The Bohemian Palatinate ( cs, Česká Falc) or Bohemian Upper Palatinate (german: Böhmische Oberpfalz), since the 19th century also called New Bohemia ( cs, Nové Čechy, german: Neuböhmen), is a historical area in the northeast of present-day

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...

(

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

), which from 1353 onwards was incorporated into the

Crown of Bohemia The Lands of the Bohemian Crown were a number of incorporated states in Central Europe during the medieval and early modern periods connected by feudal relations under the Bohemian kings. The crown lands primarily consisted of the Kingdom of Bo ...

by Emperor Charles IV. The Bohemian Palatinate lay in the north of the

Upper Palatinate The Upper Palatinate (german: Oberpfalz, , ) is one of the seven administrative districts of Bavaria, Germany, and is located in the east of Bavaria. Geography The Upper Palatinate is a landscape with low mountains and numerous ponds and lakes ...

, its territory stretching up to Upper and

Middle Franconia Middle Franconia (german: Mittelfranken, ) is one of the three administrative regions of Franconia in Bavaria, Germany. It is located in the west of Bavaria and borders the state of Baden-Württemberg. The administrative seat is Ansbach; however, ...

close to the

Free Imperial City of Nuremberg The Imperial City of Nuremberg (german: Reichsstadt Nürnberg) was a free imperial city — independent city-state — within the Holy Roman Empire. After Nuremberg gained piecemeal independence from the Burgraviate of Nuremberg in the High Mid ...

History

In 1322, Emperor Louis IV had pawned the

Egerland The Egerland ( cs, Chebsko; german: Egerland; Egerland German dialect: ''Eghalånd'') is a historical region in the far north west of Bohemia in what is today the Czech Republic, at the border with Germany. It is named after the German name ''Eg ...

region to King

John of Bohemia John the Blind or John of Luxembourg ( lb, Jang de Blannen; german: link=no, Johann der Blinde; cz, Jan Lucemburský; 10 August 1296 – 26 August 1346), was the Count of Luxembourg from 1313 and King of Bohemia from 1310 and titular King of ...

of the

House of Luxembourg The House of Luxembourg ( lb, D'Lëtzebuerger Haus; french: Maison de Luxembourg; german: Haus Luxemburg) or Luxembourg dynasty was a royal family of the Holy Roman Empire in the Late Middle Ages, whose members between 1308 and 1437 ruled as king ...

. John's son, Charles IV, who also succeeded Louis as Emperor, rivalled with the houses of

Habsburg The House of Habsburg (), alternatively spelled Hapsburg in Englishgerman: Haus Habsburg, ; es, Casa de Habsburgo; hu, Habsburg család, it, Casa di Asburgo, nl, Huis van Habsburg, pl, dom Habsburgów, pt, Casa de Habsburgo, la, Domus Hab ...

and

Wittelsbach The House of Wittelsbach () is a German dynasty, with branches that have ruled over territories including Bavaria, the Palatinate, Holland and Zeeland, Sweden (with Finland), Denmark, Norway, Hungary (with Romania), Bohemia, the Electorate o ...

and aimed to expand his hereditary lands to win influence over the

Imperial Princes Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor, or imperialism. Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to: Places United States * Imperial, California * Imperial, Missouri * Imperial, Nebraska * Imperial, Pennsylvania * Imperial, Texas ...

. Charles obtained the approval of the

Prince-elector The prince-electors (german: Kurfürst pl. , cz, Kurfiřt, la, Princeps Elector), or electors for short, were the members of the electoral college that elected the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. From the 13th century onwards, the prince ...

s to affiliate the Imperial City of

Eger Eger ( , ; ; also known by other alternative names) is the county seat of Heves County, and the second largest city in Northern Hungary (after Miskolc). A city with county rights. Eger is best known for its castle, thermal baths, baroque build ...

(Cheb) with the

Kingdom of Bohemia The Kingdom of Bohemia ( cs, České království),; la, link=no, Regnum Bohemiae sometimes in English literature referred to as the Czech Kingdom, was a medieval and early modern monarchy in Central Europe, the predecessor of the modern Czec ...

. In 1349, he married

Anne of Bavaria Anne of Bavaria (or of the Palatinate; ; 26 September 1329 – 2 February 1353) was Queen of Bohemia by marriage to Charles of Luxembourg. She was the daughter of Rudolf II, Count Palatine of the Rhine, and Anna, daughter of Otto III ...

, daughter of the Wittelsbach

Count Palatine of the Rhine The counts palatine of Lotharingia /counts palatine of the Rhine /electors of the Palatinate (german: Kurfürst von der Pfalz) ruled some part of Rhine area in the Kingdom of Germany and the Holy Roman Empire from 915 to 1803. The title was a kind ...

Rudolf II Rudolf II (18 July 1552 – 20 January 1612) was Holy Roman Emperor (1576–1612), King of Hungary and Kingdom of Croatia (Habsburg), Croatia (as Rudolf I, 1572–1608), King of Bohemia (1575–1608/1611) and Archduke of Austria (1576–160 ...

, who held the adjacent lands in the Bavarian

Nordgau The Nordgau (from the Germanic for "northern region") can refer to two distinct areas: * Nordgau (Alsace), the Alsatian Nordgau, the medieval County of Nordgau, the northern part of Alsace * Margraviate of the Nordgau, the Bavarian Nordgau in the a ...

(the later "Upper Palatinate" region). However, Charles had to abandon his hope to be heir to his father-in-law's estates upon Anna's early death in 1353. In 1353, Charles gained 24 estates in the Upper Palatinate from Rupert I in compensation for his debts. To these, he joined other territories, and the whole region was incorporated into the Crown of Bohemia in 1355. The administrative center of this area was in

Sulzbach-Rosenberg Sulzbach-Rosenberg ( bar, label=Northern Bavarian, Suizboch-Rosnberg) is a municipality in the Amberg-Sulzbach district, in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated approximately 14 km northwest of Amberg, and 50 km east of Nuremberg. The town c ...

, while for representational purposes, Charles built the

Lauf Castle Lauf Castle (german: Wenzelschloss or ''Burg Lauf''; cs, hrad Lauf) was originally a medieval fortress in the town of Lauf an der Pegnitz near Nuremberg, Germany. The German name ''Wenzelschloss'' ("Saint Wenceslas' Chateau") is derived from to t ...

. The Emperor intensively supported the area through tax reliefs for craftsmen and traders, as well as other privileges for settlements and markets. In 1373, Charles ceded the greater part of the area back to the

s in exchange for the

Electorate of Brandenburg Brandenburg (; nds, Brannenborg; dsb, Bramborska ) is a state in the northeast of Germany bordering the states of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony, as well as the country of Poland. With an area of 29,480 square ...

Wenceslaus IV Wenceslaus IV (also ''Wenceslas''; cs, Václav; german: Wenzel, nicknamed "the Idle"; 26 February 136116 August 1419), also known as Wenceslaus of Luxembourg, was King of Bohemia from 1378 until his death and King of Germany from 1376 until he w ...

lost the rest in 1401.Český stát v době Lucemburské
/ref>

Gallery

File:Wenzelschloss changed.jpg,

File:Rosenberger Straße 27, Rosenberger Tor, Sulzbach-Rosenberg (MGK05651).jpg, Tower in

with the Czech coat of arms File:Граница с Богемией.jpg, Plaque commemorating the former Czech border in

Nuremberg Nuremberg ( ; german: link=no, Nürnberg ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the second-largest city of the German state of Bavaria after its capital Munich, and its 518,370 (2019) inhabitants make it the 14th-largest ...

File:ErbValdek.jpg, Coat of arms of the Zajíc noble family in the

File:Kaiser Karl IV.jpg, Statue of Charles IV at the St. Mary Church in

External links

Česká Falc

References

{{reflist Former duchies of the Kingdom of Bohemia History of Bavaria History of Bohemia