King of Bohemia (1253-1278) and leader of two crusades to Prussia. Ottokar (Cz. Pfemysl Otakar) was born about 1230, the second son of King Wenceslas I (1230-1253).
Margrave of Moravia and heir apparent since 1247, Ottokar was accepted as duke of Austria by the nobles, clergy, and towns of that country in 1251, and he married Margaret, sister of the last Babenberg duke of Austria and Styria. Good contacts with the Teutonic Order helped him to strengthen his authority. Succeeding his father as king of Bohemia in September 1253, Ottokar tried to please both papal and imperial partisans by crusading in support of the Teutonic Order. At the instigation of Bishop Bruno of Olo-mouc, a visit to Bohemia was made in 1254 by Poppo von Osternohe, grand master of the Teutonic Order, and Heinrich von Streitberg, bishop-elect of Sambia, and in December Ottokar left for Prussia. From January to March 1255 he campaigned in Sambia, together with his brothers-in-law Otto III of Brandenburg and Henry of MeiCen. During this campaign the town of Konigsberg (mod. Kaliningrad, Russia), the future capital of Prussia, was founded: its name (“The King’s Mountain”) was bestowed in honor of Ottokar. Konigsberg was first mentioned in 1256, and the seal of its Teutonic commandery that is extant from 1262 shows Ottokar as king with crown, scepter, and globe.
Shortly after his return Ottokar promised yet another crusade, but war with Hungary took precedence. By his great victory in 1260 over Bela IV, king of Hungary, Ottokar won Styria, another part of the Babenberg inheritance. Finally, in 1269-1270 he made himself master of Carinthia and extended his dominions to the Adriatic Sea by the acquisition of Carniola. With the king’s help, the military orders built up their commanderies in his lands. Meanwhile, the defeat of the Teutonic Knights by the Samogitians in 1260 made another crusade to Prussia desirable. Ottokar’s brother-in-law Otto III of Brandenburg went there in 1266-1267. Ottokar himself postponed his departure because he wanted the papacy to appoint Bishop Bruno of Olomouc as archbishop for his realm. This was finally agreed to by the papal legate Cardinal Guido at Vienna in May 1267. After a treaty with the Teutonic Order in September 1267 regarding future conquests Ottokar went to Prussia (December 1267 to February 1268). However, the king returned, using the incipient thaw as an excuse, when he learned that Pope Clement IV would not confirm the decisions of the Vienna synod.
In 1273 the German electors, who distrusted the Czech monarch, chose Rudolf of Habsburg, a Swabian count with limited resources, as the next king of the Romans. In vain Ottokar’s counselor Bruno of Olomouc (a son of Count Adolf von Schauenburg, who had been present when the Teutonic Order was founded in the Holy Land) pointed out to Pope Gregory X that a powerful emperor was needed to lead successful crusades against the pagans on the eastern frontiers of the empire. To counter such propaganda and to obtain papal goodwill for his imperial coronation, Rudolf himself promised a crusade. Rudolf then outlawed Ottokar and invaded Austria. There Ottokar’s strict government and heavy taxation had fostered resentment, and as a consequence, he was deserted and defeated. In November 1276 he had to renounce possession of all territories except Bohemia and Moravia. Though royal marriages were planned to heal the breach, Ottokar soon tried to reassert himself. But he was defeated by Rudolf at Durnkrut in eastern Austria and killed on the battlefield on 26 August 1278. Bohemia and Moravia passed to his infant son Wences-las II, whereas the Habsburg family remained firmly established in Austria and Styria.
-Karl Borchardt
See also: Baltic Crusades; Bohemia and Moravia
Bibliography
Graus, Frantisek, “Premysl Otakar II.—sein Ruhm und sein Nachleben,” Mitteilungen des Instituts fur Osterreichische Geschichtsforschung 79 (1971), 5-110.
Hoensch, Jorg K., Premysl Otakar II. vom Bohmen: Der goldene Konig (Graz: Styria, 1989).
Kuthan, Jiri, Premysl Otakar II: Krdl zelezny a zlaty krdl, zakladatel a mecends (Vimperg: Nakl. Tina, 1993).
-, Premysl Ottokar II., Konig, Bauherr, Mdzen: Hoftsche
Kunst im 13. Jahrhundert (Wien: Bohlau, 1996).
Novotny, Vaclav, Ceske dejiny, 1/4: Rozmach ceske moci za Premysla Otakara II (Praha: Laichter, 1937).
2emlicka, Josef, Stoleti poslednich Premyslovcu: Cesky stdt a spolecnost ve 13. stoleti (Praha: Panorama, 1986).
World History
