TheDuchy of Krnov (Latin:Ducatus Carnoviensis,Czech:Krnovské knížectví,Polish:Księstwo Karniowskie) orDuchy of Jägerndorf (German:Herzogtum Jägerndorf) was one of theDuchies of Silesia, which in 1377 emerged from theDuchy of Troppau (Opava), itself a fief of theBohemian Crown. Its capital was atKrnov in the present-dayCzech Republic.

Duchy of Krnov Krnovské knížectví (Czech) Herzogtum Jägerndorf (German)
1377–1849
Coat of arms
Duchies of Opava and Krnov, map fromAtlas Novus byJoan Blaeu, 1645
Status	Silesian duchy Fiefdom of theBohemian Crown
Capital	Krnov
Historical era	Late Middle Ages Early modern period
• Partitioned fromOpava	1377
• Vladislaus II of Opole Duke	1385
• George of Brandenburg-Ansbach Duke	1523
• Merged intoAustrian Silesia	1849
Preceded by Succeeded by Duchy of Troppau Austrian Silesia

The province had been established in 1269 on lands which until then had been part of the BohemianMargraviate of Moravia, when KingOttokar II of Bohemia vested his natural sonNicholas I with Opava. Together with the adjacentDuchy of Racibórz, it was under the direct rule of a cadet branch of the royalPřemyslid dynasty—unlike most other Silesian duchies ruled by theSilesian Piasts, who nevertheless in large part also had become Bohemian vassals in 1327. Nicholas retained Opava after the last Přemyslid ruler of Bohemia, KingWenceslaus III, was killed in 1306. In the following struggle for the Bohemian throne, he backed the claims of theLuxembourg candidateJohn the Blind, who in turn enfeoffed his son and successorNicholas II with the Duchy of Opava in 1318. In 1337, Nicholas II also received the neighbouringDuchy of Racibórz upon the death of the last Piast dukeLeszek.

When Duke Nicholas II died in 1365, his eldest sonJohn I inherited the Duchy of Racibórz, while the Duchy of Opava from 1367 was ruled jointly by him and his younger brothersNicholas III,Wenceslaus I andPřemek I. When in 1377 the brothers finally divided their Opava heritage, the eldest, John I, received the newly established Duchy of Krnov together with theBruntál estates. Upon his death in 1380/82, Racibórz, Krnov and Bruntál were inherited by his elder sonJohn II "the Iron".

In 1384, Duke John II sold Krnov to the Piast dukeWładysław of Opole, who ceded it to the Luxembourg margraveJobst of Moravia in 1390. After Jobst had died in 1411, his cousin EmperorSigismund pawned Krnov to the Piast dukeLouis II of Brieg, but in 1422 again ceded it to John II, who could redeem the pledge. Two years later, the duchy was inherited by his sonsWenceslaus II andNicholas V, who ruled jointly until 1437, when Nicholas received Krnov together with Bruntál,Pless,Rybnik,Loslau, andSohrau. Upon his death in 1452, Krnov and Loslau fell to his elder sonJohn IV, while Rybnik, Sohrau and Pless fell to his younger brotherWenceslaus III.

The Přemyslid dukes finally lost Krnov during theBohemian–Hungarian War in 1474 toMatthias Corvinus, then anti-king of Bohemia, who had John IV captured and arrested. After John's death in 1483, his sisterBarbara, consort of DukeJan IV of Oświęcim, tried to regain the duchy; however,Vladislav II Jagiellon, having prevailed as Bohemian king, had no intention to return the seized duchy but enfeoffed his chancellor Johann von Schellenberg with Krnov instead. An agreement was reached in 1492, when Barbara's daughterHelena married Schellenberg's son George.

In 1523, George of Schellenberg had to sell Krnov to theHohenzollern margraveGeorge of Brandenburg-Ansbach, who could rely on the Hungarian inheritance of his consortBeatrice de Frangepan, widow of Matthias Corvinus. From 1532 the margrave ruled over allUpper Silesia, when he also inherited theDuchy of Opole and Racibórz from the Piast dukeJan II the Good. He had Krnov Castle rebuilt and introduced theProtestant Reformation in Silesia, having the localTeutonic Knights,Franciscans andMinorites expelled. The increasing power of the Protestant House of Hohenzollern in the Silesian crown lands was suspiciously eyed byFerdinand I of Habsburg, Bohemian king since 1526. Nevertheless, George as well as his son MargraveGeorge Frederick, who ruled from 1543, were able to keep the duchy. The conflict aggravated when George Frederick died childless in 1603 and bequested Krnov to his cousin ElectorJoachim III Frederick of Brandenburg, who gave it to his sonJohann Georg in 1607. TheHabsburg rulers regarded the duchy a reverted fief and after theBohemian Revolt and the 1620Battle of White Mountain EmperorFerdinand II confiscated the Hohenzollern possessions in his Bohemian lands.^[1] Ferdinand's loyal supporter PrinceKarl I of Liechtenstein, Duke of Opava since 1613, received Krnov. Both duchies were merged in 1623 and subjected toCounter-Reformation.

The House of Hohenzollern never withdrew the claims and more than one hundred years later, the Krnov and Racibórz possessions were a pretext for thePrussian kingFrederick the Great to start theFirst Silesian War, ending with the annexation of most of Silesia according to theTreaty of Breslau in 1742. While a small northern part was merged into the now PrussianDuchy of Opole, the bulk of Krnov remained with theBohemian Crown as part ofAustrian Silesia. Re-organised as the Krnov District (Krnovský kraj) from 1751, it was finally dissolved after the1848 Revolution, when Austrian Silesia was raised to the status of aCisleithanian crown land.

• Dukes of Silesia

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