Frederick, Duke of Bohemia

"Frederick of Bohemia" redirects here. For the later king of Bohemia, see Frederick V, Elector Palatine.

Frederick of Bohemia
Duke of Bohemia
Seal of Duke Frederick
Duke of Bohemia
Reign	1172 – 1173
Predecessor	Vladislav II of Bohemia
Successor	Soběslav II
Reign	1178 – 1189
Predecessor	Soběslav II
Successor	Conrad II
Born	c. 1142
Died
Spouse	Elisabeth of Hungary
Issue	Vratislaus Helena Sophia Ludmilla of Bohemia Olga Margaret
House	Přemyslid dynasty
Father	Vladislav II of Bohemia
Mother	Gertrude of Babenberg
Religion	Roman Catholicism

Frederick (Czech: Bedřich) (died 25 March 1189) was the duke of Olomouc from 1164 and then duke of Bohemia from 1172 to 1173 and again from 1178 to his death. He was the son of King Vladislaus II, who abdicated in 1172 in his favour. However, he could not hold on to his principality, because he was approved of by neither the national diet nor the emperor, and was deposed in September the year following by the emperor at the Diet of Hermsdorf. The Emperor Frederick I, godfather and namesake of Frederick, nominated Oldřich, son of Soběslav I, but he renounced the throne in favour of Soběslav II, sympathetic to the peasantry, but antagonistic to both nobles and emperor.

Frederick allied with the emperor and defeated Soběslav at the battles of Lodenice and Prague. The emperor recognised Frederick as an imperial prince, but he also raised the bishop of Prague, Henry Bretislaus, to princely status, making him a direct vassal of the emperor. He also appointed Conrad Otto margrave over Moravia and thus divided the duchy into three parts dependent on him. When Frederick, who was practically a puppet of the emperor, died, he was succeeded by Conrad Otto.

By his marriage to Elizabeth, daughter of Géza II of Hungary, he had the following issue:

• Helena (b.1158), affianced to Peter, son of Manuel I Komnenos, in 1164
• Sophia (died 25 May 1185), married Albert, Margrave of Meissen
• Ludmilla (died 14 August 1240), married Count Albert III of Bogen in 1184, and then Louis I, Duke of Bavaria in 1204
• Vratislaus (d.1180)
• Olga (fl.c.1163)
• Margaret (died 28 August 1167)

Ancestry

Family of Frederick, Duke of Bohemia

16. Bretislaus I of Bohemia               8. Vratislaus II of Bohemia                       17. Judith of Schweinfurt               4. Vladislaus I of Bohemia                             18. Casimir I of Poland               9. Świętosława of Poland                       19. Maria Dobroniega of Kiev               2. Vladislav II of Bohemia                                   20. Poppo of Berg-Schelklingen               10. Henry I of Berg-Schelklingen                       21. Sophia of Hungary               5. Richeza of Berg                             22. Diepold II, Margrave of Vohburg               11. Adelheid of Mochental                       23. Luitgard of Carinthia               1. Frederick, Duke of Bohemia                                         24. Ernest, Margrave of Austria               12. Leopold II, Margrave of Austria                       25. Adelaide of Eilenburg               6. Leopold III, Margrave of Austria                             26. Rapoto IV of Cham               13. Ida of Formbach-Ratelnberg                       27. Mathilde               3. Gertrude of Babenberg                                   28. Henry III, Holy Roman Emperor               14. Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor                       29. Agnes of Poitou               7. Agnes of Germany                             30. Otto, Count of Savoy               15. Bertha of Savoy                       31. Adelaide of Susa

Regnal titles
Preceded by Vladislaus II	Duke of Bohemia 1172–1173	Succeeded by Soběslav II
Preceded by Soběslav II	Duke of Bohemia 1178–1189	Succeeded by Conrad II

External reference

• Medieval Lands Project on Duke Friedrich of Bohemia