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| Wenceslaus II | |
|---|---|
 Portrayal inCodex Manesse | |
| King of Bohemia | |
| Reign | 26 August 1278 – 21 June 1305 |
| Coronation | 2 June 1297,Prague[1] |
| Predecessor | Ottokar II |
| Successor | Wenceslaus III |
| King of Poland | |
| Reign | 1296–1305 |
| Coronation | 25 July 1300,Gniezno |
| Predecessor | Przemysl II |
| Successor | Wenceslaus III |
| Born | 27 September 1271 (1271-09-27) Prague,Bohemia |
| Died | 21 June 1305 (1305-06-22) (aged 33) Prague,Bohemia |
| Spouse | |
| Issue | |
| Dynasty | Přemyslid |
| Father | Ottokar II of Bohemia |
| Mother | Kunigunda of Slavonia |
Wenceslaus II Přemyslid (Czech:Václav II.;Polish:Wacław II Czeski; 27 September[2] 1271 – 21 June 1305) wasKing of Bohemia (1278–1305),Duke of Cracow (1291–1305), andKing of Poland (1296–1305).
He was the only son of KingOttokar II of Bohemia and Ottokar's second wifeKunigunda.[3] He was born in 1271, ten years after the marriage of his parents. Kunigunda was the daughter ofRostislav Mikhailovich, lord ofSlavonia, son of aGrand Prince of Kiev, andAnna of Hungary, daughter ofBéla IV of Hungary. His great-grandfather was the German kingPhilip of Swabia. Wenceslaus II was the grandfather of the Holy Roman Emperor,Charles IV. He was a member of thePřemyslid dynasty.
In 1276Rudolf I, King of the Romans, placed Ottokar under theban of the empire and besiegedVienna. This compelled Ottokar in November 1276 to sign a new treaty by which he gave up all claims to Austria and the neighbouringduchies, retaining for himself only Bohemia andMoravia. Wenceslaus was then betrothed to Rudolf's daughterJudith, creating an uneasy peace. Wenceslaus's father died on 26 August 1278 in theBattle on the Marchfeld shortly before Wenceslaus' seventh birthday.
Before Wenceslaus became of age, the government was handled byOtto V, Margrave of Brandenburg, who is said to have held Wenceslaus captive in several locations. He returned to Bohemia in 1283, at the age of twelve. His mother's second husband,Záviš of Falkenstein, ruled instead of him for a few years.
On 24 January 1285, Wenceslaus marriedJudith of Habsburg, daughter of Rudolf I, to whom he had been betrothed since 1276. In 1290, Wenceslaus had Záviš beheaded for allegedtreason and began ruling independently.
In 1291, High DukePrzemysł II of Poland ceded the sovereignDuchy of Kraków to Wenceslaus.Kraków was associated with the overlordship of Poland, but Przemysł held the other duchies and in 1295 was crowned king. After Przemysł's death in 1296, Wenceslaus became overlord of Poland and in 1300, and had himself crowned its king.[4]
In 1298,silver was discovered atKuttenberg (now Kutná Hora) inCentral Bohemia. Wenceslaus took control of the mine by making silver production a royal monopoly and issued thePrague groschen, which became the most popular of the earlyGroschen-type coins. Kutná Hora was one of the richest European silver strikes ever: between 1300 and 1340 the mine may have produced as much as 20 tons of silver a year.
In 1300, Wenceslaus issued the new royal mining codeIus regale montanorum. This was a legal document that specified all administrative as well as technical terms and conditions necessary for the operation of mines.[5]
Queen Judith died in 1297. Wenceslaus' second wife wasElisabeth Richeza, daughter of KingPrzemysl II of Poland (1295–1296).
In 1301, Wenceslaus' kinsmanAndrew III of Hungary died and theÁrpád dynasty became extinct in the male line. Wenceslaus was one of the relatives who claimed the throne, and he accepted it from a party of Hungarians on behalf of his young son, betrothed to Andrew's only child,Elizabeth. On 27 August 1301, his son was crowned inSzékesfehérvár as king of Hungary.
At that time theKingdom of Hungary was split into several de facto principalities, and young Wenceslaus was only accepted as the King of Hungary by the rulers inUpper Hungary (Matthew III Csák), West-Transdanubia in modern-dayBurgenland and West-Transdanubia, (where theGüssingsKőszegi (Croatian:Gisingovci) family were their strongest supporters, and on territory around the capital,Buda. But theAbas and Matthew Csák switched sides in 1303 and started to support Wenceslaus' rivalCharles Robert of Anjou. Consequently, the young Wenceslaus, in Ofen (Buda), became afraid and wrote to his father inPrague for help. His father took a large army and invaded Buda, but having considered the situation, he took his son and the Hungarian crown and returned to Bohemia (1304).Ivan Kőszegi was named to represent Wenceslaus III in Hungary.
Wenceslaus II died on 21 June 1305, at the age of 33,[6] probably oftuberculosis. He was succeeded by his son,Wenceslaus III, the last of thePřemyslid kings.
Wenceslaus II is considered one of the most importantCzech kings. He built a great empire stretching from theBaltic Sea to theDanube river and established numerous cities, such asPlzeň in 1295. He won for his family three royal crowns (Bohemia,Hungary andPoland). TheKingdom of Bohemia was the largest producer ofsilver in Europe in his time. He created PragueGroschen, which was an important European currency for centuries.
During his reign, there was great urban development. He planned to build the first university inCentral Europe. The power and wealth of theKingdom of Bohemia gave rise to great respect, but also to the hostility of European royal families. His son King Wenceslaus III was unable to maintain a mighty empire, and soon after the untimely death of Wenceslaus II, his empire began to crumble.[7]
In 1285 in Eger (Cheb), he married the German PrincessJudith of Habsburg (1271–1297), daughter of KingRudolf I of Germany and his wifeGertrude of Hohenberg.[8] She died shortly after their 10th child was born:
In 1303, he married the PrincessElisabeth Richeza of Poland (1286–1335), daughter ofPrzemysł II, King of Poland.[9] They had one child:
Wenceslaus also had numerousillegitimate children, including Jan Volek (?? – 27 September 1351),[11]bishop of Olomouc, and possiblyElizabeth, Abbess of Pustiměřu.[12]
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Wenceslaus II of Bohemia Born: 27 September 1271 Died: 21 June 1305 | ||
| Regnal titles | ||
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| Preceded by | King of Bohemia 1278–1305 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | King of Poland 1296–1305 | |
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