Who was King Premsyl Ottokar II?

“Rolls to the ocean: Ottokar his name:

Who in his swaddling clothes was of more worth

Than Wenceslaus his son, a bearded man,

Pampered with rank luxuriousness and ease.”

- Canto VII in Dante's Purgatorio

In 1278, a King laid dying on the battlefield with him passed away the hopes of a Bohemian Empire covering much of central Europe and all the way down to the Adriatic Sea. King Premysl Ottokar II built an empire by seizing opportunities from deaths and marriages. Nevertheless, his luck finally ran out in face of a growing ambitious house that came to dominate the region – the Habsburgs.

Early Life

Born in 1230, he was the son of King Wenceslas I of Bohemia. Nothing much has been known about his childhood. In 1247, his older brother and heir to the Bohemian throne Vladislav passed away pushing him on top of the line of succession. From July 1848 until November 1249, however, Ottokar II joined a faction of discontented nobles in rebelling against his father crowning himself the monarch and earning the title “Younger King.” Winds, however, changed direction and his father launched a counterattack that resulted at the end of the rebellion. Ottokar landed in a prison, but with a charming personality and with opportunity for expansion arising, he got out.

In November 1251, the Austrian nobles elected Ottokar as their new duke. Back in 1246, Gertrude, a member of the extinct Babenburg Family of the Duchy of Austria married Vladislav, Ottokar’s brother, tying up the Duchy to Bohemia. Thus, Ottokar became a candidate and won. To strengthen his hold over Austria, Ottokar married Margaret of Austria in 1252, sister of the late Duke Frederick II of Austria.

Following his ascension as Duke, in September 1253, his father passed away allowing him to succeed as King of Bohemia.

Domestic Rule

Ottokar inherited a growing Kingdom. Indeed, the development of the silver mines of Jihlava during the reign of King Wenceslas provided Ottokar the capital to finance the strengthening of the crown.

He curbed the powers of the nobility by establishing over 50 towns in his domains, which included Budějovice, Písek, and Ústí. He founded cities along the ancient route called the Trstenice Path that connected major cities and towns of Prague, Olomutz, and Brno. He also founded towns and cities along the frontier with Hungary to provide the first line of defense. The establishment of towns allowed the King to obtain enclaves under his supervision within the domains of his usually autonomous and sometimes rebellious nobles. The town also provided income for the crown, in exchange he gave them liberal charters, which included the right to brew their own beer.

Besides freedom to cities, Ottokar also showed tolerance towards Jews which Europe viewed with scorn during those days. He provided protection of properties of Jewish as well as German immigrants who provided additional capital and skills to the economy. He gave them the freedom to worship and observe their religious holidays.

Ottokar, moreover, provided a rule of law and a justice system where he appointed judges and established courts in towns and cities. It witnessed the establishment of the Court of the King’s Bench that oversaw trials and litigations. The compilation of the Zemske Desky which became a major source of jurisprudence and law in Bohemia began.

Finally, other than towns, the construction of castles became a symbol of Ottokar’s and Bohemia’s wealth. New castles dominated landscapes of the Bohemia and Austria. These included Orlik Castle, Krivoklat Castle, and finally the Hofburg Palace in Vienna. Also, Ottokar stamped his name over the construction of the Monastery in Trnova Koruna (now Zlata Koruna) in 1263.

Building from domestic policies, Ottokar embarked on an aggressive foreign policy aimed in expanding the domains of the Premyslid Dynasty.

Foreign Affairs

Much known about the reign of Ottokar II laid in his diplomacy and war. With sparkling silver mines, he enticed lords to his will and sphere of influence, but his expansion brought him many enemies that came to challenge his rule. And in a volatile era, he found himself on the brink of glory only to find out a path to the abyss.

In 1254, Ottokar II planned to expand Bohemian influence in the Baltics by supporting the Teutonic Knights in their crusade in Prussia. He went to the region and campaigned along with the religious order against the pagans. In honor of his contributions, the Teutonic Knights named Konigsberg in Ottokar’s honor. 10 years later, in 1266, he once again supported another crusade against the pagan Lithuanians. He even planned to establish dominion in the region, but lack of papal approval scrapped the plan.

After building his reputations and strengthening relations with the papacy, he earned the confidence to revive a dispute with Hungary over Styria. In 1260, he instigated Styrian nobles to rebel against the rule of King Bela IV of Hungary. The decisive battle of Kressenbrunn witnessed a Bohemian victory and Styria fell to Ottokar. Moreover, the battle also inflicted heavy losses over the Hungarians and the Kingdom stood within Ottokar’s reach. He, however, disregarded any conquest of Hungary writing to Pope Alexander IV:

Although the general opinion was that we might extend our authority over Hungary, yet we thought it better to retain a good friend and neighbor, than to destroy him by further hostility; and as we hoped that a reconciliation might lead to an intimate friendship with our next relative, so we preferred to form a friendly alliance with him, inasmuch as the waste, and debilitation of so great a kingdom might easily facilitate an inroad of the Tatars against him and against ourselves.

The threat of Tatar invasion worried Ottokar and decided to make Hungary a buffer state. Thus, the Hungarians lived to fight another day. To seal the peace with a marriage. Ottokar divorced his wife Margaret of Austria whom he had no children and through the grounds that his Babenberg wife took the vows of a nun after the death of Vladislav and before their marriage. The annulment allowed Ottokar to marry Bela IV’s granddaughter Kunigunda of Slavonia. Together the marriage resulted in the birth of the future Vaclav II.

In 1269, Ottokar received more lands south of Austria. A distant relative with Premyslid ties, Ulrich III, Duke of Carinthia passed away. The late Duke bestowed his domains of Carinthia and the neighboring Carniola and Istria to Ottokar II. When in 1271, the Pope sanctioned the annexation, Ottokar ruled over lands from Moravia and Bohemia south towards the Adriatic Sea. Ottokar thus ruled over an Empire and he stood as the most powerful lord within the amalgamation called the Holy Roman Empire.

Much of Ottokar’s success laid in his wealth. The silver mines of Jihlava made Bohemia one of the most prosperous and influential Kingdom in Europe. The Lords of newly acquired lands expected vast economic benefits from Bohemia and thus welcomed Ottokar as their overlord. In turn, Ottokar grew confident for his next target, the title of King of Germany otherwise known as the ruler of the Holy Roman Empire.

Ottokar and the Rise of the Habsburgs

In 1272, the reigning King of the Germans Richard of Cornwall passed away signaling another election of a successor. Electors of the Empire had the choice between 4 candidates: Count Louis the Strong of Palatine, Siegfried of Anhalt, Rudolf von Habsburg of Aargau and finally Premysl Ottokar II of Bohemia. Ottokar believed the election to be a mere formality and his victory assured. However, news from the elections gravely disappointed him. The victory went to a rising Duke Rudolf von Habsburg of Aargau.

Outraged and embittered, the Bohemian King lashed out with protest regarding the election to Pope Gregory, who held the power of ratifying or rejecting the elections. Despite his support to numerous crusade and recognition of the power of the Papacy, Ottokar further descended into fury when the Pope sided with Rudolf. It turned out, in exchange for Rudolf’s renunciation of claims in the Italian Peninsula, he would receive Rome’s backing.

For Ottokar, his recent expansion and success played a key role in his defeat. The Balance of Power stood against Ottokar’s ambitions. He grew too powerful in the eyes of the Electors and the Papacy. Rather than glittering silver, the King of Iron and Gold inspired fear of a great hegemony that many Lords and the Pope felt. Thus, they chose to side with a powerful Lord, but not too powerful, in the form of Rudolf beginning the rise to power of the Habsburg Dynasty.

The election of Rudolf and Ottokar’s defeat marked a downhill for the Kingdom of Bohemia and the Premysl Dynasty. In 1274, the Diet of Regensburg convened where King Rudolf resumed possession of all lands belonging to the Crown before the ex-communication of Emperor Frederick II. Each vassal of the Empire must then claim their fiefs within a year or forfeit them. Then, the Diet published a resolution that demanded the King of Bohemia to claim or receive his investiture within the year of Rudolf’s coronation or forfeit his domains. The resolution in essence called for Ottokar to accept his election defeat and bend the knee. 

Rudolf crowned in 1275 and by 1276, Ottokar refused to submit to Rudolf. The German King, as a result, banned him and brought the Empire’s might against Bohemia. Austrian and Bohemian nobles then began to rebel. Ottokar faced a massive invasion losing all his domains outside of Bohemia and Moravia. Austria, Styria, Carinthia, Carniola, and Istria all fell. By November 1276, he had no choice but to sign the Treaty of Vienna that left him only Bohemia and Moravia. Despite the massive defeat, he swore for vengeance and plotted a re-conquest of his lost territories.

Demise

For 2 years, Ottokar rebuilt his might and prepared once again to retake Austria. Leading his army personally, he marched south towards the site of his famous victory in Kressenbrun in 1560. However, on August 26, 1278, he met the coalition forces of the Empire and Hungary in Marchefeld near the village of Durnkrut. In the vicious melee, Ottokar fell in battle. Trampled by his enemies, the Bohemian Empire he built laid waste. In its wake, Bohemia fell at the mercy of Rudolf and his crown passed to his child Vaclav II. Ottokar, nevertheless, earned the respect of many rulers. Dante himself described Ottokar as one of the great Christian rulers.

Summing Up

Ottokar II brought about the apex of Premyslid power. He built an empire by taking advantage of family ties and deaths. His success, however, turned against him and his failure to recognize and going up against the balance of power cost him everything including his life. Nevertheless, the hope of a vast Premyslid domain continued with his successor and son – Vaclav II.

See also:

Premyslid Dynasty

Vaclav II

Bibliography:

Websites:

Burn, Tracy. "Premysl Otakar II: The Iron and Golden King." Private Prague Guide. Accessed on January 30, 2021. URL: https://www.private-prague-guide.com/article/premysl-otakar-ii-the-iron-and-golden-king/

Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica. "Otokar II." Encyclopedia Britannica. Accessed on January 30, 2021. URL: https://www.britannica.com/biography/Otakar-II

Books:

Gutkind, E.A. Urban Development in East-Central Europe: Poland, Czechoslovakia, and Hungary. New York, New York: The Free Press, 1972.

Mahoney, William. The History of the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Santa Barbara, California: Greenwood Press, 2011.