Duchy of Troppau
Duchy of Troppau | |||||||||
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| 1269–1918 | |||||||||
 Flag
 Coat of arms
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 Silesia 1249-1273: Opava underNicholas Iin turquoise | |||||||||
| Status | Silesian duchy Fiefdom ofBohemia Part of theLands of the Bohemian Crown(since 1348) | ||||||||
| Capital | Troppau | ||||||||
| Common languages | Czech,German,Polish | ||||||||
| Religion | Roman Catholicism,Protestantism | ||||||||
| Historical era | Middle Ages | ||||||||
• Partitioned fromMoravia | 1269 | ||||||||
| 1337 | |||||||||
• Partitioned from Racibórz | 1377 | ||||||||
• Further partitions | 1424, 1433 and 1452 | ||||||||
• Directly toBohemia | 1462 | ||||||||
• Northern part toPrussia | 1742 | ||||||||
• abolished | 1918 | ||||||||
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| Today part of | |||||||||
ThePrincipality of Opava(Czech:Opavské knížectví;Polish:Księstwo Opawskie) orDuchy of Troppau(German:Herzogtum Troppau) was a historic territory split off from theMargraviate of Moraviabefore 1269[1]by KingOttokar II of Bohemiato provide for his natural son,Nicholas I.The Opava territory thus had not been part of the original PolishDuchy of Silesiain 1138, and was first ruled by an illegitimate offshoot of the BohemianPřemyslid dynasty,not by theSilesian Piastslike many of the neighbouringSilesian duchies.Its capital wasOpava(Troppau) in the modern-dayCzech Republic.
From 1337 onwards, the Přemyslid dukes also ruled the adjacent former PiastDuchy of Racibórz,whereupon Opava became united with theUpper Silesianlands. When the Opava branch became extinct in 1464, it fell back to theBohemian Crown,from 1526 part of theHabsburg monarchy.In the final three centuries of its existence, the duchy was ruled by theHouse of Liechtenstein.It was dissolved with theAustro-Hungarian Empirein 1918, but the title ofDuke of Troppau and Jägerndorfstill exists, belonging to a present-day monarch, PrinceHans-Adam II of Liechtenstein.TheDuchy of Jägerndorf(Krnov) was another of the Silesian duchies.
History[edit]
Opava was initially established as a Moravian province under the rule of King Ottokar's son Nicholas I, who first appeared as a "Lord of Opava" (Latin:Dominus Oppaviae) in 1269 and became the progenitor of the Opava branch of the Přemyslid dynasty. After Ottokar was killed in the 1278Battle on the Marchfeld,Nicholas had to ward off against claims raised by his stepmotherKunigunda of Halychand her loverZáviš of Falkensteinresiding atHradecCastle near Opava. Nevertheless, he reached his confirmation by both theHabsburgkingRudolf I of Germanyand his stepbrother KingWenceslaus II of Bohemiaand retained his territory even after the murder of the last Přemyslid kingWenceslaus III of Bohemiain 1306.
Upon the extinction of the royal branch of the Přemyslid dynasty and the subsequent turmoil around the Bohemian throne,Henry of Carinthiagave Opava in pawn to the Silesian dukeBolesław III the Generous.When finally in 1310 the mightyHouse of Luxembourgascended to the throne, it was redeemed by KingJohn of Bohemiain 1311. Opava was officially raised to a duchy in 1318 and was confirmed as a fief for Nicholas' son DukeNicholas IIby King John,[2]who soon had to fend off the Hungarian troops of KingCasimir III of Poland.[3]The conjunction with Silesia was accomplished when Duke Nicholas II marriedAnna of Racibórz,sister of the Piast DukeLeszek of Racibórz,also a Bohemian vassal since 1327. When Leszek died without heirs in 1336, King John vested his brother-in-law Nicholas II with the SilesianDuchy of Racibórz(Ratibor,Ratiboř), whereafter he ruled both duchies inpersonal unionuntil his death in 1365, when his eldest son John I succeeded him.
In 1377, Duke John I again separated Opava from the duchies ofRacibórzandKrnov(Jägerndorf,Krnów) and granted it to his younger brothers Nicholas III (†1394), Wenceslaus I (†1381) and Przemko (†1433). Afterward, Opava ownership changed several times, mainly due to purchase and partitions. Przemko's sons sold their shares to the Bohemian kingGeorge of Poděbradyby 1462; their Přemyslid cousins however retained Racibórz and Krnov. In 1465 King George gave Opava to his second sonVictor,who also became Duke ofMünsterbergin 1462. Victor in turn had to cede it to the Bohemian anti-kingMatthias Corvinusin 1485, who installed his illegitimate sonJohnas duke.
In 1506 KingVladislas II Jagiellonof Bohemia granted Opava to DukeCasimir II of Cieszyn(Teschen), who had married a daughter of Victor and held the duchy until his death in 1528, after which it was again seized by Bohemia. Meanwhile, in 1521, with the death of Duke Valentin of Racibórz, the Opava line of the Přemyslids had finally become extinct and all their possessions had fallen back to the Bohemian Crown, which in 1526 passed to theHabsburg monarchy.PrinceKarl I of Liechtenstein[4]was invested with the Duchy of Troppau in 1614 by EmperorMatthias of Habsburg.After the 1620Battle of White MountainPrince Karl also acquired theDuchy of Krnov,and ever since the heads of thePrincely Family of Liechtenstein[citation needed]bear the title "Duke of Troppau and Jägerndorf". The relatedDucal Hat(or coronet) is now visible at the Treasure Chamber in Vaduz.
In 1742, in the course of theFirst Silesian Warand theTreaty of Breslau,the Duchy was divided once more, with the part north of theOpava RiverincludingGłubczyce(Leobschütz,Hlubčice) andHlučín(Hultschin) becoming part ofPrussia.The southern part withKrnov,Bruntál(Freudenthal),Fulnekand Opava itself remained part ofAustrian Silesia,a crown land of theAustrian Empirefrom 1804.
The Austrian Duchy of Troppau ceased to exist when theAustro-Hungarian Empirewas dissolved in 1918 and the area (Troppauer Land) including the city became part ofCzechoslovakia.The Prussian share (reduced by the territory of theHlučín Regionwhich new Czechoslovak state also reclaimed for itself) remained a part of theSilesian provinceuntil 1945, when it fell toPolandin accord with thePotsdam Agreement.
See also[edit]
Literature[edit]
- ^https://books.google.com/books?lr=&q=%22von+troppau%22+1269&start=10&as_brr=3[bare URL]
- ^Hans Ferdinand Helmolt: The World's History: A Survey of Man's Record, 1907,[1]
- ^Geary, Patrick J.: Readings in Medieval History
- ^Prince Karl IArchived9 January 2008 at theWayback Machine
- Seidl, Elmar: Das Troppauer Land zwischen den fünf Südgrenzen Schlesiens – Grundzüge der politischen und territorialen Geschichte bis zur Mitte des 19. Jahrhunderts. Berlin: Gebr. Mann.ISBN3-7861-1626-1[2]
External links[edit]
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