Bregetislav I

Bregetislav I led an active foreign policy, fought against Poland and Hungary . Even in the reign of his father, he received West Moravia ( 1029 ).

In a campaign of 1030 on Hungary, the German emperor was supported by Czech troops led by Bregetislav.

In 1035, Bregetislav helped Emperor Conrad II in his war against the Lutches .

Taking advantage of the unrest in Poland after the death of Meshko II and the change of power in Germany, Bregetislav attacked Poland and captured Poznan , plundered Krakow and Gniezno . Many Poles were taken prisoner. On the way back he conquered part of Silesia including Wroclaw . Towards the army of the German king Henry III , who was to punish for this raid, Bregetislav sent his son as a hostage with a promise to come himself to take the oath. The German king Henry III, fearing the strengthening of Břetislav, began a war against the prince who had violated the word. Having invaded Bohemia in two armies in 1040 , he was forced to retreat after a defeat in the Bohemian Forest, since Bregetislav received reinforcements from the Hungarians.

In 1041, Henry III again with three armies, from the north, west and south, opposed Bohemia. When the troops stood near Prague , Brzetislav was forced to submit, not having received support from the Czech nobility. On October 15, 1041, in penitential robes, he took the oath of allegiance at the Imperial Diet in Regensburg , paid a fine of 4,000 marks in gold and was granted as boens by Bohemia and two Polish provinces - probably part of Silesia and Breslau . From now on, he remained faithful to Henry III for life, often was at court and supported his military activities. Since that time, the Czech Republic became part of the Holy Roman Empire .

In 1042, Bregetislav participated in the campaign of Henry III to Hungary against Abu Chamuel . The campaign was not very successful.

In 1044, Bregetislav again participated in the campaign of the German king in Hungary. This time, Aba Chamuel was utterly defeated, imprisoned and then executed.

In Poland, Casimir I strengthened his power, the claims of which the German emperor at first rejected. But since Casimir, as a characteristic of Yaroslav the Wise and King Andrei of Hungary, was able to achieve it by force, the emperor in 1054 ordered Prince Bregetislav to return Casimir Breslau and other cities of Silesia for 500 marks of silver and 30 marks of annual gold tribute to establish a long peace between the countries .

In 1054, Břetislav I passed a law according to which Bohemia should continue to be an indivisible principality: the oldest of the kind should successively take over the throne, and the other princes should be endowed with possessions in Moravia ( Lex Brzetislawii ). This succession law, giving rise to frequent disputes, lasted until 1216 , when King Przemysl Ottokar I introduced the law on inheritance by his eldest son.

In 1055, Břetislav died in Chrudim during the preparations for the invasion of Hungary. After the death of Bregetislav, his eldest son Spitigniew was granted the emperor in Bavaria .

Bregetislav married the sister of Margrave Schweinfurt Otton White Judith (d. 1058). She was abducted by Bregetislav from a Bavarian monastery, standing on the River Main . Children:

• Spytignev II (1031-1061), Prince of the Czech Republic;
• Vratislav II (d. 1093), Prince of the Czech Republic;
• Conrad I (d. 1093), Prince of Western Moravia;
• Jaromir (d. 1090), Bishop of Prague in 1067-1073 and 1074-1090;
• Ota I , Prince of Moravia.

• Bregetislav I // Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary : in 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional). - SPb. , 1890-1907.
• Przhemylovichi // Agamov A.M. Dynasties of Europe 400–2016: Complete genealogy of possessive houses. URSS 2017.1120 s. ISBN 978-5-9710-3935-8