Medieval bohemia and the House of Luxembourg’s rule

When the young king Wenceslaus III was killed in 1306, no male heir of Přemyslid dynasty was left to the throne, and the Luxembourg dynasty, a medieval Holy Roman Empire noble family, came to rule Bohemia.

In 1310 Wenceslaus’ daughter Eliška married John the Blind of Luxemburg (Jan Lucemburský, in Czech), who became, in this way, one of the seven electors of the Holy Roman Empire (in addition to being a Count of Luxembourg) and retained the Bohemia crown after his wife’s death.

John the Blind has gained adoration thanks to his participation in the fight alongside the French army at the Battle of Crecy in 1346, despite his blindeness. He was killed in this fight. John the Blind was also admired in Bohemia for the permission to build the municipality he granted to Prague inhabitants.

Finally, during his reign, Arnošt of Pardubice was appointed (1344) as the first Archbishop of Prague, so that Prague became an Archbishopry. The first Archbishop founded the gothic Saint Vitus Cathedral in the 1344.

The most famous member of Luxemburg dynasty was, no doubt, John’s eldest son Charles. The future Holy Roman Emperor (1355 – 1378), King of Bohemia (1346 – 1378), Count of Luxembourg (1346 – 1353) and Margrave of Brandenburg (1373 – 1378), was born as Wenceslaus, but changed his name to Charles IV at his confirmation due to his French education.

During Charles IV reign, Prague reached the peak of prosperity and glory. As a Holy Roman Emperor, Charles IV moved his residence to Prague and turned it into the capital of the Empire. In addition, he put his efforts on the economic and cultural development of his country. In the 1348, the first central European University - Univerzita Karlova (Charles University) – was founded. Univerzita Karlova was German speaking university till the end of the 19th century, when using the Czech language was widely encouraged.

Apart from the University, Charles IV expanded the building in Prague (especially in the Nové Město), including many churches and monasteries, as well as the Karlštejn Castle. In 1357, Charles IV replaced the destroyed Judith Bridge by a new gothic Bridge, named Kamenný most (the Stone bridge) or Pražský most (the Prague Bridge). In the 1870, the beautiful historical building was named after the bridge pioneer Charles Karlův most (Charles Bridge).

Between the years 1360 – 1362, Charles IV had carried out another project of tremendous importance, albeit not as famous as (Charles Bridge is: the building of Hladová zeď (The hunger wall) on (Petřín Hill. This project’s aim was to provide employment and income to Prague’s residents, who suffered from hunger.

In 1378, Václav IV, Charles’ son and successor, was coroneted as the Holy Roman Emperor. In 1380, the black plague, which has raged in Europe, decimated many Bohemian citizens. The Jews, who were accused of the plague, suffered from violent attacks. As a ruler, Charles’ son and successor Václav IV was not as successful as his father and was considered to be of weak nature. For instance, he had abolished an extra rights granted to the German lecturers in Charles University compared to the Czech lecturers, but his behaviour was politically wrong. His decision to grant extra rights to Czech lecturers instead of Germans caused mass German migration from Prague, followed by establishing their own University at Leipzig. In addition, he let Saint John of Nepomuk to be tortured to death, and failed in his attempt to protect Jan Hus who was executed during Václav’s reign.