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Margraviate of Moravia Markrabství moravské  (Czech) Markgrafschaft Mähren  (German)
1182–1918
Flag Coat of arms
Margraviate of Moravia and the Lands of the Bohemian Crown within the Holy Roman Empire (1618)
Margraviate of Moravia (1893)
Status	Crown land of the Bohemian Crown (1348–1918) Imperial State of the Holy Roman Empire (1198–1806) Crown land of the Habsburg Monarchy (1526–1804), of the Austrian Empire (1804–67), and of the Cisleithanian part of Austria-Hungary (1867–1918)
Capital	Olomouc (1182–1641) Brno (1641–1918)
Common languages	Moravian dialects of Czech Polish German
Religion	Roman Catholic Hussite Lutheran Anabaptist Jewish
Government	Margraviate
Margrave
• 1182–1191 (first)	Conrad II of Bohemia
• 1916–1918 (last)	Charles I of Austria
Legislature	Provincial Diet
History
• Established	1182
• Disestablished	1918
Area
1918	22,222 km2 (8,580 sq mi)
Population
• 1918	2,662,000
Preceded by Succeeded by Duchy of Bohemia First Czechoslovak Republic

The Margraviate of Moravia (Czech: Markrabství moravské; German: Markgrafschaft Mähren) was one of the lands of the Bohemian Crown existing from 1182 to 1918. It was officially administrated by a margrave in cooperation with a provincial diet. It was variously a de facto independent state, and also subject to the Duchy, later the Kingdom of Bohemia. It comprised the region called Moravia within the modern Czech Republic.

Geography

The Margraviate lay east of Bohemia proper, with an area about half that region's size. In the north, the Sudeten Mountains, which extend to the Moravian Gate, formed the border with the Polish Duchy of Silesia, incorporated as a Bohemian crown land upon the 1335 Treaty of Trentschin. In the east and southeast, the western Carpathian Mountains separated it from present-day Slovakia. In the south, the winding Thaya River marked the border with the Duchy of Austria.

Moravians, usually considered a Czech people that speak Moravian dialects, made up the main part of the population. According to a 1910 Cisleithanian census, 27.6% identified themselves as German Moravians.^[1] These ethnic Germans would later be expelled after the Second World War. Other ethnic minority groups included Poles, Roma and Slovaks.

History

After the early medieval Great Moravian realm had been finally defeated by the Árpád princes of Hungary in 907, what is now Slovakia was incorporated as "Upper Hungary" (Felső-Magyarország), while adjacent Moravia passed under the authority of the Duchy of Bohemia. King Otto I of Germany officially granted it to Duke Boleslaus I in turn for his support against the Hungarian forces in the 955 Battle of Lechfeld. Temporarily ruled by King Bolesław I Chrobry of Poland from 999 until 1019, Moravia was re-conquered by Duke Oldřich of Bohemia and ultimately became a land of the Crown of Saint Wenceslas held by the Přemyslid dynasty.^[1]

Sitting of Moravian Diet, 17th century

In 1182, the Margraviate was created at the behest of Emperor Frederick Barbarossa by merger of the three Přemyslid appanage principalities of Brno, Olomouc and Znojmo, and given to Conrad II, the son of Prince Conrad of Znojmo. As heir apparent, the future King Ottokar II of Bohemia was appointed Moravian margave by his father Wenceslaus I in 1247. Along with Bohemia, Moravia was ruled by the House of Luxembourg from the extinction of the Přemyslid dynasty until 1437. Jobst, nephew of Emperor Charles IV inherited the Margraviate in 1375, ruled autonomously and was even elected King of the Romans in 1410. Shaken by the Hussite Wars, the Moravian nobles remained loyal supporters of the Luxembourg emperor Sigismund.^[1]

In 1469, Moravia was occupied by the Hungarian king Matthias Corvinus, who had allied with the Catholic nobility against the rule of George of Poděbrady and had himself elected rival king of Bohemia at Olomouc. The rivalry with King Vladislaus II was settled in the 1479 Peace of Olomouc, whereby Matthias renounced the royal title but retained the rule over the Moravian lands.^[2]

With the other lands of the Bohemian Crown, the Margraviate was incorporated into the Habsburg Monarchy upon the death of King Louis II in the 1526 Battle of Mohács. Moravia was ruled as a crown land within the Austrian Empire from 1804 and within Cisleithanian Austria from 1867.^[3]

During the foundation of Czechoslovakia after World War I, the Margraviate was transformed into “Moravia Land”, later “Moravia-Silesia Land” in 1918. This autonomy was eliminated in 1949 by the communist government and has not been re-established since.^[1]

Government

The former Moravian Diet building. It now houses the Constitutional Court of the Czech Republic.

The margrave held ultimate authority in Moravia, throughout the history of the margraviate. This meant that as its margraves became more foreign, so too did governance of the margraviate.

Moravia possessed a legislature, known as the Moravian Diet. The assembly has its origins in 1288, with the Colloquium generale, or curia generalis.^[4] This was a meeting of the upper nobility, knights, the Bishop of Olomouc, abbots and ambassadors from royal cities. These meetings gradually evolved into the diet.

The power of this diet waxed and waned throughout history. By the end of the margraviate, the diet was almost powerless. The diet consisted of three estates of the realm: the estate of upper nobility, the estate of the lower nobility, and the estate of prelates and burghers.^[5] With the February Patent of 1861, the diet was reformed into a more egalitarian body. It still retained the same structure, but the members changed. It consisted of assembly seats for landowners, city-dwellers, and rural farmers. This was retained until the diet was abolished after the fall of the Dual Monarchy.^[5]

Moravian eagle

Unnoficial coat of arms of Moravia by Hugo Gerard Ströhl

The coat of arms of Moravia is charged with a crowned silver-red chequered eagle with golden claws and tongue. It first appeared in the seal of Margrave Přemysl (1209-1239), a younger son of King Ottokar I of Bohemia. After 1462 is Moravian eagle gold-red chequered,^[2] but never accepted by moravian assembly.

Administration

Until 1848

In the mid 14th century Emperor Charles IV, also King of Bohemia and Margrave of Moravia, established administrative divisions called kraje. These subdivisions were named for their capitals, some of which were:

• Brno


• Jihlava


• Olomouc


• Přerov


• Uherské Hradiště


• Znojmo

After 1848

Moravian and Austrian Silesian districts, 1897

After the 1848 revolutions, the kraje were replaced by political districts (politický okres), which were largely retained by the Czechoslovak administration after 1918:

Rulers of Moravia

• Part of Great Moravia (c.820-907)

Dukes of Moravia

Přemyslid dynasty

Ruler		Born	Reign	Death	Ruling part	Consort	Notes
Bretislaus I		1002/5	1019/29-1033	10 January 1055	Moravia	Judith of Schweinfurt 1020 four children	Son of Ulrich of Bohemia. First separation of Moravia from Bohemia. His father usurped his place for a year.
Ulrich I		975	1033-1034	9 November 1034	Moravia	Unknown no children Božena c.1002 (morganatic) one child	After his death, his son was replaced in Moravia.
Bretislaus I		1002/5	1034-1055	10 January 1055	Moravia	Judith of Schweinfurt 1020 four children	Recovered his throne. After his death his sons shared the inheritance.
Conrad I		c.1035	1055-1056	6 September 1092	Brno	Wirpirk of Tengling 1054 two children	Received Brno after the partition of 1055. In the next year his brother Spytihněv ascended to Bohemia and reunited it with all Moravian lands.
Vratislaus I		c.1035	1055-1056	14 January 1092	Olomouc	Maria before 1057 no children Adelaide of Hungary I 1057 four children Świętosława of Poland 1062 five children	Received Olomouc after the partition of 1055. In the next year his brother Spytihněv ascended to Bohemia and reunited it with all Moravian lands.
Otto I the Fair		1045	1055-1056	9 June 1087	Znojmo	Euphemia of Hungary before 1073 two children	Received Znojmo after the partition of 1055. In the next year his brother Spytihněv ascended to Bohemia and reunited it with all Moravian lands.
Spytihněv I		1031	1056-1061	28 January 1061	Moravia	Ida of Wettin c.1054 one child	United Bohemian and Moravian lands.
Conrad I		c.1035	1061-1092	6 September 1092	Brno and Znojmo	Wirpirk of Tengling 1054 two children	Received Brno and Znojmo. In 1092 divided the land between his two sons.
Otto I the Fair		1045	1061-1087	9 June 1087	Olomouc	Euphemia of Hungary before 1073 two children	Received Olomouc after the partition of 1061.
Boleslaus		1062	1087-1091	11 August 1091	Olomouc	Unmarried	Received Olomouc after the partition of 1061.
Svatopluk I the Lion		1075	1091-1109	21 September 1109	Olomouc	Unknown one child
Leopold I		?	1092-1112	15 March 1112	Znojmo	Ida of Austria one child	Son of Conrad I. Received Znojmo after the partition of 1092. Left no descendants, and his lands was reunited with Brno
Ulrich II		c.1035	1092-1112	5 January 1113	Brno	Adelaide two children	Son of Conrad I. Received Brno after the partition of 1092. In 1112 reunited Brno and Znojmo.
			1112-1113		Brno and Znojmo		Sophia of Berg 1113 three children
Sobeslaus I		c.1075	1113-1123	14 February 1140	Brno and Znojmo	Adelaide of Hungary II 1123 five children	Son of Vratislaus I.
Conrad II		c.1075	1123-1161	14 February 1140	Znojmo	Maria of Serbia 1132 four children	Son of Vratislaus I.
Otto II the Black		1085	1109-1123	18 February 1126	Olomouc	Unknown one child	Ruled in Olomouc, since 1091 with his brother Svatopluk. Acquired Brno in 1123.
			1123-1126		Olomouc and Brno
Wenceslaus Henry		1107	1126-1130	1 March 1130	Olomouc	Unmarried
Vratislaus II		c.1111	1126-1146	1146	Brno	A Russian princess 1132 three children
Leopold II		1102	1130-1137	1143	Olomouc	Unmarried	Son of Bořivoj II, Duke of Bohemia.
Vladislaus		?	1137-1140	1165	Olomouc	Unmarried	Son of Sobeslaus I.
Otto III		1122	1140-1160	12 May 1160	Olomouc	Durancia five children	Son of Otto II.
Spytihněv II		?	1146?-1182	1199	Brno	Umarried	In 1182 abdicated for Conrad III.
Frederick I		1142	1160-1173	25 March 1189	Olomouc	Elizabeth of Hungary 1157 six children	Son of Vladislaus II, Duke of Bohemia.
Ulrich III		1134	1173-1177	18 October 1177	Olomouc	Cecilia of Thuringia no children Sophia of Meissen no children	Son of Vladislaus II, Duke of Bohemia.
Wenceslaus		1137	1177-1178	after 1192	Olomouc	Unmarried	Son of Sobeslaus I. Abdicated for Conrad III.
Conrad III Otto		c.1136	1161-1178	9 September 1191	Znojmo	Hellicha of Wittelsbach before 1176 no children	Son of Conrad II. United Znojmo and Olomouc. Brno joined in 1182, when he also became the first Margrave of Moravia.
			1178-1182		Znojmo and Olomouc
			1182-1191		Moravia

Margraves of Moravia

Přemyslid dynasty

• 
  Conrad II Otto 1182-1191

united with Bohemia 1189-1197

• 
  Vladislaus I Henry 1197-1222, second son of King Vladislaus II of Bohemia and Judith of Thuringia
  


• 
  Vladislaus II 1223-1227, son of King Ottokar I of Bohemia and Constance of Hungary
  


• Přemysl 1227-1239, son of King Ottokar I of Bohemia and Constance of Hungary
  


• 
  Vladislaus III 1239-1247, son of King Wenceslaus I of Bohemia and Kunigunde of Hohenstaufen
  


• 
  Ottokar II 1247-1278, son of King Wenceslaus I of Bohemia and Kunigunde of Hohenstaufen
  

directly held by King Rudolph I of Germany 1278-1283

• 
  Wenceslaus II 1283-1305, son of King Ottokar II of Bohemia and Kunigunda of Halych
  


• 
  Wenceslaus III 1305-1306, son of King Wenceslaus II of Bohemia and Judith of Habsburg
  

Various dynasties

• 
  Rudolf I of Habsburg 1306-1307, son of King Albert I of Germany and Elizabeth of Carinthia
  


• 
  Henry of Carinthia 1307-1310, son of Duke Meinhard of Carinthia and Elisabeth of Bavaria
  

Luxembourgs

• 
  John 1310-1333, son of Emperor Henry VII and Margaret of Brabant
  


• 
  Charles IV 1333-1349, son of King John of Bohemia and Elizabeth
  


• 
  John Henry 1349-1375, enfeoffed by his brother King Charles IV
  


• 
  Jobst of Moravia 1375-1411, son of John Henry, with his brothers John Sobieslaus (until 1394) and Prokop (until 1405)


• 
  Sigismund 1419-1423, son of Emperor Charles IV and Elizabeth of Pomerania
  

Various dynasties

• 
  Albert V of Austria 1423-1439, son-in-law of Sigismund


• 
  Ladislaus the Posthumous 1440-1457, son of Albert and grandson of Sigismund


• 
  George of Poděbrady 1458-1468


• 
  Matthias Corvinus 1468-1490, second son of John Hunyadi und Erzsébet Szilágyi
  

Jagiellons

• 
  Vladislaus II 1490-1516, son of King Casimir IV Jagiellon of Poland and Elisabeth of Habsburg
  


• 
  Louis II 1516-1526, son of King Vladislaus II
  

Habsburgs

• 
  Ferdinand I 1527-1564, fourth child of Philip I and Joanna of Castile
  


• 
  Maximilian II 1564-1576, son of Emperor Ferdinand I and Anne of Bohemia and Hungary
  


• 
  Rudolf II 1576-1608, son of Emperor Maximilian II
  


• 
  Matthias II 1608-1617, son of Emperor Maximilian II
  

Under the united rule of the Bohemian kings from 1611 (see List of rulers of Bohemia).

References

External links