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| Ottokar II | |
|---|---|
 Ottokar's royal seal | |
| King of Bohemia | |
| Reign | 23 December 1253 – 26 August 1278 |
| Coronation | 1261,Prague |
| Predecessor | Wenceslaus I |
| Successor | Wenceslaus II |
| Born | c. 1233 Městec Králové,Bohemia |
| Died | 26 August 1278 (agedc. 44–45) Dürnkrut,Austria |
| Burial | |
| Spouses | |
| Issue more... | Kunigunde of Bohemia Wenceslaus II of Bohemia (illeg.)Nicholas I of Troppau |
| Dynasty | Přemyslid |
| Father | Wenceslaus I of Bohemia |
| Mother | Kunigunde of Hohenstaufen |
Ottokar II (Czech:Přemysl Otakar II.;c. 1233, inMěstec Králové,Bohemia – 26 August 1278, inDürnkrut,Lower Austria), theIron and Golden King, was a member of thePřemyslid dynasty who reigned asKing of Bohemia from 1253 until his death in 1278. He also held the titles ofMargrave of Moravia from 1247,Duke of Austria from 1251, andDuke of Styria from 1260, as well asDuke of Carinthia andlandgrave of Carniola from 1269.
With Ottokar's rule, the Přemyslids reached the peak of their power in theHoly Roman Empire. His expectations of the imperial crown, however, were never fulfilled.
Ottokar was the second son of KingWenceslaus I of Bohemia (reigned 1230–1253). Through his mother,Kunigunde, daughter ofPhilip of Swabia, he was related to the Holy Roman Emperors of theHohenstaufen dynasty, which became extinct in the male line upon the execution of KingConradin of Sicily in 1268.
Named after his grandfather KingPřemysl Ottokar I, he was originally educated for the role of an ecclesiastical administrator, while his elder brotherVladislaus was designated heir of theBohemian kingdom. He was possibly educated by the Bohemian chancellorPhilip of Spanheim, who would later become a rival for the rule of the Duchy of Carinthia.
When his brotherVladislaus died in 1247, Ottokar suddenly became the heir to the Bohemian throne. According to popular oral tradition, he was profoundly shocked by his brother's death and did not involve himself in politics, becoming focused on hunting and drinking. His father appointed the new heir asMargrave of Moravia, and Ottokar took up residence inBrno, where he was occupied with the reconstruction of theMoravian lands devastated byMongol raids of 1242.
In 1248, some discontented nobles who supportedEmperor Frederick II enticed Ottokar into leading a rebellion against his father King Wenceslaus. During this rebellion he was elected "the younger King" (mladší král) on 31 July 1248 and temporarily expelled his father fromPrague Castle. Přemysl Ottokar II held the title of King of Bohemia until November 1249. However,Pope Innocent IVexcommunicated Ottokar, whereafter Wenceslaus finally managed to defeat the rebels and imprisoned his son atPřimda Castle.[1]
Father and son eventually reconciled to assist the king's aim of acquiring the neighbouringDuchy of Austria, where the lastBabenberg duke,Frederick II had been killed in the 1246Battle of the Leitha River.[2] King Wenceslaus had initially attempted to acquire Austria by marrying his heir, Vladislaus, to the last duke's nieceGertrude of Babenberg. That marriage came to an end after half a year with Vladislaus's death in January 1247, and in 1248 Gertrude married theZähringen margraveHerman VI of Baden. At the death of the last of the Babenberg male line in 1246, Emperor Frederick II seized the duchy as an imperial fief and with it, the sizable Babenberg treasure, installing imperial officials in the Austrian lands and naming his grandson Henry as Duke of Austria and Styria. The Emperor died in late 1250, however, and his grandson was unable to fully establish himself in Austria without his grandfather’s support.
Wenceslaus released Přemysl Ottokar very soon and in 1251 again made him Margrave of Moravia and installed him, with the approval of the Austrian nobles, as governor of Austria. The same year Ottokar entered Austria, where the estates acclaimed him as Duke. To legitimize his position, Přemysl Ottokar married the late Duke Frederick II's sisterMargaret of Babenberg, who was his senior by 30 years and the widow of the Hohenstaufen kingHenry (VII) of Germany.[3] Their marriage took place on 11 February 1252 atHainburg.[4]
In 1253, King Wenceslaus died and Přemysl Ottokar succeeded his father as King of Bohemia. After the death of the German KingKonrad IV in 1254 while his son Conradin was still a minor, Ottokar also hoped to obtain the Imperial dignity - asKing of the Romans - for himself. However, his election bid was unsuccessful and CountWilliam II of Holland, the Germananti-king since 1247, was generally recognised.
Feeling threatened by Ottokar's growing regional power beyond theLeitha River, his cousin KingBéla IV of Hungary challenged the young king. Béla formed a loose alliance with theWittelsbach dukeOtto II of Bavaria and tried to install his own sonStephen as Duke ofStyria, which since 1192 had been ruled inpersonal union with Austria under the terms of theGeorgenberg Pact of 1186. Papal mediation settled the conflict : the parties agreed that Ottokar would yield large parts of Styria to Béla in exchange for recognition of his right to the remainder of Austria.
Subsequently, King Ottokar II led thetwo crusade expeditions against the paganOld Prussians (1254–1255 and 1268).[5]Königsberg (nowKaliningrad, Russia), founded in 1255 by theTeutonic Order, was named in his honour and later became the capital of theDuchy of Prussia.
After a few years of peace the conflict with Hungary resumed: Ottokar defeated the Hungarians in July 1260 at theBattle of Kressenbrunn, ending years of disputes over Styria with Béla IV.[6] Béla now ceded Styria back to Ottokar, and his claim to those territories was formally recognized byRichard of Cornwall, then king of Germany and nominal ruler of all the German lands. This peace agreement was also sealed by a royal marriage. Ottokar ended his marriage to Margaret and married Béla's young granddaughterKunigunda of Halych, who became the mother of his children.[7] The youngest of them became his only legitimate son,Wenceslaus II.
During the ImperialImperialinterregnum of 1250 to 1273, Ottokar could increase his personal influence while Richard of Cornwall andAlfonso of Castile jostled to attain the Imperial dignity. In 1266 he occupied theEgerland in north-west Bohemia, and in 1268 he signed an inheritance treaty with theSponheim dukeUlrich III of Carinthia, succeeding him inCarinthia,Carniola and theWindic March the next year. In 1272 he also acquiredFriuli. His rule was once again contested by the Hungarians on the field of battle. Afteranother victory, Ottokar became the most powerful king within the Empire.
After Richard of Cornwall died in April 1272 andPope Gregory X rejected the claims raised by Alfonso of Castile, a new election for the Imperial German throne took place in 1273. However, the Bohemian king again failed to win the Imperial crown, as theelectors voted for the "little count"Rudolf of Habsburg, Ottokar's last and finally victorious rival.
Přemysl Ottokar refused to acknowledge Rudolf's election, and urged the Pope to adopt a similar policy. At a convention of theImperial Diet atNuremberg in 1274, Rudolf decreed that all Imperial lands that had changed hands since the death of the last Hohenstaufen emperorFrederick II must be returned to the crown. This would have deprived Ottokar not only of the Egerland, but also of the Austrian, Styrian, and Carinthian duchies. In 1275 Rudolf placed Ottokar under theImperial ban and besieged hisHofburg residence inVienna, while a rebellion led by theVítkovci nobleZáviš of Falkenstein disrupted the Bohemian lands. This compelled Přemysl Ottokar in November 1276 to sign a new treaty by which he gave up all claims to Austria and the neighboring duchies, retaining for himself only Bohemia and Moravia. Ottokar's sonWenceslaus became betrothed to Rudolf's daughterJudith. There followed an uneasy peace.
Two years later, the Bohemian king made a last attempt to recover his lost lands by force. Přemysl Ottokar again found allies in Bavaria,Brandenburg andPoland. He collected a large army to meet the forces of Rudolf and his ally KingLadislaus IV of Hungary in theBattle on the Marchfeld on 26 August 1278, where he was defeated and killed.[8] Rudolf had his body laid out in state at theMinorites Church in Vienna. (In 1297 Ottokar's mortal remains were finally transferred toSt. Vitus Cathedral in Prague.) His 6-year-old son Wenceslaus II succeeded him as King of Bohemia.
On 11 February 1252, Přemysl Ottokar II marriedMargaret of Austria.[3] Margaret was 26 years older than he, and the couple's childless marriage ended with an annulment.[3] On 25 October 1261, Ottokar marriedKunigunda of Slavonia.[7] They probably had four children:
Ottokar also had two extramarital sons and daughters. The most important was his firstborn,Nicholas.[10] He was never accepted as heir apparent to the Bohemian crown by the sitting pope, but was given theDuchy of Opava as fief in 1269.[10] Other illegitimate children include John, provost ofVyšehrad Chapter.
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Přemysl Ottokar is considered one of the greatest kings of Bohemia, along withCharles IV. He was a founder of many new towns (about 30 — not only in Bohemia, Moravia and Silesia, but also in Austria and Styria) and incorporated many existing settlements through civic charters, giving them new privileges. He was a strong proponent of trade, law and order. Furthermore, he instituted open immigration policies through which skilled German-speaking immigrants settled in major cities throughout his domains. As noted, the historicEast Prussian city ofKönigsberg (King's Mountain) was named in his honor as a tribute to his support of the Teutonic Knights in their war with the paganOld Prussians.
As Czech traditional law was different from that of his other domains, many principles introduced during his reign formed core of the Czech law for the following centuries. From his time stems the oldest preserved source of Czech law,Zemské desky, and also the oldest written Czech communal law, recorded in the founding deeds of the respective towns. By supporting the city ofJihlava (German: Iglau) with its mines, he laid foundation of the silver wealth of later Bohemian kings. Privileges of civic charters usually excluded the towns from obedience to the traditional courts held by members of nobility. This can be seen as a step towards equality and a precursor of modern civil law.
In the country, Ottokar's introduction of the Law ofEmphyteusis into the Czech law is sometimes interpreted as "Germanization". In fact it was creative, for it freed subjects from feudal obligations, except for rent — and tax, if such was levied. Free selling and leaving of estates could also be bought and soon became common. Thus, Ottokar can be reckoned an early Bohemian ruler who furthered Bohemian rights in medieval times. This change of legal environment in Bohemia was introduced by systematic founding of villages chartered under this law.
He issued also a general privilege to the Jews (1254), which established principles of integration of the Jews into the Czech society until 1848. The Jews were now eligible for various positions, such as servants of crown, thereby being somewhat less subject to discrimination. Instead of being able to claim only the support of individual lords, the Jews could from then on claim support of any royal officer.
Ottokar followed with a systematic policy of strengthening his domains by building fortifications. Besides supporting towns, he built many fortresses himself —Zvíkov Castle,Křivoklát Castle orBezděz Castle in Bohemia, and the famedHofburg Palace in Vienna — and also induced his vassals to build castles. A sign of rising strength of Bohemia, it was also a reaction to theMongol raids of the 13th century (seeBéla IV of Hungary). Conflict for the title of ownership to these fortified places built by members of nobility was probably the source of an uprising in 1276, which cost Ottokar the Austrian lands, and two years later (in an attempt for reconquest) his life.
Some of the fortresses built by Ottokar were for centuries the strongest in Bohemia. Ironically,Bezděz Castle served as a prison for his sonWenceslaus II of Bohemia for short time after Ottokar's death. The castle housed Bohemian legal recordsZemské desky and many spiritual and temporal treasures during the destructive civil strife of theHussite wars (1419–1434) in Bohemia. It was conquered in 1620, during the30 Years' War, but by then it was long deserted, and in that state was defended by rebelling subjects against an Imperial army.
Before his conflict withRudolf of Habsburg, Ottokar exacted influence over a number of relatives, allies and vassals in Germany, such as theMargraviate of Brandenburg — and spiritual principalities, including theArchbishopric of Salzburg and thePatriarchate of Aquileia. After the death ofKonradin in 1268 he was an heir of theHouse of Hohenstaufen's claim to the imperial crown. However, he did not raise this claim, remaining content with informal influence in Germany. In 1267 he was appointed protector of the royal domains (of theHoly Roman Empire) east of the Rhine by the German king,Richard of Cornwall. He held this office till 1273.
Ottokar is a significant figure in history and legend. In theDivine Comedy byDante, Ottokar is seen outside the gates of Purgatory, in amiable companionship with his imperial rival Rudolf. He is also the protagonist of a tragedy by the 19th-century Austrian playwrightFranz Grillparzer, titledKönig Ottokars Glück und Ende.
There is astatue dedicated to him.
Ottokar II must have been well-remembered in Poland due to his great Prussian crusade in 1254–55 [...]. [...] in January 1268 King Ottokar II took part for a second time in a Prussian crusade.
Ottokar II of Bohemia Born:c. 1233 Died: 26 August 1278 | ||
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| Preceded by | King of Bohemia 1253–1278 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Duke of Austria andStyria 1251/1260–1276 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Duke of Carinthia Margrave of Carniola 1269–1276 | |
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