Duchies of Silesia | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1335–1742 | |||||||||||
.svg) Duchies of Silesia within theBohemian Crown and theHoly Roman Empire (1618) | |||||||||||
| Status | Crown land of theBohemian Crown | ||||||||||
| Capital | Wrocław,Opole,Opava, various others | ||||||||||
| Common languages | Czech,Polish,German | ||||||||||
| Religion | |||||||||||
| Demonym | Silesian | ||||||||||
| Government | Monarchy | ||||||||||
| King | |||||||||||
• 1335–1378 | Charles I(first) | ||||||||||
• 1916–1918 | Charles III(last) | ||||||||||
| History | |||||||||||
• Joined Kingdom of Bohemia | 1335 | ||||||||||
• Hungarian rule | 1469–1490 | ||||||||||
• Dissolution of thePiast dynasty | 1675 | ||||||||||
• Austrian Silesia formed | 1742 | ||||||||||
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| Today part of | Czech Republic Poland Germany | ||||||||||
TheDuchies of Silesia were the more than twenty divisions of the region ofSilesia formed between the 12th and 14th centuries by the breakup of theDuchy of Silesia, then part of theKingdom of Poland. In 1335, theduchies were ceded to theKingdom of Bohemia under theTreaty of Trentschin. Thereafter until 1742, Silesia was one of theBohemian crown lands and lay within theHoly Roman Empire. Most of Silesia was annexed by theKing of Prussia under theTreaty of Berlin in 1742. Only theDuchy of Teschen, theDuchy of Troppau and theDuchy of Nysa remained under the control of the Bohemian crown and as such were known as theDuchy of Upper and Lower Silesia until 1918.
In the (vain) hope to prevent an inheritance dispute, thePiast princeBolesław III Wrymouth by his last will andtestament had dividedPoland into hereditary provinces distributed among his four sons:Masovia,Kujawy,Greater Poland and Silesia. Beside which, theSeniorate Province (Lesser Poland) with the residence ofKraków was reserved for the eldest, who according to the principle ofagnatic seniority was to beHigh Duke of all Poland. This act inadvertently started the process known asFragmentation of Poland.
Bolesław's sonWładysław II received the Duchy of Silesia and, as the eldest, was also granted the title of a High Duke among with the Seniorate Province. Nevertheless, after he had tried to gain control over all Poland, he was banned and expelled by his younger half-brothers in 1146. Bolesław's second eldest sonBolesław IV the Curly, Duke of Masovia, became Polish High Duke. When, in 1163, Władysław's three sons, backed by EmperorFrederick I Barbarossa returned to Poland, Bolesław IV had to restore their heritage.
After ten years of joint rule, Władysław's sons finally divided Silesia in 1173:
After his brother Bolesław I had died, Mieszko I Tanglefoot also conquered and took the Duchy of Opole from his nephew Henry I the Bearded. He ruled over the Racibórz and Opole duchies, which emerged asUpper Silesia, until his death in 1211. Henry I the Bearded remained sovereign of theLower Silesian Duchy of Wrocław, he acquired the Greater Polish lands ofKalisz in 1206, which he granted to his Piast cousinWładysław Odonic, as well asLubusz Land in 1210. High Duke of Poland from 1232, he conquered further Greater Polish territories aroundSantok in 1234.
Mieszko's heir was DukeCasimir I of Opole, who died in 1230. Thereupon, Henry I managed to reunite whole Silesia under his reign. He was succeeded by his sonHenry II the Pious in 1238, while Upper Silesia was inherited by Casimir's sonMieszko II the Fat in 1239. He and his younger brother,Władysław Opolski, had already received Greater Polish Kalisz in 1234.
Henry II was killed at theBattle of Legnica in 1241. His eldest son and heir, DukeBolesław II the Bald temporarily gave Lubusz Land to his younger brotherMieszko († 1242). He reconciled with his Greater Polish cousin DukePrzemysł I and finally returned Santok in 1247 and remained sole ruler of Lower Silesia until 1248.
Mieszko II the Fat, of Upper Silesia, in 1244, returned Kalisz to DukePrzemysł I of Greater Poland. He died in 1246 and his possessions were inherited by his brother Władysław Opolski.
In 1327, KingJohn I of Bohemia began accepting the fealty of the Silesian dukes as part of his claim on the Polish crown. At theTreaty of Trentschin on 24 August 1335 it was agreed that John would abandon his claim and in return receive the suzerainty of the Silesian duchies and a one-time payment (20,000 threescores ofPrague groschen). This was finalized at theCongress of Visegrád in the same year, although some Piast-ruled duchies remained outside of Bohemian suzerainty until 1392.
Under the Bohemian crown, the duchies continued to be ruled by branches of thePiast dynasty known as theSilesian Piasts until their last lineage died out in 1675. When a ducal lineage died out, the duchy passed to the crown and became astate country.
The Bohemian Crown passed to theHouse of Habsburg in 1526. In 1742, most of Silesia was annexed by Prussia following theFirst Silesian War. This was confirmed following theSecond Silesian War in 1745 and theThird Silesian War in 1763. Following the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire,Bohemian Silesia remained a part of theAustrian Empire andAustro-Hungarian Empire down to its dissolution in 1918.
There were also other little duchies: Buchwald, Coschok, Goldberg, Grottkau, Grünberg, Hirschberg, and Parchwiz.
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