Bretislav I of Bohemia 1 2 3
- Born: Cir 1002-1005, Prague, Czechoslovakia
- Marriage: Judith von Schweinfurt in 1035
- Died: 10 Jan 1055, Chrudim, Czechoslovakia aged 52
Other names for Bretislav were Bretislav the Restorer, Bretislav Obnovitel and Brzetislav I.
General Notes:
Prince of Bohemia from 1034 to 1055, who permanently attached the province of Moravia to Bohemia.
Bretislav succeeded his father, Oldrich, to the Bohemian throne after a period of dynastic struggles. He proceeded to win back lands that earlier had been lost to Poland, regaining in two great campaigns not only all of Moravia but also Silesia and Kraków. He also captured Poznan and Gniezno, but his ambitions for a greater West Slav nation troubled the Holy Roman emperor Henry III, who mounted an armed invasion and compelled Bretislav to evacuate all of Poland except Silesia (which nevertheless was returned to Poland some years later). Bretislav's efforts to regain Slovakia from Hungary were unsuccessful (it did not return to Czech control until 1918).
To obviate the incessant struggles that had endangered Bohemia at every vacancy of the throne, Bretislav, with the consent of the nobles, decreed that the oldest member of the house of Premysl should be the ruler of Bohemia. Bretislav was therefore succeeded first by his eldest son, Spytihnev II (1031-61), and then by his second son, Vratislav II (c. 1035-92).
Noted events in his life were:
Acceded: Duke of Bohemia, 1034.
Bretislav married Judith von Schweinfurt, daughter of Henry von Schweinfurt and Gerberge von Henneberg, in 1035. (Judith von Schweinfurt died on 2 Aug 1058.)
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