Duchy of Racibórz (, , ) was one of the duchies of Silesia, formed during the medieval fragmentation of Poland into provincial duchies. Its capital was Racibórz in Upper Silesia. States and territories disestablished in the 1200s States and territories disestablished in the 1330s States and territories disestablished in 1521

History

After

Bolesław I the Tall Bolesław I the Tall (; 1127 – 7 or 8 December 1201) was Duke of Wrocław from 1163 until his death in 1201. Early years Boleslaw was the eldest son of Władysław II the Exile by his wife Agnes of Babenberg, daughter of Margrave Leopold II ...

and his younger brother Mieszko I Tanglefoot backed by Emperor

Frederick I 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 am Main, Frankfurt on 4 March 1152 and crowned in Aa ...

had retained their Silesian heritage in 1163, the Duchy of Racibórz was formed in 1172 as a territory for Mieszko. It was centered on the towns of Racibórz, Koźle and

Cieszyn Cieszyn ( , ; ; ) is a border town in southern Poland on the east bank of the Olza River, and the administrative seat of Cieszyn County, Silesian Voivodeship. The town has 33,500 inhabitants ( and lies opposite Český Těšín in the Czech Repu ...

. Mieszko's small share was enlarged the first time in 1177, when he received the territories of Bytom, Oświęcim, Zator, Pszczyna and Siewierz from his uncle High Duke Casimir II the Just of Poland. In 1202 Mieszko occupied the Duchy of Opole of his deceased nephew

Jarosław Jarosław (; , ; ; ) is a town in southeastern Poland, situated on the San (river), San River. The town had 35,475 inhabitants in 2023. It is the capital of Jarosław County in the Subcarpathian Voivodeship. History Jarosław is located in the ...

, forming the united Duchy of Opole and Racibórz. After the death of Mieszko's grandson Duke Władysław Opolski in 1281, his sons again divided the Duchy of Opole and Racibórz and in 1290 the Duchy of Racibórz was recreated again, assigned to Władysław's youngest son Przemysław. Racibórz at that time comprised the lands of Wodzisław,

Żory Żory (; , , ) is a town and city powiat, county in the Silesian Voivodeship, located in southern Poland with 62,848 inhabitants (2021). It is located in the historic Upper Silesia region about southwest of Katowice. Location Żory is located in ...

Rybnik Rybnik (Polish pronunciation: ; ) is a city in southern Poland, in the Silesian Voivodeship, around 38 km (24 mi) southwest of Katowice, the region's capital, and around 19 km (11 mi) from the Czech Republic, Czech border. It i ...

, Mikołów and Pszczyna, while some of the territory of was used for the creation of the duchies of

and Bytom under Przemysław's brothers. A large number of place names of German origin in the southern part of the Duchy are the effect of medieval Ostsiedlung. In 1327 Przemysław's son Duke

Leszek Leszek () is a Slavic Polish male given name, originally ''Lestko'', ''Leszko'' or ''Lestek'', related to ''Lech'', ''Lechosław'' and Czech ''Lstimir''. Individuals named Leszek celebrate their name day on June 3. Notable people bearing the ...

paid homage to King

John of Bohemia John of Bohemia, also called the Blind or of Luxembourg (; ; ; 10 August 1296 – 26 August 1346), was the Count of Luxembourg from 1313 and King of Bohemia from 1310 and titular King of Poland. He is well known for having died while fighting ...

, whereafter his duchy became a Bohemian fief. After Leszek died without issue in 1336, King John seized the duchy and granted it to the Přemyslid Duke Nicolas II of

Opava Opava (; , ) is a city in the Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 55,000 inhabitants. It lies on the Opava (river), Opava River. Opava is one of the historical centres of Silesia and was a historical capital of Czech Sile ...

(Troppau), forming the united Duchy of Opava and Racibórz. The Duchy would suffer several territorial changes until in 1521 it was again merged with Opole under Duke Jan II the Good. As a Duchy of Opole and Racibórz, after Jan's death in 1532 it fell back to the

House of Habsburg The House of Habsburg (; ), also known as the House of Austria, was one of the most powerful Dynasty, dynasties in the history of Europe and Western civilization. They were best known for their inbreeding and for ruling vast realms throughout ...

, Bohemian kings since 1526. The fief was given in pawn to Margrave George of Brandenburg-Ansbach from the

House of Hohenzollern The House of Hohenzollern (, ; , ; ) is a formerly royal (and from 1871 to 1918, imperial) German dynasty whose members were variously princes, Prince-elector, electors, kings and emperors of Hohenzollern Castle, Hohenzollern, Margraviate of Bran ...

. From 1645 to 1666 as part of the Duchy of Opole and Racibórz it was held by the Polish House of Vasa. It was annexed and incorporated into the

Kingdom of Prussia The Kingdom of Prussia (, ) was a German state that existed from 1701 to 1918.Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. Rev. ed. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1946. It played a signif ...

by the 1742 Treaty of Breslau. The title of a "Duke of Ratibor" was acquired by Landgrave Victor Amadeus of Hesse-Rotenburg in 1821. King

Frederick William IV of Prussia Frederick William IV (; 15 October 1795 – 2 January 1861), the eldest son and successor of Frederick William III of Prussia, was King of Prussia from 7 June 1840 until his death on 2 January 1861. Also referred to as the "romanticist on the th ...

in 1840 granted it to the landgrave's nephew Prince Victor of Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst, in turn for his renunciation of the Hohenlohe inheritance in favour of his younger brother

Chlodwig Louis is the French form of the Old Frankish given name Chlodowig and one of two English forms, the other being Lewis (). Etymology The name Louis (through the intermediate form Clovis) derives from the Frankish name ᚺᛚᛟᛞᛟᚹ� ...

Dukes

Silesian Piasts

* Mieszko I Tanglefoot (1172–1211) ''United with Opole from 1202.'' * Casimir I of Opole (1211–1230), son, under the tutelage of Duke Henry I the Bearded until 1238 * Mieszko II the Fat (1230–1246), son * Władysław of Opole (1246–1281), brother ''Split off Opole,

and Bytom.'' * Mieszko of Cieszyn (1281–1290), son of Władysław, Duke of Cieszyn in 1290, jointly with his brother ** Przemysław (1281–1306) *

(1306–1336), son of Przemysław, died without issue ''Line extinct, duchy seized as a reverted fief by King

.''

Přemyslid dukes of Opava

* Nicholas II (1337–1365) * John I (1365–1378), son, also Duke of Krnov from 1377 * John II (1378–1424), son * Nicholas V (1424–1437), son, jointly with his brother ** Wenceslaus (1424–1456) *John III (1456–1493), son of Wenceslaus *Nicholas VI (1493–1506), son, jointly with his brothers **John IV (1493–1506) **Valentin (1493–1521) ''Line extinct, duchy inherited by Duke Jan II the Good of Opole.''

House of Hohenlohe-Schillingfürst

Dukes of Ratibor and Princes of Corvey * Victor I Moritz Carl (1840–1893) * Victor II Amadeus (1893–1919) Heads of the House of Ratibor after World War I *Victor II Amadeus (1919–1923) *Victor III August Maria (1923–1945) *Franz-Albrecht Metternich-Sándor (1945–2009) *Victor IV Metternich-Sándor (since 2009)

Bibliography

*ŽÁČEK, Rudolf. ''Dějiny Slezska v datech''. Praha : Libri, 2003. .