14. století
Wencelsas II - 2nd part
End of the story about the preeminent king
Significant photo
Fotogalerie
Info text
In 1300 the king got married for the second time, to Richenza the heiress of Greater Poland, and he was crowned King of Poland in Gniezno. In 1301 the House of the Arpads died off and part of the preeminent Hungarian magnates offered the crown to the Premyslids. Wenceslas accepted it in the name of his son Wenceslas, who was named Vladislas V King of Hungary in 1301.
At that time, the Premyslid lands were covering the largest territory ever, and the Roman King with the Pope were at the head of the opposition against the King of Bohemia. In spite of the great financial resources of the Premyslids, three realms and a huge territory were too much, and the pressure from Poland (Vladislas the Short) and Hungary
(Charles Robert of Anjou, supported by the Pope and the Roman King) meant that Wenceslas temporarily relinquished the Hungarian crown in 1304. By the end of the year, the army of the Roman King invaded Bohemia and besieged Kutna Hora. But eventually, an epidemic in the army and the clever strategy of Wenceslas of avoiding battle led to the collapse of the Roman King’s army, which he wasn’t able to pay anymore, resulting in his defeat without any major battle. The following year, everybody awaited another rise by Wenceslas II, but the king was unexpectedly affected by a pulmonary disease – it was a chronic disease from which he was suffering – and he died in the middle of big plans at the age of 34.
