The younger son of Boleslav II was a strong and energetic Czech duke, who increased the prestige of Bohemia.
Ulrich’s character wasn’t any different from what was usual for the rapacious Premyslids. One of his first exploits was to save his life by escaping from his eldest brother Boleslav, who wanted him dead, and to flee out of Bohemia with his elder brother Jaromir and his mother.
After Boleslav III and his Polish allies had been banished, Jaromir became duke and returned with Ulrich to Bohemia. The latter’s discontent kept growing and his frustration culminated in 1012, when he deposited his brother from the throne and became duke. In order to secure his power, he eliminated Jaromir’s supporters in 1014 in the so-called Second slaughtering of the Vrsovetz family. This ambitious duke then turned his attention to foreign
affairs and focused on the conflicts against the then powerful Poland. In 1017 Ulrich managed to repel the Polish incursion led personally by Boleslav the Brave, the Polish ruler.
After the death of Boleslav in 1025, the power of Poland started to decrease and Ulrich exploited this fact to seize Moravia, which he later entrusted to his son.
Ulrich was a supporter of the Holy Roman Empire, nonetheless in the 30’s he made numerous autonomous decisions and he even gave shelter to the deposited Polish duke Mieszko II. In reaction to this, the Emperor deposited Ulrich and sent him into exile. Jaromir came back to power, but Ulrich was soon pardoned. He deposited and blinded his brother, while his own son had to flee from him into exile. Ulrich didn’t get to enjoy his power for long. He died during a banquet in the fall of 1034.
