The Treaty of Eger (german: Vertrag von Eger), also called Main Compromise of Eger (''Hauptvergleich von Eger'') or Peace of Eger ( cs, Chebský mír) was concluded on 25 April 1459 in the

Imperial City In the Holy Roman Empire, the collective term free and imperial cities (german: Freie und Reichsstädte), briefly worded free imperial city (', la, urbs imperialis libera), was used from the fifteenth century to denote a self-ruling city that ...

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''), administrative seat of the immediate pawn of

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 ...

(''Reichspfandschaft Eger''). The treaty established the border between 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 ...

and the

Electorate of Saxony The Electorate of Saxony, also known as Electoral Saxony (German: or ), was a territory of the Holy Roman Empire from 1356–1806. It was centered around the cities of Dresden, Leipzig and Chemnitz. In the Golden Bull of 1356, Emperor Charles ...

on the main ridge of the Ore Mountains stretching from Eger to the River

Elbe The Elbe (; cs, Labe ; nds, Ilv or ''Elv''; Upper and dsb, Łobjo) is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Giant Mountains of the northern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia (western half of the Czech Repu ...

. The border remains largely unchanged up to today, separating the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

and

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 ...

, and is thus one of the oldest still extant borders in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

Background

At that time, the Wettin elector Frederick II of Saxony and his brother Landgrave William of Thuringia had re-arranged their dominions in the 1445

Division of Altenburg The Division of Altenburg (German: ''Altenburger Teilung'') was the plan for the division of the Meissen lands agreed upon by the two hostile Wettin brothers Elector Frederick II of Saxony and William III on 16 July 1445 at Altenburg.Historisc ...

and the following

Saxon Fratricidal War The Saxon Fratricidal WarThis translation is employed by the Museum Leuchtenburg in thei (German: ''Sächsischer Bruderkrieg'') was a war fought between the two brothers Frederick II, Elector of Saxony and Duke William III over Wettin ruled area ...

. In 1432 Frederick had already reached a separate peace agreement with the Bohemian

Hussites The Hussites ( cs, Husité or ''Kališníci''; "Chalice People") were a Czech proto-Protestant Christian movement that followed the teachings of reformer Jan Hus, who became the best known representative of the Bohemian Reformation. The Hussit ...

. After the death of the

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 ...

king

Albert II of Germany Albert the Magnanimous KG, elected King of the Romans as Albert II (10 August 139727 October 1439) was king of the Holy Roman Empire and a member of the House of Habsburg. By inheritance he became Albert V, Duke of Austria. Through his wife (''j ...

, the

Utraquist Utraquism (from the Latin ''sub utraque specie'', meaning "under both kinds") or Calixtinism (from chalice; Latin: ''calix'', mug, borrowed from Greek ''kalyx'', shell, husk; Czech: kališníci) was a belief amongst Hussites, a reformist Christia ...

leader

George of Poděbrady George of Kunštát and Poděbrady (23 April 1420 – 22 March 1471), also known as Poděbrad or Podiebrad ( cs, Jiří z Poděbrad; german: Georg von Podiebrad), was the sixteenth King of Bohemia, who ruled in 1458–1471. He was a leader of the ...

had been elected Bohemian regent by local nobles in 1448 against the resistance of the

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

supporters of Albert's minor son and heir

Ladislaus the Posthumous Ladislaus the Posthumous( hu, Utószülött László; hr, Ladislav Posmrtni; cs, Ladislav Pohrobek; german: link=no, Ladislaus Postumus; 22 February 144023 November 1457) was Duke of Austria and King of Hungary, Croatia and Bohemia. He was the ...

, led by Burgrave

Meinhard of Neuhaus Menhart z Hradce (also known as ''Meinhard of Hradec'', or ''Meinhard von Neuhaus'' in German; 1398 – 3 February 1449 in Říčany), was one of the leaders of the moderate Utraquists from 1437 onwards, and was colonel of burgrave of Bohemi ...

. In the Saxon Fratricidal War, George had backed the younger brother Landgrave William. After the sudden death of Ladislaus, he was crowned Bohemian king by the Utraquist nobility in 1458, while William had also been a candidate for the succession. Cheb hrad 4

Agreement

In 1459 the Wettin brothers agreed with George of Poděbrady that towns, castles, markets and villages south of the Ore Mountains that formerly had belonged to the

Lands of the Bohemian Crown 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 B ...

(like

Most Most or Möst or ''variation'', may refer to: Places * Most, Kardzhali Province, a village in Bulgaria * Most (city), a city in the Czech Republic ** Most District, a district surrounding the city ** Most Basin, a lowland named after the city ** A ...

, Rýzmburk Castle at

Osek OSEK (''Offene Systeme und deren Schnittstellen für die Elektronik in Kraftfahrzeugen''; English: "''Open Systems and their Interfaces for the Electronics in Motor Vehicles''") is a standards body that has produced specifications for an embedded o ...

and

Duchcov Duchcov (; german: Dux) is a town in Teplice District in the Ústí nad Labem Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 8,600 inhabitants. Duchcov is known for the Duchcov Chateau, Duchcov Castle. The historic town centre with the castle complex i ...

) together with all spiritual and secular bodies, pensions, interest, duties, etc. belonged to the estates of King George, and the estates and castles on the northern side in the

Vogtland Vogtland (; cz, Fojtsko) is a region spanning the German states of Bavaria, Saxony and Thuringia and north-western Bohemia in the Czech Republic. It overlaps with and is largely contained within Euregio Egrensis. The name alludes to the former ...

region and the former

Margraviate of Meissen The Margravate of Meissen (german: Markgrafschaft Meißen) was a medieval principality in the area of the modern German state of Saxony. It originally was a frontier march In medieval Europe, a march or mark was, in broad terms, any kind of bor ...

should be left with the Saxon electors. Through the agreement, the constant border disputes ultimately ended, but some places and dominions north of the Ore Mountains continued to be fiefdoms of the Bohemian crown.

Aftermath

Upon the death of Elector Frederick II in 1464, his eldest son

Ernest Ernest is a given name derived from Germanic languages, Germanic word ''ernst'', meaning "serious". Notable people and fictional characters with the name include: People *Archduke Ernest of Austria (1553–1595), son of Maximilian II, Holy Roman ...

ruled jointly with his younger brother

Albert Albert may refer to: Companies * Albert (supermarket), a supermarket chain in the Czech Republic * Albert Heijn, a supermarket chain in the Netherlands * Albert Market, a street market in The Gambia * Albert Productions, a record label * Albert ...

. Their realm comprised all Wettin lands, when their uncle Landgrave William of Thuringia died without male heirs in 1482. However, by the 1485

Treaty of Leipzig The Treaty of Leipzig or Partition of Leipzig (German ''Leipziger Teilung'') was signed on 11 November 1485 between Elector Ernest of Saxony and his younger brother Albert III, the sons of Elector Frederick II of Saxony from the House of Wettin. ...

the brothers again divided the Saxon lands, with the western Thuringia and Vogtland regions passing to Ernest and eastern Meissen falling to Albert. George of Poděbrady had to face the continuous resistance of the Catholic nobility backed by

Pope Paul II Pope Paul II ( la, Paulus II; it, Paolo II; 23 February 1417 – 26 July 1471), born Pietro Barbo, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 30 August 1464 to his death in July 1471. When his maternal uncle Eugene IV ...

, who designated

Matthias Corvinus Matthias Corvinus, also called Matthias I ( hu, Hunyadi Mátyás, ro, Matia/Matei Corvin, hr, Matija/Matijaš Korvin, sk, Matej Korvín, cz, Matyáš Korvín; ), was King of Hungary and Croatia from 1458 to 1490. After conducting several mi ...

Bohemian king in 1469. The most significant change to the border fixed by the 1459 treaty happened in 1546, when Duke

Maurice of Saxony Maurice (21 March 1521 – 9 July 1553) was Duke (1541–47) and later Elector (1547–53) of Saxony. His clever manipulation of alliances and disputes gained the Albertine branch of the Wettin dynasty extensive lands and the electoral dignity. ...

and King Ferdinand I divided the Barony of Schwarzenberg, former possession of Elector

John Frederick I John Frederick I (30 June 1503 in Torgau – 3 March 1554 in Weimar), called the Magnanimous, was the Elector of Saxony (1532–1547) and head of the Schmalkaldic League. Early years John Frederick was the eldest son of Elector John by his firs ...

, as part of the spoils of war following the

Schmalkaldic War The Schmalkaldic War (german: link=no, Schmalkaldischer Krieg) was the short period of violence from 1546 until 1547 between the forces of Emperor Charles V of the Holy Roman Empire (simultaneously King Charles I of Spain), commanded by the Duk ...

, with

Boží Dar Boží Dar (german: Gottesgab) is a town in Karlovy Vary District in the Karlovy Vary Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 200 inhabitants. Situated in the Ore Mountains at above sea level, it is considered the highest town in the Czech Rep ...

and

Horní Blatná Horní Blatná (german: Bergstadt Platten) is a town in Karlovy Vary District in the Karlovy Vary Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 400 inhabitants. The town centre is well preserved and is protected by law as urban monument zone. Histor ...

passing to Bohemia.

Literature

* Erich Berlet: ''Die sächsisch-böhmische Grenze im Erzgebirge''. Oldecop's Erben (Stockmar), Oschatz 1900
Digitalised
* Sven Rabeler, Alexandra Kursawe und Claudia Ulrich (Bearbeiter)

* {{citation, surname1=Richard Schmidt, editor-surname1=Gebirgsvereinsverband Sudetenland-West, periodical=Erzgebirgs-Zeitung. Monatsschrift für Volkskunde und Heimatforschung, Wanderpflege und Fremdenverkehr, title=Die Landesgrenze zwischen der Farbleite und dem Sonnenwirbel – ein Zeuge bedeutungsvoller Obererzgebirgischer Heimatgeschichte, volume=11. und 12. Heft des 63. Jahrgangs, location=Teplitz-Schönau, pages=81–87, date=December 1942, language=German, url=http://www.znkr.cz/de/fotogalerie/obrazek/40148-dsc-7248-jpg/ History of Europe Eger, 1459 1459 in Europe Cheb 1450s treaties Treaties of the Electorate of Saxony Treaties of the Kingdom of Bohemia Borders of Germany Borders of the Czech Republic 1450s in the Holy Roman Empire 15th century in Saxony 15th century in Bohemia 1459

Background

Agreement

Aftermath

See also

Literature