TheLands of the Bohemian Crown were the states inCentral Europe during themedieval andearly modern periods withfeudal obligations to theBohemian kings. Thecrown lands primarily consisted of theKingdom of Bohemia, anelectorate of theHoly Roman Empire according to theGolden Bull of 1356, theMargraviate of Moravia, theduchies of Silesia, and the twoLusatias, known as the Margraviate of Upper Lusatia and the Margraviate of Lower Lusatia, as well as other territories throughout its history. This agglomeration of states nominally under the rule of the Bohemian kings was referred to simply asBohemia.[2]
The joint rule ofCorona regni Bohemiae was legally established by decree of KingCharles IV issued on 7 April 1348, on the foundation of the original Czech lands ruled by thePřemyslid dynasty until 1306. By linking the territories, the interconnection ofcrown lands thus no more belonged to a king or a dynasty but to the Bohemian monarchy itself, symbolized by theCrown of Saint Wenceslas. During the reign of KingFerdinand I from 1526, the lands of the Bohemian Crown became a constituent part of theHabsburg monarchy. A large part of Silesia was lost in the mid-18th century, but the rest of the Lands passed to theAustrian Empire and theCisleithanian half ofAustria-Hungary. By theCzechoslovak declaration of independence in 1918, the remaining Czech lands became part of theFirst Czechoslovak Republic.
The Bohemian Crown was neither apersonal union nor afederation of equal members. Rather, the Kingdom of Bohemia had a higher status than the other incorporated constituent countries. There were only some common state institutions of the Bohemian Crown that did not survive the centralization of theHabsburg monarchy under QueenMaria Theresa in the 18th century. The most important of them was theBohemian Court Chancellery which was united with the Austrian Chancellery in 1749.[3]
TheLands of the Bohemian Crown (Latin:Corona regni Bohemiae,lit.Crown of the Kingdom of Bohemia) are calledzemě Koruny české or simplyKoruna česká (Crown of Bohemia orBohemian Crown)[4][5][6] andČeské země (i.e.Czech lands), theCzech adjectivečeský referring to both "Bohemian" and "Czech". TheGerman termLänder der Böhmischen Krone is likewise shortened toBöhmische Krone orBöhmische Kronländer. Native names includeSilesian:Korōna Czeskigo Krōlestwa,Lower Sorbian:zemje Českeje krony, andUpper Sorbian:kraje Čěskeje Króny. The denotationLands of the Crown of Saint Wenceslas (země Koruny svatováclavské) refers to theCrown of Saint Wenceslas, part of theregalia of the Bohemian monarchs.
In the 10th and 11th century, theDuchy of Bohemia, together withMoravia (theMargraviate of Moravia from 1182 on), andKłodzko Land were consolidated under the rulingPřemyslid dynasty.
DukeOttokar I of Bohemia gained the hereditary royal title to the Duchy of Bohemia in 1198, from the German (anti)−kingPhilip of Swabia, for his support. Along with the title, Philip also raised the duchy to the Kingdom of Bohemia rank. The regality was ultimately confirmed by Philip's nephew theGerman KingFrederick II, later theHoly Roman Emperor (1220−1250), in theGolden Bull of Sicily issued in 1212.
The Přemyslid kingOttokar II of Bohemia acquired theDuchy of Austria in 1251, theDuchy of Styria in 1261, theEgerland in 1266, theDuchy of Carinthia with theMarch of Carniola and theWindic March in 1269 as well as the March ofFriuli in 1272. His plans to turn Bohemia into the leadingImperial State were aborted by hisHabsburg rival KingRudolph I of Germany, who seized his acquisitions and finally defeated him in the 1278Battle on the Marchfeld.[3]
In 1306, theHouse of Luxembourg began producing Bohemian kings upon the extinction of the Přemyslids. They significantly enlarged the Bohemian lands again, including when KingJohn the Blind vassalized most PolishPiast dukes ofSilesia. His suzerainty was acknowledged by the Polish kingCasimir III the Great in the 1335Treaty of Trentschin. John also achieved theenfeoffment with theUpper Lusatian lands ofBautzen (1319) andGörlitz (1329), by theGerman kingLouis IV.
King John's eldest sonCharles IV was electedking of the Romans in 1346 and succeeded his father as king of Bohemia in the same year. In 1348, Charles IV introduced the concept of theCrown of Bohemia (Corona regni Bohemiae in Latin), a term which designated the whole state hereditarily ruled by the kings of Bohemia, not only its core territory of Bohemia but also the incorporated provinces.[7]
The Luxembourg dynasty reached its high point, when Charles was crownedHoly Roman Emperor in 1355.[3] By his Imperial authority he decreed that the united Bohemian lands should endure regardless of dynastic developments, even if the Luxembourgs should die out.[8]
In 1367, he purchasedLower Lusatia from his stepson MargraveOtto V of Brandenburg and theMargraviate of Brandenburg. Beside their homeCounty of Luxembourg itself, the dynasty held further non-contiguous Imperial fiefs in theLow Countries, such as: theDuchy of Brabant andDuchy of Limburg, acquired through marriage by Charles' younger half-brotherWenceslaus of Luxembourg in 1355; as well as the Margraviate of Brandenburg, purchased in 1373. As both the king of Bohemia and the margrave of Brandenburg had been designatedprince-electors in theGolden Bull of 1356, the Luxembourgs held two votes in the electoral college, securing the succession of Charles's sonWenceslaus in 1376.
With King Wenceslaus, the decline of the Luxembourg dynasty began. He himself was deposed as king of the Romans in 1400. The duchies of Brabant, Limburg (in 1406), and even Luxembourg itself (in 1411) were ceded to the FrenchHouse of Valois-Burgundy; while the Margraviate of Brandenburg passed to theHouse of Hohenzollern (in 1415).[8] Nevertheless, the joint rule of the Bohemian Lands outlived theHussite Wars and the extinction of the Luxembourg male line upon the death of EmperorSigismund in 1437.
Vladislas II of theJagiellon dynasty, son of the Polish kingCasimir IV, was designated king of Bohemia in 1471, while the crown lands of Moravia, Silesia, and the Lusatias were occupied by rivaling KingMatthias Corvinus of Hungary. In 1479, both kings signed theTreaty of Olomouc, whereby the unity of the Bohemian crown lands was officially retained unchanged and the monarchs appointed each other as sole heir. Upon the death of King Matthias in 1490, Vladislas ruled the Bohemian crown lands and theKingdom of Hungary in personal union.
When Vladislas' only sonLouis was killed at theBattle of Mohács in 1526, ending the Jagiellon dynasty rule in Bohemia, a convention of Bohemian nobles elected his brother-in-law, theHabsburg archdukeFerdinand I of Austria, as the new king of the Bohemian crown lands. Together with theArchduchy of Austria "hereditary lands" and theHungarian kingdom, they formed theHabsburg monarchy, which in the following centuries grew out of the Holy Roman Empire into a separate European power. Attempts by the BohemianProtestant Reformation estates to build up an autonomous confederation were dashed at the 1620Battle of White Mountain, whereafter the administration was centralised atVienna. Moreover, the Habsburg rulers lost the Lusatias to theElectorate of Saxony after theThirty Years' War in the 1635Peace of Prague, and also most of Silesia with Kladsko to theKingdom of Prussia after theFirst Silesian War in the 1742Treaty of Breslau.[3]
From 1599 to 1711, the border between modern Czech Republic and Slovakia was frequentlysubjected to raids by theOttoman Empire and its vassals (especially theTatars andTransylvania). Overall, hundreds of thousands were enslaved whilst tens of thousands were killed.[9]
In the modern era, the remaining crown lands ofBohemia,Moravia andAustrian Silesia became constituent parts of theAustrian Empire in 1804, and later theCisleithanian half ofAustria-Hungary in 1867.
AfterWorld War I and thedissolution of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy, these became the historic regions usually referred to as theCzech lands forming theCzech Republic. Austrian Silesia with theHlučín Region is today known asCzech Silesia, with the exception of easternCieszyn Silesia which passed to theSecond Polish Republic in 1920.[8]
| Crown land | Type | Map | Capital or important city | Ethnic group | Religion | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Bohemia | Kingdom | .svg) | Prague | Bohemians (Czechs) Germans | Roman Catholic Hussite (15th–17th centuries) Anabaptist (15th–17th centuries) Lutheran | Royal dignity first bestowed uponVratislaus II of Bohemia in 1085, hereditary since 1198 under KingOttokar I;Electorate of theHoly Roman Empire, confirmed by theGolden Bull of 1356. Included the Imperialdomain ofEgerland (Chebsko), obtained by KingWenceslaus II between 1291–1305, definitely given in pawn to Bohemia by KingLouis IV in 1322 and subsequently ruled in personal union with Bohemia proper; as well as theCounty of Kladsko, established in 1459 and conquered by thePrussian kingFrederick the Great in 1742. |
.svg) Moravia | Margraviate | .svg) | Olomouc, Brno | Czechs (Moravians) Germans | Roman Catholic Hussite (15th–17th centuries) Anabaptist (15th–17th centuries) Lutheran | Principalities of Olomouc, Brno andZnojmo, acquired byPřemyslid andSlavník Bohemian rulers after the 955Battle of Lechfeld, lost in 999 toPoland and reconquered by DukeBretislaus I in 1035. Elevated to a margraviate by the Přemyslid dukes in 1182, Bohemianfief from 1197. |
 Silesia | Duchies | .svg) | Wrocław | Germans Czechs/Bohemians Silesians Poles Moravians | Roman Catholic Lutheran | Many various duchies, acquired by the 1335Treaty of Trentschin between KingJohn of Bohemia and KingCasimir III of Poland. The Habsburg queenMaria Theresa lost Silesia in 1742 to thePrussian kingFrederick the Great by theTreaty of Breslau, with the exception of its South-East part which became calledAustrian Silesia (laterCzech Silesia). Today divided between Poland, the Czech Republic, and Germany. |
 Upper Lusatia | Margraviate | .svg) | Bautzen | Germans Sorbs | Roman Catholic Lutheran | FormerMilceni lands ofMeissen, finally incorporated by KingJohn of Bohemia in 1319 (Bautzen) and 1329 (Görlitz). The Habsburg emperorFerdinand II of Habsburg lost the Lusatias to theElectorate of Saxony with the 1635Peace of Prague. Formally part of the Crown of Bohemia until 1815, today divided between Germany and Poland. |
 Lower Lusatia | Margraviate | .svg) | Lübben | Germans Sorbs | Lutheran | FormerMarch of Lusatia, acquired by EmperorCharles IV from MargraveOtto V of Brandenburg in 1367. The Habsburg emperorFerdinand II of Habsburg lost the Lusatias to theElectorate of Saxony with the 1635Peace of Prague. Formally part of the Crown of Bohemia between until 1815, today divided between Germany and Poland. |
 Görlitz(Zgorzelec) | Duchy |  | Görlitz | Germans Sorbs | Roman Catholic | Duchy created by EmperorCharles IV for his third sonJohn of Görlitz; he was the only Duke of Görlitz (Zgorzelec) from 1377 until his death. |
.svg)
TheBrandenburg Electorate, acquired by Charles IV from Margrave Otto V in 1373. Charles' sonSigismund granted Brandenburg in 1415 toFrederick I, Elector of Brandenburg.
The adjacent northern part of theUpper Palatinate ("Bohemian Palatinate") atSulzbach, incorporated by Charles IV in 1355. Charles' sonWenceslaus lost the area in 1401 to theElectoral Palatinate underKing Ruprecht of Germany.
Egerland
| Kraje ofMargraviate of Moravia |
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