External links:...
in 1198. In 1310, the Bohemian crown fell to the House of Luxembourg
House of Luxembourg
The House of Luxembourg was a late medieval German dynasty, which between 1308 and 1437 ruled the Holy Roman Empire, twice interrupted by the rivaling House of Wittelsbach.-History:...
, until the death of Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor
Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor
Sigismund of Luxemburg KG was King of Hungary, of Croatia from 1387 to 1437, of Bohemia from 1419, and Holy Roman Emperor for four years from 1433 until 1437, the last Emperor of the House of Luxemburg. He was also King of Italy from 1431, and of Germany from 1411...
, in 1437. After the Middle Ages, the Kingdom of Bohemia
Kingdom of Bohemia
The Kingdom of Bohemia was a country located in the region of Bohemia in Central Europe, most of whose territory is currently located in the modern-day Czech Republic. The King was Elector of Holy Roman Empire until its dissolution in 1806, whereupon it became part of the Austrian Empire, and...
remained under Habsburg
Habsburg
The House of Habsburg , also found as Hapsburg, and also known as House of Austria is one of the most important royal houses of Europe and is best known for being an origin of all of the formally elected Holy Roman Emperors between 1438 and 1740, as well as rulers of the Austrian Empire and...
rule until the collapse of Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary , more formally known as the Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and the Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of Saint Stephen, was a constitutional monarchic union between the crowns of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary in...
after the First World War
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
.
Duchy of Bohemia
With the fragmentation of Great MoraviaGreat Moravia
Great Moravia was a Slavic state that existed in Central Europe and lasted for nearly seventy years in the 9th century whose creators were the ancestors of the Czechs and Slovaks. It was a vassal state of the Germanic Frankish kingdom and paid an annual tribute to it. There is some controversy as...
under the pressure of the Magyar incursions in the 9th century, Bohemia
Bohemia
Bohemia is a historical region in central Europe, occupying the western two-thirds of the traditional Czech Lands. It is located in the contemporary Czech Republic with its capital in Prague...
began to form as an independent principality from the 880s. In 880, prince Bořivoj of the Přemyslid dynasty
Premyslid dynasty
The Přemyslids , were a Czech royal dynasty which reigned in Bohemia and Moravia , and partly also in Hungary, Silesia, Austria and Poland.-Legendary rulers:...
, who was baptised by the Great Moravian bishop Methodius in 874, moved his seat to Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
and started to subjugate the Vltava
Vltava
The Vltava is the longest river in the Czech Republic, running north from its source in Šumava through Český Krumlov, České Budějovice, and Prague, merging with the Elbe at Mělník...
Basin.
Great Moravia briefly regained control over the emerging Bohemian Principality in 888/890. In 895, the Prince of Bohemia becomes a vassal of the East Frankish king Arnulf of Carinthia
Arnulf of Carinthia
Arnulf of Carinthia was the Carolingian King of East Francia from 887, the disputed King of Italy from 894 and the disputed Holy Roman Emperor from February 22, 896 until his death.-Birth and Illegitimacy:...
. As East Francia consolidated into the Holy Roman Empire
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a realm that existed from 962 to 1806 in Central Europe.It was ruled by the Holy Roman Emperor. Its character changed during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period, when the power of the emperor gradually weakened in favour of the princes...
in the 10th century, Prince of Bohemia was thus a personal vassal. The March of Moravia
March of Moravia
The March or Margraviate of Moravia, was a marcher state, sometimes de facto independent and varyingly within the power of the Duchy, later Kingdom of Bohemia...
was given to Boleslaus I after the defeat of the Magyars at the Battle of Lechfeld
Battle of Lechfeld
The Battle of Lechfeld , often seen as the defining event for holding off the incursions of the Hungarians into Western Europe, was a decisive victory by Otto I the Great, King of the Germans, over the Hungarian leaders, the harka Bulcsú and the chieftains Lél and Súr...
in 955, but it was conquered into the Duchy of Poland by Bolesław I Chrobry in 999. Moravia was re-acquired for Bohemia by Bretislaus I in 1035.
Cut off from Byzantium by the Hungarian
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
presence, the Bohemian Principality existed in the shadow of the Holy Roman Empire. In 950
950
Year 950 was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar.- Europe :* Duke Boleslav I of Bohemia makes peace with Otto I....
Emperor Otto I
Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor
Otto I the Great , son of Henry I the Fowler and Matilda of Ringelheim, was Duke of Saxony, King of Germany, King of Italy, and "the first of the Germans to be called the emperor of Italy" according to Arnulf of Milan...
, a Saxon, led an expedition to Bohemia demanding tribute; the Bohemian Prince thus became a tributary of the Holy Roman Empire and its king one of the seven Electors of the Emperor. The Emperors continued the practice of using the Roman Catholic clergy to extend German influence into Czech territory. Significantly, the bishopric of Prague, founded in 973
973
Year 973 was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar.- Europe :* Edgar of England is crowned king by Saint Dunstan.* Otto II becomes Holy Roman Emperor and King of Germany....
during the reign of Boleslaus II (967–99), was subordinated to the archbishopric of Mainz
Archbishopric of Mainz
The Archbishopric of Mainz or Electorate of Mainz was an influential ecclesiastic and secular prince-bishopric in the Holy Roman Empire between 780–82 and 1802. In the Roman Catholic Church hierarchy, the Archbishop of Mainz was the primas Germaniae, the substitute of the Pope north of the Alps...
. Thus, at the same time that Přemyslid rulers used the German alliance to consolidate their rule against a perpetually rebellious regional nobility, they struggled to retain their autonomy in relation to the empire.
The Bohemian Principality was definitively consolidated in 995, when the Přemyslids unified neighboring Czech tribes and established a form of centralized rule. After a struggle with Poland and Hungary, Bohemia acquired Moravia
Moravia
Moravia is a historical region in Central Europe in the east of the Czech Republic, and one of the former Czech lands, together with Bohemia and Silesia. It takes its name from the Morava River which rises in the northwest of the region...
in the early 11th century. The March of Moravia
March of Moravia
The March or Margraviate of Moravia, was a marcher state, sometimes de facto independent and varyingly within the power of the Duchy, later Kingdom of Bohemia...
, however, continued to be a separate margraviate, usually ruled by a younger son of the Bohemian king. Although Moravia's fate was intertwined with Bohemia's, in general it did not participate in Bohemia's civil and religious struggles.
Kingdom of Bohemia
13th century (growth)
The 13th century was the most dynamic period of PřemyslidPremyslid dynasty
The Přemyslids , were a Czech royal dynasty which reigned in Bohemia and Moravia , and partly also in Hungary, Silesia, Austria and Poland.-Legendary rulers:...
reign over Bohemia
Bohemia
Bohemia is a historical region in central Europe, occupying the western two-thirds of the traditional Czech Lands. It is located in the contemporary Czech Republic with its capital in Prague...
. German Emperor Frederick II
Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor
Frederick II , was one of the most powerful Holy Roman Emperors of the Middle Ages and head of the House of Hohenstaufen. His political and cultural ambitions, based in Sicily and stretching through Italy to Germany, and even to Jerusalem, were enormous...
's preoccupation with Mediterranean affairs and the dynastic struggles known as the Great Interregnum (1254–73) weakened imperial authority in Central Europe, thus providing opportunities for Přemyslid assertiveness. At the same time, the Mongol invasions (1220–42) absorbed the attention of the Bohemian Kingdom's eastern neighbors, the Hungarians
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
and the Poles
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
.
In 1212, Ottokar I
Ottokar I of Bohemia
-External links:...
(1192–93 and 1197–1230), bearing the title "king" since 1198, extracted the Golden Bull of Sicily
Golden Bull of Sicily
The so-called Golden Bull of Sicily was a decree issued by King Frederick II of Germany in Basel on 26 September 1212 that confirmed the royal title obtained by Ottokar I of Bohemia in 1198, declaring him and his heirs Kings of Bohemia...
(a formal edict) from the emperor confirming the royal title for Ottokar and his descendants. The imperial prerogative to ratify each Bohemian ruler and to appoint the bishop of Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
was revoked. The king's successor was Wenceslaus I, from his second marriage. To make it possible for this son rule the country, Ottokar established inheritance by male-preference primogeniture, before which the oldest child could rule the country, irrespective of gender. His sister Agnes of Bohemia
Agnes of Bohemia
Saint Agnes of Bohemia , or Agnes of Prague , was a medieval Bohemian princess who opted for a life of charity and piety over a life of luxury and comfort...
, later canonized, was an extraordinarily courageous and energetic woman for her time; she refused to marry the Holy Roman Emperor and instead devoted her life to God. Corresponding with the Pope, she established the Knights of the Cross with the Red Star, the first order of knights in the Kingdom of Bohemia.
Ottokar II
Ottokar II of Bohemia
Ottokar II , called The Iron and Golden King, was the King of Bohemia from 1253 until 1278. He was the Duke of Austria , Styria , Carinthia and Carniola also....
(1253–78) married a German princess, Margaret of Babenberg, and became duke of Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
, thereby acquiring Upper
Upper Austria
Upper Austria is one of the nine states or Bundesländer of Austria. Its capital is Linz. Upper Austria borders on Germany and the Czech Republic, as well as on the other Austrian states of Lower Austria, Styria, and Salzburg...
and Lower
Lower Austria
Lower Austria is the northeasternmost state of the nine states in Austria. The capital of Lower Austria since 1986 is Sankt Pölten, the most recently designated capital town in Austria. The capital of Lower Austria had formerly been Vienna, even though Vienna is not officially part of Lower Austria...
Austria and part of Styria
Duchy of Styria
The history of Styria concerns the region roughly corresponding to the modern Austrian state of Styria and the Slovene region of Styria from its settlement by Germans and Slavs in the Dark Ages until the present...
; he conquered the rest of Styria, most of Carinthia
Duchy of Carinthia
The Duchy of Carinthia was a duchy located in southern Austria and parts of northern Slovenia. It was separated from the Duchy of Bavaria in 976, then the first newly created Imperial State beside the original German stem duchies....
, and parts of Carniola
Carniola
Carniola was a historical region that comprised parts of what is now Slovenia. As part of Austria-Hungary, the region was a crown land officially known as the Duchy of Carniola until 1918. In 1849, the region was subdivided into Upper Carniola, Lower Carniola, and Inner Carniola...
. He was called "the king of iron and gold" — gold because of his wealth, iron because of fighting, he won against Hungary and he also fought and won against the Prussian pagans. In 1256, Ottokar II founded a city he named Královec in Czech, later known as Königsberg, now Kaliningrad
Kaliningrad
Kaliningrad is a seaport and the administrative center of Kaliningrad Oblast, the Russian exclave between Poland and Lithuania on the Baltic Sea...
. From 1273, however, Habsburg emperor Rudolf
Rudolph I of Germany
Rudolph I was King of the Romans from 1273 until his death. He played a vital role in raising the Habsburg dynasty to a leading position among the Imperial feudal dynasties...
began to reassert imperial authority. Combined with problems he had with rebellious nobility in Bohemia, all of Ottokar's German possessions were lost in 1276 and, in 1278, he died in battle against Rudolf.
The 13th century was also a period of large-scale German immigration, during the Ostsiedlung
Ostsiedlung
Ostsiedlung , also called German eastward expansion, was the medieval eastward migration and settlement of Germans from modern day western and central Germany into less-populated regions and countries of eastern Central Europe and Eastern Europe. The affected area roughly stretched from Slovenia...
, often encouraged by Přemyslid kings hoping to weaken the influence of their own Czech nobility. The Germans populated towns and mining districts on the Bohemian periphery and in some cases formed German colonies in the interior of the Czech lands. Stříbro, Kutná Hora
Kutná Hora
Kutná Hora is a city in Bohemia, now the Czech Republic in the Central Bohemian Region.-History:The town began in 1142 with the settlement of the first Cistercian Monastery in Bohemia, Kloster Sedlitz, brought from the Imperial immediate Cistercian Waldsassen Abbey...
, Německý Brod (present-day Havlíčkův Brod
Havlíckuv Brod
Havlíčkův Brod , Německý Brod until 1945 is a town in the Vysočina Region of the Czech Republic. It is also the capital of the Havlíčkův Brod district. It is located on the Sázava River in the Bohemian-Moravian Highlands and has a population of 24,321 as of 2003...
) and Jihlava
Jihlava
Jihlava is a city in the Czech Republic. Jihlava is a centre of the Vysočina Region, situated on the Jihlava river on the ancient frontier between Moravia and Bohemia, and is the oldest mining town in the Czech Republic, ca. 50 years older than Kutná Hora.Among the principal buildings are the...
were important German settlements. The Germans brought their own code of law — the — which formed the basis of the later commercial law of Bohemia and Moravia
Moravia
Moravia is a historical region in Central Europe in the east of the Czech Republic, and one of the former Czech lands, together with Bohemia and Silesia. It takes its name from the Morava River which rises in the northwest of the region...
. Marriages between Germans and Czech nobles soon became commonplace.
King Václav II. managed to get the crown of Poland and for his son also the crown of Hungary.
14th century ("Golden Age")
The 14th century — particularly the reign of Charles IVCharles IV, Holy Roman Emperor
Charles IV , born Wenceslaus , was the second king of Bohemia from the House of Luxembourg, and the first king of Bohemia to also become Holy Roman Emperor....
(1342–78) — is considered the Golden Age of Czech history.
In 1306, the Přemyslid line died out and, after a series of dynastic wars, John, Count of Luxembourg, was elected Bohemian king. He married Elisabeth, the daughter of Wenceslaus II. His son, Charles IV, the second king from the House of Luxembourg
House of Luxembourg
The House of Luxembourg was a late medieval German dynasty, which between 1308 and 1437 ruled the Holy Roman Empire, twice interrupted by the rivaling House of Wittelsbach.-History:...
, was raised at the French court and was cosmopolitan in attitude. He strengthened the power and prestige of the Bohemian kingdom. In 1344 Charles elevated the bishopric of Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
, making it an archbishopric and freeing it from the jurisdiction of Mainz
Mainz
Mainz under the Holy Roman Empire, and previously was a Roman fort city which commanded the west bank of the Rhine and formed part of the northernmost frontier of the Roman Empire...
and the Holy Roman Empire
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a realm that existed from 962 to 1806 in Central Europe.It was ruled by the Holy Roman Emperor. Its character changed during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period, when the power of the emperor gradually weakened in favour of the princes...
; the archbishop was given the right to crown Czech kings. Charles curbed the Czech nobility, rationalized the provincial administration of Bohemia and Moravia, and made Brandenburg
Brandenburg
Brandenburg is one of the sixteen federal-states of Germany. It lies in the east of the country and is one of the new federal states that were re-created in 1990 upon the reunification of the former West Germany and East Germany. The capital is Potsdam...
(until 1415), Lusatia
Lusatia
Lusatia is a historical region in Central Europe. It stretches from the Bóbr and Kwisa rivers in the east to the Elbe valley in the west, today located within the German states of Saxony and Brandenburg as well as in the Lower Silesian and Lubusz voivodeships of western Poland...
(until 1635), and Silesia
Silesia
Silesia is a historical region of Central Europe located mostly in Poland, with smaller parts also in the Czech Republic, and Germany.Silesia is rich in mineral and natural resources, and includes several important industrial areas. Silesia's largest city and historical capital is Wrocław...
(until 1742) into fiefs of the Czech crown. In 1355 Charles was crowned Holy Roman Emperor. In 1356 he issued the Golden Bull of 1356
Golden Bull of 1356
The Golden Bull of 1356 was a decree issued by the Reichstag assembly in Nuremberg headed by the Luxembourg Emperor Charles IV that fixed, for a period of more than four hundred years, important aspects of the constitutional structure of the Holy Roman Empire...
, defining and systematizing the process of election to the Imperial throne
Imperial election
The election of a Holy Roman Emperor or King of Germany was, from at least the 13th century, accomplished by a small body of the greatest princes of the Empire, the Prince-electors. Appointment as Emperor was normally for life...
, with the Czech king among the seven electors. Charles also made Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
into an imperial capital. Extensive building projects undertaken by the king included the founding of the New Town southeast of the old city. The royal castle, Hradčany
Hradcany
Hradčany , the Castle District, is the district of the city of Prague, Czech Republic, surrounding the Prague Castle.The castle is said to be the biggest castle in the world at about 570 meters in length and an average of about 130 meters wide. Its history stretches back to the 9th century...
, was rebuilt. Of particular significance was the founding of Charles University in Prague
Charles University in Prague
Charles University in Prague is the oldest and largest university in the Czech Republic. Founded in 1348, it was the first university in Central Europe and is also considered the earliest German university...
in 1348. Charles's intention was to make Prague into an international center of learning, and the university was divided into Czech, Polish, Saxon and Bavarian "nations", each with one controlling vote. Charles University, however, would become the nucleus of intense Czech particularism. Charles died in 1378, and the Czech crown went to his son, Wenceslas IV
Wenceslaus, King of the Romans
Wenceslaus ) was, by election, German King from 1376 and, by inheritance, King of Bohemia from 1378. He was the third Bohemian and second German monarch of the Luxembourg dynasty...
, who had also been elected King of the Romans
King of the Romans
King of the Romans was the title used by the ruler of the Holy Roman Empire following his election to the office by the princes of the Kingdom of Germany...
in the first election since his father's Golden Bull, but who was deposed from the Imperial throne before he could be crowned Emperor, with his brother Sigismund
Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor
Sigismund of Luxemburg KG was King of Hungary, of Croatia from 1387 to 1437, of Bohemia from 1419, and Holy Roman Emperor for four years from 1433 until 1437, the last Emperor of the House of Luxemburg. He was also King of Italy from 1431, and of Germany from 1411...
eventually succeeding to that position, being crowned in Rome in 1433.
15th century (Hussite Movement)
Hussite
The Hussites were a Christian movement following the teachings of Czech reformer Jan Hus , who became one of the forerunners of the Protestant Reformation...
movement (1402–85) was a national, as well as a religious, manifestation. As a religious reform movement, it represented a challenge to papal authority and an assertion of national autonomy in ecclesiastical affairs. As a Czech national movement, it acquired anti-imperial and anti-German implications and thus can be considered a manifestation of a long-term Czech–German conflict. The Hussite movement is also viewed by many Czechs as a part of the (worldwide) Protestant Reformation
Protestant Reformation
The Protestant Reformation was a 16th-century split within Western Christianity initiated by Martin Luther, John Calvin and other early Protestants. The efforts of the self-described "reformers", who objected to the doctrines, rituals and ecclesiastical structure of the Roman Catholic Church, led...
.
Hussitism began during the long reign of Wenceslas IV
Wenceslaus, King of the Romans
Wenceslaus ) was, by election, German King from 1376 and, by inheritance, King of Bohemia from 1378. He was the third Bohemian and second German monarch of the Luxembourg dynasty...
(1378–1419), a period of papal schism and concomitant anarchy in the Holy Roman Empire, and was precipitated by a controversy at Charles University. In 1403 Jan Hus
Jan Hus
Jan Hus , often referred to in English as John Hus or John Huss, was a Czech priest, philosopher, reformer, and master at Charles University in Prague...
became rector of the university. A reformist preacher, Hus espoused the antipapal and antihierarchical teachings of John Wycliffe
John Wycliffe
John Wycliffe was an English Scholastic philosopher, theologian, lay preacher, translator, reformer and university teacher who was known as an early dissident in the Roman Catholic Church during the 14th century. His followers were known as Lollards, a somewhat rebellious movement, which preached...
of England, often referred to as the "Morning Star of the Reformation". Hus's teaching was distinguished by its rejection of the wealth, corruption and hierarchical tendencies of the Roman Catholic Church. It advocated the Wycliffite doctrine of clerical purity and poverty and insisted on communion under both kinds, bread and wine, for the laity. (The Roman Catholic Church reserved the cup — wine — for the clergy.) The more moderate followers of Hus, the Utraquists
Utraquism
Utraquism was a Christian dogma first proposed by Jacob of Mies in 1414. It maintained that the Eucharist should be administered "in both kinds" — as both bread and wine — to all the congregation, including the laity...
, took their name from the Latin , meaning "under each kind". A more radical sect soon formed — the Taborite sect — the Taborite
Taborite
The Taborites were members of a religious community considered heretical by the Catholic Church. The Taborites were centered on the Bohemian city of Tábor during the Hussite Wars in the 15th century. The religious reform movement in Bohemia splintered into various religious sects...
s, who took their name from the city of Tábor
Tábor
Tábor is a city of the Czech Republic, in the South Bohemian Region. It is named after Mount Tabor, which is believed by many to be the place of the Transfiguration of Christ; however, the name became popular and nowadays translates to "camp" or "encampment" in the Czech language.The town was...
, their stronghold in southern Bohemia, rejected church doctrine and upheld the Bible as the sole authority in all matters of belief.
Soon after Hus assumed office, German professors of theology demanded the condemnation of Wyclif's writings. Hus protested and received the support of the Czech element at the university. Having only one vote in policy decisions against three for the Germans, the Czechs were outvoted, and the orthodox position was maintained. In subsequent years the Czechs demanded a revision of the university charter, granting more adequate representation to the native, Czech, faculty. The university controversy was intensified by the vacillating position of the Bohemian king Wenceslas. His insistence at first on favoring Germans in appointments to councillor and other administrative positions had aroused the national sentiments of the Czech nobility and rallied them to Hus's defense. The German faculties had the support of Zbyněk Zajíc
Zbynek Zajíc
Zbyněk Zajíc of Hasenburg was a Czech nobleman, and an important representative of the Roman Catholic Church...
, Archbishop of Prague
Archbishop of Prague
The following is a list of bishops and archbishops of Prague. The bishopric of Prague was established in 973, and elevated to an archbishopric on 30 April 1344. The today's Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Prague is the continual successor of the bishoprie established in 973...
, and the German clergy. Wenceslas, for political reasons, switched his support from the Germans to Hus and allied with the reformers. On January 18, 1409, Wenceslas issued the Decree of Kutná Hora
Decree of Kutná Hora
The Decree of Kutná Hora or Decree of Kuttenberg was issued in Kutná Hora, Bohemia, by King Wenceslas IV to give members of the Bohemian university nation a decisive voice in the affairs of the Charles University in Prague....
: (as was the case at other major universities in Europe) the Czechs would have three votes; the foreigners, a single vote. In consequence, German faculty and students left Charles University en masse in the thousands and many ended up founding the University of Leipzig
University of Leipzig
The University of Leipzig , located in Leipzig in the Free State of Saxony, Germany, is one of the oldest universities in the world and the second-oldest university in Germany...
.
Hus's victory was short lived, however. He preached against the sale of indulgence
Indulgence
In Catholic theology, an indulgence is the full or partial remission of temporal punishment due for sins which have already been forgiven. The indulgence is granted by the Catholic Church after the sinner has confessed and received absolution...
s, which lost him the support of the king, who received a percentage of the sales. In 1412 Hus and his followers were suspended from the university and expelled from Prague. For two years the reformers served as itinerant preachers
Itinerant minister
Itinerant minister is a Christian evangelist who preaches the basic Christian redemption message while traveling around to different groups of people within a relatively short period of time...
throughout Bohemia. In 1414 Hus was summoned to the Council of Constance
Council of Constance
The Council of Constance is the 15th ecumenical council recognized by the Roman Catholic Church, held from 1414 to 1418. The council ended the Three-Popes Controversy, by deposing or accepting the resignation of the remaining Papal claimants and electing Pope Martin V.The Council also condemned and...
to defend his views. Hus accepted this offer, but was imprisoned at his arrival and never given a chance to defend his ideas.
The council condemned him as a heretic and burned him at the stake in 1415.
Hus's death sparked decades of religious warfare, the Hussite Wars
Hussite Wars
The Hussite Wars, also called the Bohemian Wars involved the military actions against and amongst the followers of Jan Hus in Bohemia in the period 1419 to circa 1434. The Hussite Wars were notable for the extensive use of early hand-held gunpowder weapons such as hand cannons...
. Sigismund
Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor
Sigismund of Luxemburg KG was King of Hungary, of Croatia from 1387 to 1437, of Bohemia from 1419, and Holy Roman Emperor for four years from 1433 until 1437, the last Emperor of the House of Luxemburg. He was also King of Italy from 1431, and of Germany from 1411...
, the pro-papal king of Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
and successor to the Bohemian throne after the death of Wenceslas in 1419, failed repeatedly in attempts to gain control of the kingdom despite aid by Hungarian and German armies. Riots broke out in Prague. Led by a Czech yeoman, Jan Žižka
Jan Žižka
Jan Žižka z Trocnova a Kalicha , Czech general and Hussite leader, follower of Jan Hus, was born at small village Trocnov in Bohemia, into a gentried family. He was nicknamed "One-eyed Žižka"...
, the Taborites streamed into the capital. Religious strife pervaded the entire kingdom and was particularly intense in the German-dominated towns. Czech burghers and Roman Catholic Germans turned on each other; many were massacred, and most German survivors fled or were exiled to the Holy Roman Empire. The fighting changed the face of Bohemia to this day, for Bohemia would have a much larger German populace had they not been forced out due to the war. Sigismund led or instigated various crusades against Bohemia with the support of Bohemian Catholics. The Hussite Wars followed a pattern. When a crusade was launched at Bohemia, moderate and radical Hussites would unite and defeat it. Once the threat was over, the Hussite armies would focus on ridding the land of Catholic sympathizers. While many historians have painted the Hussites as religious fanatics, one must not forget that they fought to protect their land from a King and Pope who did not recognize the right of the Hussites to exist. Under Zizka's leadership, his armies stormed castles, monasteries, churches, and villages, expelling the Catholic clergy, expropriating ecclesiastical lands or accepting conversions.
During the struggle against Sigismund, Taborite armies penetrated into areas of modern-day Slovakia
Slovakia
The Slovak Republic is a landlocked state in Central Europe. It has a population of over five million and an area of about . Slovakia is bordered by the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south...
as well. Czech refugees from the religious wars in Czechia settled there, and from 1438 to 1453 a Czech noble, John Jiskra of Brandýs, controlled most of southern Slovakia from the centers of Zólyom (today Zvolen
Zvolen
Zvolen |Slatina]] rivers, close to Banská Bystrica. With its ancient castle, the town has a historical center, which represents the seat of an okres .-History:...
) and Kassa (today Košice
Košice
Košice is a city in eastern Slovakia. It is situated on the river Hornád at the eastern reaches of the Slovak Ore Mountains, near the border with Hungary...
). Thus Hussite doctrines and the Czech Bible were disseminated among the Slovaks, providing the basis for a future link between the Czechs and their Slovak neighbors.
When Sigismund died in 1437, the Bohemian estates elected Albert of Austria
Albert II of Germany
Albert the Magnanimous KG was King of Hungary from 1438 until his death. He was also King of Bohemia, elected King of Germany as Albert II, duke of Luxembourg and, as Albert V, archduke of Austria from 1404.-Biography:Albert was born in Vienna as the son of Albert IV, Duke of Austria, and Johanna...
as his successor. Albert died, however, and his son, Ladislaus the Posthumous — so called because he was born after his father's death — was acknowledged as king. During Ladislaus's minority, Bohemia was ruled by a regency composed of moderate reform nobles who were Utraquists. Internal dissension among the Czechs provided the primary challenge to the regency. A part of the Czech nobility remained Catholic and loyal to the pope. A Utraquist delegation to the Council of Basel
Council of Florence
The Council of Florence was an Ecumenical Council of the Roman Catholic Church. It began in 1431 in Basel, Switzerland, and became known as the Council of Ferrara after its transfer to Ferrara was decreed by Pope Eugene IV, to convene in 1438...
in 1433 had negotiated a seeming reconciliation with the Catholic Church. The Council's Compact of Basel accepted the basic tenets of Hussitism expressed in the Four Articles of Prague: communion under both kinds; free preaching of the Gospels; expropriation of church land; and exposure and punishment of public sinners. The pope, however, rejected the compact, thus preventing the reconciliation of Czech Catholics with the Utraquists.
George of Poděbrady
George of Podebrady
George of Kunštát and Poděbrady , also known as Poděbrad or Podiebrad , was King of Bohemia...
, later to become the "national" king of Bohemia, emerged as leader of the Utraquist regency. George installed another Utraquist, John of Rokycan
John of Rokycan
John of Rokycan, also known as Jan of Rokycany, in Czech language Jan Rokycana, Jan z Rokycana and Jan z Rokycan was a Hussite theologian, archbishop of Prague and a key figure in Bohemian church history.- Life :In his youth, John of Rokycan entered the Augustinian monastery in Rokycany...
, as archbishop of Prague and succeeded in uniting the more radical Taborites with the Czech Reformed Church. The Catholic party was driven out of Prague. Ladislaus died of the plague in 1457, and in 1458 the Bohemian estates elected George of Poděbrady as king. There were problems, however: George was not noble-born, so his election to the monarchy would not be recognised, either by the Pope or by other European monarchs.
George sought to establish a "Charter of a Universal Peace Union", with the idea that all monarchs should tried to consolidate sustainable peace on the principle of national sovereignty of states, principles of non-interference and solving problems and disputes before an International Tribunal. Also, Europe should unite together to fight the Turks
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
. States would have one vote each, with a leading role for France. George did not see a specific role for Papal authority, however.
Czech Catholic nobles joined in the League of Zelena Hora, continued to challenge the authority of George of Poděbrady until his death in 1471.
1471–1526 (Jagiellonian rule)
Upon the death of the Hussite king, the Bohemian estates elected a Polish prince Ladislaus JagiellonVladislaus II of Bohemia and Hungary
Vladislaus II, also known as Ladislaus Jagiellon ; was King of Bohemia from 1471 and King of Hungary from 1490 until his death in 1516...
as king. In 1490 Vladislav also became king of Hungary, and the Polish Jagellonian line ruled both Bohemia and Hungary. The Jagellonians governed Bohemia as absentee monarchs; their influence in the kingdom was minimal, and effective government fell to the regional nobility. Czech Catholics accepted the Compact of Basel in 1485 and were reconciled with the Utraquists.
In 1526 Vladislav's son, King Louis, was decisively defeated by the Ottoman Turks
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
at the Battle of Mohács
Battle of Mohács
The Battle of Mohács was fought on August 29, 1526 near Mohács, Hungary. In the battle, forces of the Kingdom of Hungary led by King Louis II of Hungary and Bohemia were defeated by forces of the Ottoman Empire led by Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent....
and subsequently died. As a result, the Turks conquered part of the Kingdom of Hungary; the rest (mainly nowadays Slovakia territory) came under Habsburg rule under the terms of King Louis's marriage contract. The Bohemian estates elected Archduke Ferdinand
Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor
Ferdinand I was Holy Roman Emperor from 1558 and king of Bohemia and Hungary from 1526 until his death. Before his accession, he ruled the Austrian hereditary lands of the Habsburgs in the name of his elder brother, Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor.The key events during his reign were the contest...
, younger brother of Emperor Charles V
Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor
Charles V was ruler of the Holy Roman Empire from 1519 and, as Charles I, of the Spanish Empire from 1516 until his voluntary retirement and abdication in favor of his younger brother Ferdinand I and his son Philip II in 1556.As...
, to succeed Louis as king of Bohemia. Thus began almost four centuries of Habsburg rule for both Bohemia and Slovakia.