Wenceslaus II, King of Bohemia
From Free net encyclopedia
Wenceslaus II Premyslid (Czech: Václav II; Polish: Wacław II Czeski; September 17, 1271 – June 21, 1305) was King of Bohemia (1278 - 1305), Duke of Kraków (1291 - 1305), King of Poland (1300 - 1305).
Václav II was the son of Ottokar II "the Great," King of Bohemia, and Kunegunda, daughter of Rostislav, Grand Duke of Kyiv. Václav's father died in battle August 26, 1278, shortly before Václav's seventh birthday.
Václav's early reign was tainted with abuses of power by his regent, Otto, Margrave of Brandenburg, and later by his mother's secret husband, Zavis of Falckenstein.
On January 24, 1285, Václav married Judith (Jutta) von Habsburg, daughter of Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf I. In 1290 Václav had Zavis beheaded and began ruling independently.
In 1291 Václav was invited by a group of Polish lords to take over the Duchy of Kraków, and in 1300 he was crowned King of Poland. He was planning to invade Austria when he died in 1305. He was succeeded by his son, Václav III, last of the Premyslid kings.
In 1298, silver was discovered at Kutná Hora, in central Bohemia. Václav took control of the mine by making silver production a royal monopoly. 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.
Václav's daughter by Judith, Elizabeth (Eliska), married John "the Blind" of Luxembourg. Judith died in 1297.
Václav's second wife was Elisabeth Richeza, daughter of Przemysł II, King of Poland 1295 - 1296. After Václav's death, she married Rudolph of Habsburg. Image:WaclawII.jpg
See also
Template:Start box Template:Succession box Template:End box
Template:Monarchs of Polandcs:Václav II. de:Wenzel II. (Böhmen) eo:Venceslao la 2-a fr:Venceslas II de Bohême (roi) lv:Vāclavs II ja:ヴァーツラフ2世 pl:Wacław II Czeski uk:Вацлав II zh:瓦茨拉夫二世