Přemyslid dynasty in the context of "Bohemian Crown"

The Duchy of Bohemia, also later referred to in English as the Czech Duchy, (Old Czech: Češské kniežěstvie) was a monarchy and a principality of the Holy Roman Empire in Central Europe during the Early and High Middle Ages. It was formed around 870 by Czechs as part of the Great Moravian realm. Bohemia separated from disintegrating Great Moravia after Duke Spytihněv swore fealty to the East Frankish king Arnulf in 895.

While the Bohemian dukes of the Přemyslid dynasty, at first ruling at Prague Castle and Levý Hradec, brought further estates under their control, the Christianization initiated by Saints Cyril and Methodius was continued by the Frankish bishops of Regensburg and Passau. In 973, the Diocese of Prague was founded through the joint efforts of Duke Boleslaus II and Emperor Otto I. Later Duke Wenceslaus I of Bohemia, killed by his younger brother Boleslaus in September 935, became the land's patron saint.

The Lands of the Bohemian Crown were the states in Central Europe during the medieval and early modern periods with feudal obligations to the Bohemian kings. The crown lands primarily consisted of the Kingdom of Bohemia, an electorate of the Holy Roman Empire according to the Golden Bull of 1356, the Margraviate of Moravia, the duchies of Silesia, and the two Lusatias, known as the Margraviate of Upper Lusatia and the Margraviate of Lower Lusatia, as well as other territories throughout its history. This agglomeration of states nominally under the rule of the Bohemian kings was referred to simply as Bohemia.

The joint rule of Corona regni Bohemiae was legally established by decree of King Charles IV issued on 7 April 1348, on the foundation of the original Czech lands ruled by the Přemyslid dynasty until 1306. By linking the territories, the interconnection of crown lands thus no more belonged to a king or a dynasty but to the Bohemian monarchy itself, symbolized by the Crown of Saint Wenceslas. During the reign of King Ferdinand I from 1526, the lands of the Bohemian Crown became a constituent part of the Habsburg monarchy. A large part of Silesia was lost in the mid-18th century, but the rest of the Lands passed to the Austrian Empire and the Cisleithanian half of Austria-Hungary. By the Czechoslovak declaration of independence in 1918, the remaining Czech lands became part of the First Czechoslovak Republic.

Wenceslaus II Přemyslid (Czech: Václav II.; Polish: Wacław II Czeski; 27 September 1271 – 21 June 1305) was King of Bohemia (1278–1305), Duke of Cracow (1291–1305), and King of Poland (1296–1305).

He was the only son of King Ottokar II of Bohemia and Ottokar's second wife Kunigunda. He was born in 1271, ten years after the marriage of his parents. Kunigunda was the daughter of Rostislav Mikhailovich, lord of Slavonia, son of a Grand Prince of Kiev, and Anna of Hungary, daughter of Béla IV of Hungary. His great-grandfather was the German king Philip of Swabia. Wenceslaus II was the grandfather of the Holy Roman Emperor, Charles IV. He was a member of the Přemyslid dynasty.

Przemysł II (Polish: [ˈpʂɛmɨsw] also given in English and Latin as Premyslas or Premislaus or in Polish as Przemysław; 14 October 1257 – 8 February 1296) was the Duke of Poznań from 1257–1279, of Greater Poland from 1279 to 1296, of Kraków from 1290 to 1291, and Gdańsk Pomerania (Pomerelia) from 1294 to 1296, and then King of Poland from 1295 until his death. After a long period of Polish high dukes and two nominal kings, he was the first to obtain the hereditary title of king, and thus to return Poland to the rank of kingdom. A member of the Greater Poland branch of the House of Piast as the only son of Duke Przemysł I and the Silesian Princess Elisabeth, he was born posthumously; for this reason he was brought up at the court of his uncle Bolesław the Pious and received his own district to rule, the Duchy of Poznań in 1273. Six years later, after the death of his uncle, he also obtained the Duchy of Kalisz.

In the first period of his government, Przemysł II was involved only in regional affairs, first in close collaboration and then competing with the Duke of Wrocław, Henryk IV Probus. This policy caused the rebellion of the prominent Zaremba family and the temporary loss of Wieluń. Working with the Archbishop of Gniezno, Jakub Świnka, he sought the unification of the principalities of the Piast dynasty. Unexpectedly, in 1290, under the will of Henryk IV Probus, he managed to obtain the Duchy of Kraków and with this the title of High Duke of Poland; however, not having sufficient support from the local nobility (who supported another member of the Piast dynasty, Władysław I the Elbow-high) and faced with the increasing threats of King Wenceslaus II of Bohemia, Przemysł II finally decided to retreat from Lesser Poland, which was then under the rule of Přemyslid dynasty.

Spytihněv I (c. 875 – 915), a member of the Přemyslid dynasty, was Duke of Bohemia from 889 (under regency until 894 or 895) until his death in 915.

Levý Hradec is an early medieval Bohemian gord situated 3 km northwest of Prague borders near Roztoky, in the Czech Republic. This fortified settlement served as the original seat of Bořivoj I, the first known Přemyslid ruler. It was built on a promontory on the left bank of the Vltava River approximately in mid-9th century.

The first Christian church was built here shortly after Bořivoj I converted to Christianity. This church was consecrated to St. Clement.

Boleslaus II the Pious (Czech: Boleslav II. Pobožný Polish: Bolesław II. Pobożny; c. 932 – 7 February 999), a member of the Přemyslid dynasty, was Duke of Bohemia from 972 until his death in 999.

Boleslaus I (Czech: Boleslav I. Ukrutný; 915–972), a member of the Přemyslid dynasty, was ruler (kníže, "prince") of the Duchy of Bohemia from 935 until his death in 972. He is notorious for the murder of his elder brother Wenceslaus I, through which he became duke. As duke, his decisions surrounding his dynasty led to the Roman Catholic conversion of Poland, which in turn led to the recognition of the Polish state by the papacy. This recognition helped to define medieval Poland as one of the first modern states.

Boleslaus I is generally respected by Czech historians as an energetic ruler who significantly strengthened the Bohemian state and expanded its territory. This perspective is fairly modern, as Boleslaus was often overshadowed by his brother Wenceslaus in terms of historical legacy. Certain medieval historians, notably Cosmas of Prague, overtly present Boleslaus as a cruel figure, particularly after the death of his brother. Over time, this perspective has evolved as modern historians have acknowledged his accomplishments as Duke through a more historically objective lens.

Ludmilla (Ludmiła) of Bohemia (died 14 August 1240) was a daughter of Frederick, Duke of Bohemia, and his wife, Elizabeth of Hungary. Ludmilla was a member of the Přemyslid dynasty. She was Duchess consort of Bavaria by her marriage to Louis I, Duke of Bavaria.