Vratislav I.
Vratislav I (* around 888; † February 13, 921 ) was a Bohemian Duke of the Přemyslid family and father of St. Wenceslas .
Life
Vratislav was the son of Duke Bořivoj I and his wife Ludmilla . Since about 906 he was married to Drahomíra from the West Slavic tribe of the Hevellers . From this marriage came among others St. Wenceslas , Boleslav I and probably another son named Spytihněv and four daughters.
In 895, after the death of the Moravian prince Svatopluk I , Vratislav and his brother Spytihněv I visited King Arnolf in Regensburg in order to put the Premyslid rule under his protection. In 915, after Spytihněv's death, he took control of the central Bohemian region around Prague , which he exercised until his death in 921.
In terms of foreign policy, Bohemia was under the influence of the Bavarian Duke Arnulf during his reign . To protect itself against the growing threat from the Saxon dukes , Bohemia concluded further alliances. The marriage of Vratislav to Drahomíra connected the country with the most powerful Elbe Slav tribe at the time . He granted the Magyar warriors, who invaded the west from the beginning of the 10th century, free passage through Bohemia, and in 915 Bohemian warriors took part in a Hungarian raid in Saxony.
Inside, the sons of the first Christian Bohemian Duke Bořivoj strengthened the dominant role of the Přemyslid dynasty. They built new castles on the borders of their sphere of influence and pushed back the influence of other Bohemian princes. The few written and archaeological sources do not allow the two brothers to be more precisely defined in the process of state formation. It is certain that in 897 several princes last appeared in Regensburg as representatives of Bohemia. Vratislav's son Wenceslaus, on the other hand, was already the undisputed ruler of the entire country in 929, even if the local principalities continued to exist. During the 20-year Spytihněv reign and the subsequent 6-year rule of Vratislav, the Přemyslid dynasty finally prevailed.
Vratislav died at the age of 33. His grave is said to be in St. George's Basilica in Prague Castle .
The name of today's Polish city of Breslau (Wrocław) probably goes back to Vratislav. He is said to have founded the city, which was under Bohemian rule in the 10th century, according to legend.
literature
- Dušan Třeštík: Počátky Přemyslovců . Nakladatelství lidové noviny, 1998, ISBN 80-7106-138-7
Individual evidence
- ↑ Keyword Vratislav I. , in Ottův slovník naučný p. 998 digitized online
- ↑ Breslau - Wroclaw 1000–1763. In: deutscheundpolen.de/orte. Retrieved January 11, 2015 .
| predecessor | Office | successor |
|---|---|---|
| Spytihněv I. |
Duke of Bohemia 915–921 |
Wenceslaus |
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Vratislav I. |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Duke of Bohemia from the Premyslid family and the father of St. Wenceslaus |
| DATE OF BIRTH | at 888 |
| DATE OF DEATH | February 13, 921 |