The Battle of Loděnice was a conflict that took place in 23 January 1179 near the village Loděnice. It was a clash between two

Bohemian Bohemian or Bohemians may refer to: *Anything of or relating to Bohemia Culture and arts * Bohemianism, an unconventional lifestyle, originally practised by 19th–20th century European and American artists and writers. * Bohemian style, a ...

princes over the succession of the duchy.

Soběslav II Soběslav (; ) is a town in Tábor District in the South Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 7,100 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected as an urban monument zone. Administrative division Soběs ...

defeated Bedřich, who was forced to flee. Despite Soběslav's significant victory, he was eventually routed by Bedřich and Czech prince, Konrád II Ota, who overthrew Soběslav, at the end of the war. Therefore, Bedřich took the throne, however his reign caused many problems.

Background

In 1178, Emperor

Frederick Barbarossa Frederick Barbarossa (December 1122 – 10 June 1190), also known as Frederick I (; ), was the Holy Roman Emperor from 1155 until his death in 1190. He was elected King of Germany in Frankfurt on 4 March 1152 and crowned in Aachen on 9 March 115 ...

granted Bedřich the Prague throne. This was because Soběslav had been plundering churches and church goods in 1176 as Austrian Duke Henry Jasomirgott refused to return Vitorazsko, an area recently colonized by the Austrians. Bedřich then set out on a campaign in Bohemia, marching through

Plzeň Plzeň (), also known in English and German as Pilsen (), is a city in the Czech Republic. It is the Statutory city (Czech Republic), fourth most populous city in the Czech Republic with about 188,000 inhabitants. It is located about west of P ...

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

. Dissatisfied, Soběslav summoned an army but were quickly sieged and defeated by Bedřich, forcing Soběslav to take refuge in Skála Castle. Soběslav left the castle at the end of summer. Václav Olomúcky, one of Soběslav's allies, also defected to escape his fate.

Battle

Bedřich's army rested near a river called Mže and set up tents in a place called Brod, they stayed there for seven days. Then, on January 23, in a stream called Loděnice, Soběslav's army unexpectedly struck and captured the careless guards-and due to the cold, no one could tell what was happening. After that, a bloody battle took place. Captain Vitek and many other nobles were captured by Soběslav and most of them were killed or had their noses cut off to humiliate them.

Aftermath

Soběslav, pleased with his victory, attempted to invade

. However, he lost because the citizens had been warned in advance and sufficiently defended Prague. Alžběta, Bedřich's wife, also promptly sent a messenger to Bedřich, who was in congress. As a result, Soběslav lost the war. Soběslav again fled to Skála and died there without an heir in 1180. Bedřich received the throne but was later expelled and replaced by Konrád II. Ota.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lodenice Battle of Lodenice Battles involving Bohemia Conflicts in 1179