The Duchy of Bohemia was the early medieval Czech state, ruled from Prague by the Přemyslid dynasty from the late ninth century until 1198, when Duke Ottokar I won a hereditary royal title. Beginning as a dependency of Great Moravia, it became a strong regional power and, from 1002, a member state of the Holy Roman Empire, while keeping much of its own identity. It is the direct ancestor of the Kingdom of Bohemia and of the modern Czech Republic.
Before the duchy
Slavic peoples settled the basin enclosed by the Bohemian Forest, the Ore Mountains, the Sudetes and the Bohemian-Moravian Highlands around the year 550. The name Bohemia, probably from the Celtic Boii, first appears in Frankish sources of the ninth century. In 805 Charlemagne invaded; the Czechs avoided open battle and forced him to withdraw, but after a renewed campaign the following year the local tribes submitted to the Carolingian Empire.
Great Moravia and independence
As Frankish power faded in the mid-ninth century, Bohemia came under the influence of Great Moravia. The Přemyslid prince Bořivoj, baptised under Moravian influence, moved his seat to Prague Castle around 880. After Great Moravia weakened under Magyar attacks, his son Spytihněv in 895 swore allegiance instead to the East Frankish king Arnulf at Regensburg, and Bohemia began to develop as a separate principality.
Wenceslaus and Boleslaus
Duke Wenceslaus, who ruled from 921, submitted to the German king Henry I in 929 and was later murdered by his brother Boleslaus, who took power in 935. Wenceslaus came to be venerated as Bohemia's patron saint. Boleslaus I conquered Moravia and Silesia and pushed as far as Kraków, but after a long conflict he accepted the overlordship of Otto I in 950. Bohemian troops fought beside the Germans against the Magyars at the Battle of Lechfeld in 955. In 973 a bishopric was founded at Prague, subject to the archbishop of Mainz. In 995 the Přemyslids defeated their rivals, the Slavník family, and united the Czech lands under one ruling house.
Within the empire
In 1002 Duke Vladivoj received Bohemia as a fief from the German king Henry II, making it part of the empire. Poland's Bolesław I briefly seized the country soon afterwards, but was driven out in 1004. Bretislaus I regained Moravia, which thereafter was usually held by a junior member of the ducal family, and in 1039 raided Poland as far as Gniezno, though the German king Henry forced him in 1041 to give up all his gains except Moravia. Two dukes won personal royal titles as rewards for supporting the emperors: Vratislaus II in 1085 and Vladislaus II in 1158. Neither title passed to their heirs.
Economy and society
The duchy profited in the tenth and eleventh centuries from Prague's slave trade, which sent captives taken from pagan Slav peoples as far as Muslim Spain. Mining of silver and tin in the Ore Mountains began in the early twelfth century. Christianity spread through missions from Moravia and from the Bavarian bishops of Regensburg and Passau.
Becoming a kingdom
During the German civil war between Philip of Swabia and Otto IV, Duke Ottokar I backed Philip and was rewarded in 1198 with a royal crown, this time hereditary. In 1212 the emperor Frederick II confirmed the title for Ottokar and his descendants in the Golden Bull of Sicily, which also freed Bohemia from most imperial obligations. The duchy had become the Kingdom of Bohemia, which the Přemyslids ruled until their male line died out in 1306.
On our maps
Our 1100 map shows the Duchy of Bohemia within the Holy Roman Empire. Our 1200 map still uses the name, although Ottokar I had been raised to king in 1198.
From the atlas
Duchy of Bohemia on our maps
Borders of Time draws the Duchy of Bohemia on 2 of its 54 world maps, from 1100 CE to 1200 CE. Its largest extent is on the 1100 CE map, covering about 83,400 km² (32,200 sq mi), roughly the size of Portugal today.
On that map it borders the Holy Roman Empire, Hungary and Poland.
On the map before it appears (1000 CE), the same area belongs to the Holy Roman Empire. On the map after its last appearance (1279 CE), it belongs to the Holy Roman Empire.
- 1100 CE83,400 km²
- 1200 CE83,400 km²
Measured from the historical-basemaps snapshots this atlas uses. Borders in those maps are approximate, especially for early periods.
Quick answers
- When did the Duchy of Bohemia exist?
- From 870 CE to 1198, about 330 years. The atlas draws it on its maps from 1100 to 1200.
- Where was the Duchy of Bohemia?
- At its largest, on the 1100 map, its land lies in today’s the Czech Republic (90%), with smaller parts in Austria, Germany and Poland. On that map it borders the Holy Roman Empire, Hungary and Poland.
- What was the capital of the Duchy of Bohemia?
- Prague.
- How big was the Duchy of Bohemia?
- The Duchy of Bohemia was largest on the 1100 map, at about 83,400 km² (32,200 sq mi).