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| Ottokar I | |
|---|---|
 Contemporary relief carving of Ottokar I in the tympanum ofSt George's Convent, Prague | |
| Duke/King of Bohemia | |
| Reign | 1192–1193 1200[1]–1230[2] |
| Coronation | 1203,Prague |
| Successor | Wenceslaus I |
| Born | c. 1155 Bohemia |
| Died | 15 December 1230 (aged 75) Prague |
| Burial | |
| Spouses | |
| Issue more... | Wenceslaus I, King of Bohemia Dagmar, Queen of Denmark Anne, Duchess of Silesia Vladislaus II of Moravia Saint Agnes |
| Dynasty | Přemyslid |
| Father | Vladislaus II, Duke of Bohemia |
| Mother | Judith of Thuringia |
Ottokar I (Czech:Přemysl Otakar I.;c. 1155 – 1230) wasDuke of Bohemia periodically beginning in 1192, then acquired the title ofKing of Bohemia, first in 1198 fromPhilip of Swabia, later in 1203 fromOtto IV of Brunswick and in 1212 (as hereditary) fromFrederick II. Ottokar was the first hereditary King of Bohemia; although two previous Bohemian monarchs (Vratislaus andVladislaus II) had held the title of King, in each case the title was awarded only for the life of the recipient. He was an eminent member of thePřemyslid dynasty.
Ottokar's parents wereVladislaus II, Duke of Bohemia, andJudith of Thuringia.[3] His early years were passed amid the anarchy that prevailed everywhere in the country. After several military struggles, he was recognized as ruler of Bohemia by Holy Roman EmperorHenry VI in 1192.[4] He was, however, soon overthrown for joining a conspiracy of German princes to bring down theHohenstaufen dynasty. In 1197, Ottokar forced his brother, DukeVladislaus III, to abandon Bohemia to him and to content himself withMoravia.[5]
Taking advantage of the civil war in Germany between theHohenstaufen claimantPhilip of Swabia and theWelf candidateOtto IV, Ottokar declared himself King of Bohemia in 1198,[6] being crowned in Mainz.[7] This title was supported by Philip of Swabia, who needed Czech military support against Otto.
In 1199, Ottokar divorced his wifeAdelheid of Meissen,[7] a member of theWettin dynasty, to marryConstance of Hungary, the young daughter of Hungarian KingBéla III.[8]
In 1200, with Otto IV in the ascendancy, Ottokar abandoned his pact with Philip of Swabia and declared for the Welf faction.[9] Otto IV and laterPope Innocent III[10] subsequently accepted Ottokar as the hereditary King of Bohemia.[4]
Ottokar was quickly forced back into Philip's camp by the imperial declaration of a new duke of Bohemia, Děpolt III.[10] Subject to his recognition as duke, Ottokar had to allow his divorced wife to return to Bohemia.[10] Having been completed this condition, he again ranged himself among Philip's partisans and still later was among the supporters of the young KingFrederick II.[11] In 1212 Frederick granted theGolden Bull of Sicily to Bohemia. This document recognised Ottokar and his heirs as Kings of Bohemia.[6] The king was no longer subject to appointment by the emperor and was only required to attendDiets close to the Bohemian border. Although a subject of the Holy Roman Empire, the Bohemian king was to be the leading electoral prince of theHoly Roman Empire and to furnish all subsequent emperors with a bodyguard of 300 knights when they went toRome for their coronation.
Ottokar's reign was also notable for the start of German immigration into Bohemia and the growth of towns in what had until that point been forest lands. In 1226, Ottokar went to war against DukeLeopold VI of Austria after the latter wrecked a deal that would have seen Ottokar's daughter (Saint Agnes of Bohemia) married to Frederick II's son Henry II of Sicily. Ottokar then planned for the same daughter to marryHenry III of England, but this was vetoed by the emperor, who knew Henry to be an opponent of theHohenstaufen dynasty. The widowed emperor himself wanted to marry Agnes, but by then she did not want to play a role in an arranged marriage. With the help of the pope, she entered a convent.
Ottokar was married first in 1178 toAdelheid of Meissen (after 1160 - 2 February 1211),[12] who gave birth to the following children:
In 1199, he married secondly toConstance of Hungary (1181 – 6 December 1240),[12] who gave birth to the following children:
The Milanese mysticGuglielma (1210s – 24 October 1281) claimed to be a Princess of Bohemia[15] and has therefore been identified as a daughter of Ottokar and Constance with the name Vilemína or Božena, but there is an absence of any corroborating Bohemian documents.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Ottakar I.".Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 20 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 367–368.
| Preceded by | Duke of Bohemia 1192–1193 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Duke of Bohemia 1197–1198 | Elevated to kingship |
| Vacant Title last held by Vladislaus II | King of Bohemia 1198–1230 | Succeeded by |
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