Duchy of Krnov

Duchy of Krnov Herzogtum Jägerndorf (de) Krnovské knížectví (cs)
Silesian duchy
← 1377 – 1623 →
Capital	Krnov
Government	Principality
Historical era	Late Middle Ages Early modern period
- Partitioned from     Přemyslid Opava	1377
- Władysław of Opole     Duke	1385
- George of Branden-     burg-Ansbach Duke	1523
- Merged into Opava	1623

Duchy of Krnov (German: Herzogtum Jägerndorf or Fürstentum Jägerndorf, Czech: Krnovské knížectví, Polish: Księstwo Karniowskie, Latin: Ducatus Carnovia) was one of the Duchies of Silesia, with its capital in Krnov, present-day Czech Republic.

History

The duchy was created in Upper Silesia in 1377 by partition from the Duchy of Opava (Troppau), on lands which until 1269 had been part of Moravia. Together with the adjacent Duchy of Racibórz it was under the direct rule of a cadet branch of the Czech Přemyslid dynasty, Kings of Bohemia until 1306 —unlike most other Duchies of Silesia ruled by the Silesian Piasts, who nevertheless in large part also had become Bohemian vassals in 1327. In 1318 the Přemyslid Nicholas II had received the Duchy of Opava from King John of Bohemia in turn for his support, and had also inherited the Piast Duchy of Racibórz in 1337.

Krnov Castle

When Duke Nicholas II of Opava and Racibórz died in 1365, his sons divided their heritage. In 1377 the eldest, John I became Duke of Racibórz and Krnov. In 1385 his successor John II "the Iron" sold Krnov to the Piast duke Władysław of Opole, who ceded it to Margrave Jobst of Moravia in 1390. John II regained Krnov in 1422 from the hands of Emperor Sigismund. The Přemyslids finally lost Krnov in 1474 to Matthias Corvinus, then anti-king of Bohemia. After King Vladislav II Jagiellon had prevailed as Bohemian king, he had no intention to return the seized duchy but enfeoffed his chancellor Johann von Schellenberg with Krnov instead.

In 1523 Margrave George of Brandenburg-Ansbach acquired Krnov, in 1532 he also inherited the Duchy of Racibórz from Duke John II of Opole. The increasing power of the Protestant House of Hohenzollern in Silesia was suspiciously eyed by Ferdinand I of Habsburg, who had become Bohemian king in 1526. Nevertheless the Hohenzollern dynasty was able to keep the duchy until after the 1620 Battle of White Mountain Emperor Ferdinand II of Habsburg confiscated their Bohemian possessions. Ferdinand's supporter Prince Karl I of Liechtenstein, Duke of Opava since 1613, received Krnov and both duchies were merged in 1623.

More than 100 years later, the Krnov and Racibórz possessions were a pretext for the Hohenzollern king Frederick the Great of Prussia to start the First Silesian War, ending with the annexation of most of Silesia according to the Treaty of Breslau in 1742. However, the bulk of Krnov remained with the Bohemian Crown as part of Austrian Silesia.

See also

• Dukes of Silesia