- Wenceslas II
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born Sept. 17, 1271died June 21, 1305King of Bohemia (1278–1305).He inherited the throne from his father at age seven, but his cousin Otto IV of Brandenburg served as his regent until 1283. Wenceslas gained full control of the country only after suppressing a dissident faction and executing his ambitious stepfather in 1290. A capable ruler who extended the boundaries of his kingdom, he annexed most of Upper Silesia and occupied Kraków (1291). He became king of Poland in 1300 but declined to become king of Hungary in 1301, instead placing his son Wenceslas on the Hungarian throne (1301–04).
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▪ king of Bohemia and Polandborn Sept. 17, 1271died June 21, 1305king of Bohemia from 1278 and of Poland from 1300 who ably ruled his Bohemian kingdom and spread his influence not only into Poland but also into Hungary.Succeeding to the throne at the age of seven on the death of his father, Přemysl Otakar II, in 1278, Wenceslas lived at the court of his cousin Otto IV of Brandenburg who served as regent for Wenceslas until 1283. When Wenceslas then returned to Prague, he found that his country was dominated by the ambitious Zaviš of Falkenstein, his mother's lover and later her husband. Wenceslas arrested Zaviš in 1289, destroyed the dissident faction, and executed his rival in 1290. Thereafter he governed his kingdom successfully, exploiting its natural resources and increasing its wealth. After annexing most of Upper Silesia, Wenceslas occupied Kraków in 1291 and finally became king of Poland in 1300. Offered the Hungarian crown, he declined and placed his son Wenceslas (later King Wenceslas III) on the throne in 1301 but was forced to withdraw him in 1304.* * *
Universalium. 2010.
