14.12.1092, death of the first Czech king Vratislav II.

He was born around 1031, as the second-born son of Prince Břetislav I and Jitka of Svinibrod. After the death of his father, his elder brother Spytihnev II became the ruling prince, Vratislav inherited the Olomouc destiny according to his father's will. His other siblings are Conrad I of Brno, Ota of Olomouc and Bishop Jaromír.

During his time in Moravia 1055-1056 he gets into a dispute with his brother Spytihnev II and runs away to hide in Hungary at the court of the Hungarian king Ondrej I. His pregnant wife dies prematurely during the journey. In 1057, Vratislav married Ondrej's daughter Adleta. The dispute with his brother is settled and in 1058 Vratislav returns to Moravia. In 1061, Prince Spytihnev II dies and Vratislav ascends the princely throne as Vratislav II.

Foreign Policy :

During his reign, Vratislaus II became a staunch ally of Emperor Henry IV in his disputes with the Poles, Mishna, and Henry's anti-king Rudolf of Swabia. Vratislaus also became an important player in the dispute between Emperor Henry IV and Pope Gregory VII in the so-called struggle over investiture, i.e. whether a secular monarch had the right to elect and install church dignitaries. Poland and Hungary sided with the Pope, while Wrocław remained loyal to Henry. In 1085, at a court congress in Mainz, Vratislaus II received a royal crown (non-hereditary, for his person only) from Henry IV for his loyal services. As King of Bohemia, he used the title Vratislav I.

Domestic politics:

After ascending to the princely throne, he assigned the Moravian estates to his brothers Conrad and Otto; the youngest, Jaromir, had a future as bishop of Prague planned. As was the rule among the Premyslids, relations between the brothers were not the best. There was a dispute with Jaromir, who was supported by Conrad and Ota.

Vratislav wanted to reduce the influence of the Prague bishopric and so he established the Olomouc bishopric, which fell under the Archbishopric of Mainz and the Visegrad Chapter, which was directly subordinate to Rome. Both Emperor Henry and Pope Gregory interfered in their dispute. The situation was resolved in 1090, when Jaromir died on his way to Rome. After the death of Ota of Olomouc in 1086, Vratislav got into a dispute with his brother Conrad, who defended the rights of Ota's descendants to the Olomouc fief, which Vratislav entrusted to his son Boleslav.

In 1091 Vratislav besieges Brno, but during the siege his son Břetislav leads a revolt in the army. However, the tangled situation eventually turns against the young rebel. Vratislav reconciled with his brother Conrad I of Brno and appointed him as his successor to the princely throne. Bretislav flees to Hungary.

In mid-January 1092, King Vratislav I dies from a fall from his horse while hunting. He is buried at Vyšehrad, but the place of his grave has not yet been found. During his reign the power and prestige of the Czech state grew considerably, but thanks to his successors this soon changed again.

Jindřich Krejčí - PilotK
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