- Etat: ** lion, weapon
- Année: 2006
The author designed the portraits of the last five Premyslid sovereigns - hereditary Bohemian kings as imaginary pictures which are nevertheless based on the anthropologic studies of skeleton remains of these persons conducted by Prof. MUDr. Emanuel Vlcek. O. Kulhanek maintained the common features of these sovereigns , e.g. the nasal base passing straight from the forehead area. Also their prominent cheek-bones are characteristic of the Premyslid family.
0476: With the succession of Premysl Otakar I (1198-1230) the Czech state overcame one of the heaviest crises in its history. The diplomatic mastership and warrior skills brought to Otakar and the country a time of calming of feuds and ceasing of prolonged wars. In 1198 he was granted the hereditary title of Czech king for Czech sovereigns, acknowledged in 1212 by the Golden Sicilian Bull regulating also the relationship between the Czech state and the Roman empire. In 1228 he let his son Wenceslas be coronated a Czech king. Two years later the approximately 70 years' old Premysl Otakar I died. He is burried in St Vitus' Church at Prague Castle.
0477: During the reign of Wenceslas I (1230-1253) both the economic and cultural prosperity continued. Silver mining industry was spreading in Bohemia, the king founded new castles and towns. However as a ruler Wenceslas I differed from his father. He loved merriments at the court, arts, poetry and hunting. He lost one of his eyes at a hunt. In 1241 he was one of the organizers of defence against the foray by Mongolian invaders of the Central Europe. With the exception of a part of Moravia the Czech lands were saved from the Mongolians. Wenceslas I was burried in Agnes Monastery in Prague.
0478: The politically integrated and strengthened Czech lands which were economically prosperous became the ideal base for territorial expansions of Premysl Otakar II (1253-1278). Gradually he obtained the Austrian and some Alpine countries. However he had no time to gain a strong control over the territories. The conflict with the Roman emperor Rudolf Habsburg and the subsequent defeat and death of Premysl Otakar II at the Moravian Field wrecked the hopeful expansion of the ambitious Iron and Golden King. His remains finally rested in St Vitus' Church in Prague.
0479: After the death of Premysl Otakar II the country was invaded by the Austrian and Brandenburgen troops. Instead of the minor Wenceslas the ruler was his guardian Otto von Brandenburg who kept Wenceslas imprisoned at Bezdez Castle and later on in Brandenburg. Wenceslas II (1283-1305) returned to Prague in 1283 but he remained under the influence of Zaviš of Falkenštejn who married his mother. Wenceslas II became the ruler in fact no earlier than in 1288. He proved to be an able diplomat and organizer. In 1300 he gained the Polish crown and secured for his son the Hungarian throne. He issued the Mining Code and had the Prague groschen coined. He obtained from Rudolf I Habsburg an acknowledgement for Czech kings of the position of emperor's elector. At the age of 34 years he died at Prague Castle from tuberculosis and like his son Wenceslas III, who died later on, he was burried at Zbraslav Monastery.
0480: Vaclav III (1305-1306) became the king at the age of sixteen. He finally abdicated the right to the insubordinating Hungary and tried to maintain the Polish crown. However at the beginning of the campaign against his Polish opponents he was mysteriously killed in Olomouc on 4 August 1306. The four hundred years ruling Premyslid dynasty died out on the spear side.
