|
Bohemia, Premysl Ottokar II.
Bracteat (silver coin replica) 1253
- 1278
OBV: Czech double-tailed lion rampant left.
This Bracteat is
unique in that it bears the first depiction of the Czech (double-tailed)
lion.
Otakar II (also spelled Ottokar or Pøemysl
Otakar/Ottokar) (c. 1230 – August
26, 1278)
was a king of Bohemia (1253 – 1278). He was a son of King
Wenceslaus
I of the Premysl dynasty, and
through his mother, Kunigunde, was related to the Hohenstaufen
family, being a grandson of the German king, Philip of Swabia.
During his father's
lifetime he ruled Moravia, but when in 1248 some
discontented Bohemian nobles acknowledged him as their sovereign,
trouble arose between him and his father, and for a short time Otakar
was imprisoned. However, in 1251 the young prince
secured his election as duke of Austria,
where he strengthened his position by marrying Margaret († 1267), sister
of Duke Frederick II,
the last of the Babenberg rulers of
the duchy and widow of the German king, Henry VII. Some years later he
repudiated this lady and married a Hungarian princess.
Both before and after he
became king of Bohemia in succession to his father in September 1253 Otakar
was involved in a dispute with Bela IV, king of
Hungary, over the possession of Styria, which
duchy had formerly been united with Austria. By an arrangement made in 1254 he
surrendered part of it to Bela, but when the dispute was renewed he
defeated the Hungarians in July 1260 near Kressenbrunn and
secured the whole of Styria for himself, owing his formal investiture
with Austria and Styria to the German king, Richard,
Earl of Cornwall.
The Czech king also led
two expeditions against the Prussians and
founded Königsberg (Czech: Královec)
later capital of Prussia,
named upon him.
In 1269 he inherited Carinthia and
part of Carniola,
and having made good his claim, contested by the Hungarians, on the
field of battle, he was the most powerful prince within empire when an
election for the German throne took place in 1273. But Otakar was not
the successful candidate. He refused to acknowledge his victorious
rival, Rudolph of
Habsburg, and urged the pope to adopt a similar attitude, while the
new king claimed the Austrian duchies. Matters reached a climax in 1276. Placing
Otakar under the ban of the empire, Rudolph besieged Vienna and compelled
Otakar in November 1276 to sign a treaty by
which he gave up Austria and the neighbouring duchies, retaining for
himself only Bohemia and Moravia. Two years later the Czech king tried
to recover his lost lands, he found allies and collected a large army,
but he was defeated by Rudolph and killed at the Battle
of Dürnkrut and Jedenspeigen on the March on August 26, 1278.
Ottokar was a founder of
towns and a friend of law and order, while he assisted trade and
welcomed German immigrants. He is a famous figure both in history and in
legend. He was called the "Iron and Gold King" throughout Europe and
Dante described
him in the Divine Comedy as
one of the greatest contemporaries. He is also the protagonist of a
tragedy by the 19th century playwright Franz Grillparzer.
His son and successor was Wenceslaus II.
(Source: WIKIPEDIA) |
