Duchy of Bohemia

The Duchy of Bohemia was a principality of the Holy Roman Empire in Central Europe during the early and high Middle Ages. It formed around 870 within the Great Moravian realm and separated from it in 895, when Duke Spytihnev swore fealty to the East Frankish king Arnulf. The Premyslid dukes ruled from Prague Castle and Levy Hradec, bringing surrounding lands under their control while Frankish bishops continued the Christianisation begun by Cyril and Methodius. In 973 the Diocese of Prague was founded under Duke Boleslaus II, and Duke Wenceslaus, murdered by his brother in 935, became the patron saint of the land. In 1002 Duke Vladivoj received Bohemia as a fief from Henry II, making it an imperial state, and the duchy grew rich on silver, trade and the Elbe route. Duke Ottokar I secured hereditary royal rank in 1198, and the duchy became the Kingdom of Bohemia, which the Premyslids held until 1306.