Conrad II of Znojmo ( cz, Konrád II. Znojemský; d. 1161), a member of the

Přemyslid dynasty The Přemyslid dynasty or House of Přemyslid ( cs, Přemyslovci, german: Premysliden, pl, Przemyślidzi) was a Bohemian royal dynasty that reigned in the Duchy of Bohemia and later Kingdom of Bohemia and Margraviate of Moravia (9th century–130 ...

, was a

Bohemian Bohemian or Bohemians may refer to: *Anything of or relating to Bohemia Beer * National Bohemian, a brand brewed by Pabst * Bohemian, a brand of beer brewed by Molson Coors Culture and arts * Bohemianism, an unconventional lifestyle, origin ...

prince who ruled in the

Moravia Moravia ( , also , ; cs, Morava ; german: link=yes, Mähren ; pl, Morawy ; szl, Morawa; la, Moravia) is a historical region in the east of the Czech Republic and one of three historical Czech lands, with Bohemia and Czech Silesia. The me ...

n principality of

Znojmo Znojmo (; german: Znaim) is a town in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 33,000 inhabitants. Znojmo is the historical and cultural centre of southwestern Moravia and the second most populated town in the South Moravian R ...

from 1123 to 1128 and again from 1134 until his death.

Life

Conrad II was the son of Prince

Luitpold of Znojmo Luitpold of Znojmo (, , la, Lutoldus Znoyemsis; died 15 MarchThe day of deth: Z ČECHORODU, PEŠINA; ''Mars Moravicus III.3'', p. 286. and NOVOTNÝ, V.; ''České dějiny I.2'', pp. 513–515 (+ footnote 15) 1112), a member of the Přemyslid dyn ...

and his wife Ida, a daughter of the

Babenberg The House of Babenberg was a noble dynasty of Austrian Dukes and Margraves. Originally from Bamberg in the Duchy of Franconia (present-day Bavaria), the Babenbergs ruled the imperial Margraviate of Austria from its creation in 976 AD until its e ...

margrave Leopold II of Austria. Upon his father's death in 1112, Znojmo passed to his uncle Ulrich I of Brno, who died the next year. From 1115 onwards, both the

Brno Brno ( , ; german: Brünn ) is a city in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. Located at the confluence of the Svitava and Svratka rivers, Brno has about 380,000 inhabitants, making it the second-largest city in the Czech Republic ...

and Znojmo principalities in Moravia were held by Soběslav I, youngest son of the late King

Vratislaus II of Bohemia Vratislaus II (or Wratislaus II) ( cs, Vratislav II.) (c. 1032 – 14 January 1092), the son of Bretislaus I and Judith of Schweinfurt, was the first King of Bohemia as of 15 June 1085, his royal title granted as a lifetime honorific from Holy R ...

. Finally, when Soběslav fell out with his elder brother Duke Vladislaus I of Bohemia in 1123, Conrad II was able to succeed his father in Znojmo. However, Duke Vladislaus died two years later and as the dynastic struggles culminated in the 1126

Battle of Chlumec :''See Battle at Chlumec (1040) for a possible earlier battle, and Battle of Kulm for the Napoleonic battle.'' The Battle of Chlumec was the culmination of a 12th-century war of succession in the Duchy of Bohemia. It occurred on 18 February ...

, Soběslav had Conrad II deposed and imprisoned at

Dohna Castle Dohna Castle (german: Burg Dohna, cz, hrad Donín) on the once important medieval trade route from Saxony to Bohemia was the ancestral castle seat of the . Of the old, once imposing double castle only a few remnants of the walls remain. The r ...

in 1128. In an attempt to reconcile with his Moravian cousin and to stabilise his rule in the Bohemian lands, Duke Soběslav reinstalled Conrad as Znojmo prince and also arranged his marriage with the Vukanović princess Mary (d. 1189), a daughter of Grand Prince Uroš I of Serbia. When in 1140 Vladislaus II, son of the late Duke Vladislaus I, succeeded to the Bohemian throne, the Přemyslid quarrels broke out again. Two years later, Prince Conrad II gathered troops and together with his Brno and

Olomouc Olomouc (, , ; german: Olmütz; pl, Ołomuniec ; la, Olomucium or ''Iuliomontium'') is a city in the Czech Republic. It has about 99,000 inhabitants, and its larger urban zone has a population of about 384,000 inhabitants (2019). Located on th ...

cousins marched against

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

. However, while the castle was successfully defended by the duke's younger brother Prince

Děpold I of Jamnitz Děpold I (also ''Děpolt'', modern English ''Theobald'') was the second son of Duke Vladislav I of Bohemia and brother of Duke and later King of Bohemia Vladislav II. In 1145, he joined the other territorial dukes of Bohemia, Conrad II of Znoj ...

, Vladislaus II himself proceeded to the court of King

Conrad III of Germany Conrad III (german: Konrad; it, Corrado; 1093 or 1094 – 15 February 1152) of the Hohenstaufen dynasty was from 1116 to 1120 Duke of Franconia, from 1127 to 1135 anti-king of his predecessor Lothair III and from 1138 until his death in 1152 k ...

Würzburg Würzburg (; Main-Franconian: ) is a city in the region of Franconia in the north of the German state of Bavaria. Würzburg is the administrative seat of the ''Regierungsbezirk'' Lower Franconia. It spans the banks of the Main River. Würzburg is ...

and returned with a large royal army. The Moravian forces had to retire and Prince Conrad, excommunicated by the

bishop

Jindřich Zdík Jindřich Zdík (also anglicized as ''Henry Zdík'') (c. 1083 – 1150 in Prague) was bishop of Olomouc from 1126 to 1150. Biography Zdík went on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land in 1137/1138. While he was there, Rorgo Fretellus of Nazareth dedica ...

, had to accept the Bohemian overlordship. Conrad II commissioned the wall paintings (

fresco Fresco (plural ''frescos'' or ''frescoes'') is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaste ...

es) of the

Znojmo Rotunda The Rotunda of St. Catherine ( cz, Rotunda sv. Kateřiny), known as the Znojmo Rotunda (''Znojemská rotunda''), is a Romanesque architecture, Romanesque rotunda (architecture), rotunda located in Znojmo, Czech Republic. It is the town's most va ...

some time after 1134.

Family

Conrad II married Mary (''Marija'', known in Czech as "Marie Srbská"), a Serbian princess, daughter of Grand Prince Uroš I (r. 1112–45). They had five children, among them: *Ernest (or Arnošt) * Conrad III Ota ( – 1191), married Hellicha of Wittelsbach, became first

Margrave of Moravia The Margraviate of Moravia ( cs, Markrabství moravské; german: Markgrafschaft Mähren) was one of the Lands of the Bohemian Crown within the Holy Roman Empire existing from 1182 to 1918. It was officially administrated by a margrave in cooperat ...

in 1182,

Duke of Bohemia The Duchy of Bohemia was established in 870 and raised to the Kingdom of Bohemia in 1198. Several Bohemian monarchs ruled as non-hereditary kings beforehand, first gaining the title in 1085. From 1004 to 1806, Bohemia was part of the Holy Roman ...

(as Conrad II) from 1189 * Helena of Znojmo ( – 1202/06), High Duchess of Poland by her marriage with

Casimir II the Just Casimir II the Just ( pl, Kazimierz II Sprawiedliwy; 28 October 1138 – 5 May 1194) was a Lesser Polish Duke of Wiślica from 1166–1173, and of Sandomierz after 1173. He became ruler over the Polish Seniorate Province at Kraków and thereby Hig ...

References

* * * {{S-end 12th-century Bohemian people Přemyslid dynasty Bohemian princes 12th-century nobility Znojmo 1161 deaths