Nicholas II of Opava (also: ''Nicholas II of Troppau'', ''Nicholas II of Ratibór''; cz, Mikuláš II. Opavský; 1288 – 8 December 1365) was

Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ran ...

Opava Opava (; german: Troppau, pl, Opawa) is a city in the Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 55,000 inhabitants. It lies on the river Opava (river), Opava. Opava is one of the historical centres of Silesia. It was a histori ...

(german: Troppau) from 1318 to 1365 and Duke of Ratibór from 1337 to 1365 and Burgrave of Kladsko ( de , Glatz) from 1350 to 1365 and also chamberlain of 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 ...

Life

Nicholas II of Opava was a member of the Opava branch of the Bohemian noble Přemyslovci family. His parents were Duke Nicholas I of Opava, who had held Opava since 1269, and Adelheid 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 ...

, a niece of King

Rudolf I Rudolf I (1 May 1218 – 15 July 1291) was the first King of Germany from the House of Habsburg. The first of the count-kings of Germany, he reigned from 1273 until his death. Rudolf's election marked the end of the Great Interregnum which h ...

. He was a supporter of King

John of Luxembourg 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 Bohemia, who gave him Opava as a

fief A fief (; la, feudum) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an Lord, overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a for ...

in 1318 and at the same time raised it to an independent duchy. He moved the ducal residence from

Hradec nad Moravicí Hradec nad Moravicí (; german: Grätz) is a town in Opava District in the Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 5,400 inhabitants. The historic town centre with the castle complex is well preserved and is protected by law as ...

(german: Grätz) to

(german: Troppau). Also in 1318, he married with Anna, the only sister of 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 * Lestko * ...

of Ratibór. Since Leszek left no offspring, the Duchy of Ratibór reverted to the Bohemian Crown after Leszek death in 1336. King John gave it to his loyal

vassal A vassal or liege subject is a person regarded as having a mutual obligation to a lord or monarch, in the context of the feudal system in medieval Europe. While the subordinate party is called a vassal, the dominant party is called a suzerain. W ...

Nicholas II in 1337. With his dual power base in Opava and Ratibór, Nicholas became one of the most powerful princes in the upper

Oder The Oder ( , ; Czech, Lower Sorbian and ; ) is a river in Central Europe. It is Poland's second-longest river in total length and third-longest within its borders after the Vistula and Warta. The Oder rises in the Czech Republic and flows thr ...

area. With the acquisition by Nicholas, Ratibór came under a foreign ruler and due to the personal union, Opava became more oriented towards

Silesia Silesia (, also , ) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at around 8,000,000. Silesia is split ...

. In 1337, the princes of

Opole Opole (; german: Oppeln ; szl, Ôpole) ; * Silesian: ** Silesian PLS alphabet: ''Ôpole'' ** Steuer's Silesian alphabet: ''Uopole'' * Silesian German: ''Uppeln'' * Czech: ''Opolí'' * Latin: ''Oppelia'', ''Oppolia'', ''Opulia'' is a city loc ...

also claimed Ratibór; King John sold them the Moravian town of

Prudnik Prudnik (, szl, Prudnik, Prōmnik, german: Neustadt in Oberschlesien, Neustadt an der Prudnik, la, Prudnicium) is a town in southern Poland, located in the southern part of Opole Voivodeship near the border with the Czech Republic. It is the ...

(german: Neustadt) instead. In a document dated 1350, Nicholas II is mentioned as Burgrave of

Kłodzko Kłodzko (; cz, Kladsko; german: Glatz; la, Glacio) is a historic town in south-western Poland, in the region of Lower Silesia. It is situated in the centre of the Kłodzko Valley, on the Eastern Neisse river. Kłodzko is the seat of Kłodzko Co ...

. In 1355 he had to give up

Koźle Koźle (german: Cosel) is a district of Kędzierzyn-Koźle (since 1975), Poland and is at the junction of the Kłodnica and Oder rivers, km southeast of Opole. The district has a Roman Catholic church, a medieval chateau, remains of a 19th-cent ...

and

Gliwice Gliwice (; german: Gleiwitz) is a city in Upper Silesia, in southern Poland. The city is located in the Silesian Highlands, on the Kłodnica river (a tributary of the Oder). It lies approximately 25 km west from Katowice, the regional cap ...

, which had been transferred to Duke Leszek.

Marriage and issue

Nicholas was married three times. Around 1318 he married Anna of Racibórz (died around 1340), a daughter of Duke

Przemysław of Racibórz Przemysław of Racibórz ( pl, Przemysław raciborski) (between 21 October 1258 and 12 June 1268 – 7 May 1306) was a Duke of Racibórz since 1282 until his death (until 1290 with his brother as co-ruler). He was the fourth son of Władysław, ...

. Several children resulted from this marriage: *

John I John I may refer to: People * John I (bishop of Jerusalem) * John Chrysostom (349 – c. 407), Patriarch of Constantinople * John of Antioch (died 441) * Pope John I, Pope from 523 to 526 * John I (exarch) (died 615), Exarch of Ravenna * John I o ...

(died: between 1380 and 1382), : married in 1361 Anna, a daughter of the Duke Henry V of Głogów-Żagań (died 1369). He established the Opava-Ratibór line of the Přemyslovci family. * Euphemia (died 1352) : married in 1335 Duke Siemowit III of

Mazovia Mazovia or Masovia ( pl, Mazowsze) is a historical region in mid-north-eastern Poland. It spans the North European Plain, roughly between Łódź and Białystok, with Warsaw being the unofficial capital and largest city. Throughout the centurie ...

(died 1381) * Elisabeth (died 1386), a nun in Ratibór * Agnes (died 1404), a nun in Ratibór * Anna (died 1361) : married in 1346 Count Burchard of Hardegg and Retz, Burgrave of

Magdeburg Magdeburg (; nds, label=Low Saxon, Meideborg ) is the capital and second-largest city of the German state Saxony-Anhalt. The city is situated at the Elbe river. Otto I, the first Holy Roman Emperor and founder of the Archdiocese of Magdebur ...

(died 1360 or 1361) * Margaret (died 1363) :married in 1349 the Margrave John Henry of Moravia (died 1375). After Anna's death, Nicholas married in May 1342 to Hedwig (died 1359), a daughter of Duke Konrad I of

Oleśnica Oleśnica (pronounced ; german: Oels; szl, Ôleśnica) is a town in Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in south-western Poland, within the Wrocław metropolitan area. It is the administrative seat of Oleśnica County and also of the rural district of ...

(died 1366). From this marriage, he had a son * Nicholas III (died 1394), Duke of

Głubczyce Głubczyce ( cs, Hlubčice or sparsely ''Glubčice'', german: Leobschütz, Silesian German: ''Lischwitz'') is a town in Opole Voivodeship in southern Poland, near the border with the Czech Republic. It is the administrative seat of Głubczyce Co ...

1377–1394 In 1360, Nicholas married his third wife, Jutta (died after 1378), a daughter of the Duke Boleslaw II of Opole-Falkenberg. This marriage produced three more children: * Anna (died 1398) : married in 1379 Peter Holický of Šternberk (died 1397) * Wenceslaus I (died 1381), Duke of Opava 1377–1381 * Przemko I ( cz, Přemysl I; died 1433), Duke of Opava 1365-1433 and Duke of

1394-1433

References

* Ludwig Petry et al.: ''Geschichte Schlesiens'', vol. 1, Sigmaringen, 1988, , p. 146, 159, 165, 167, 169, 171, 184. * Hugo Weczerka (ed.): ''Handbuch der historischen Stätten: Schlesien'', Stuttgart, 1977, , p. XVI, XLVI and genealogical tables on pages 600/601.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Nicholas Ii, Duke Of Opava Opavian Přemyslids 1365 deaths 1288 births