Wenceslaus I (III) | |
---|---|
![]() Wenceslaus depicted on his royal seal | |
King of Hungary and Croatia Contested by Charles I | |
Reign | 27 August 1301 – 9 October 1305 |
Coronation | 27 August 1301, Székesfehérvár |
Predecessor | Andrew III |
Successor | Otto |
King of Bohemia | |
Reign | 21 June 1305 – 4 August 1306 |
Predecessor | Wenceslaus II |
Successor | Henry |
King of Poland contested by Władysław I | |
Reign | 21 June 1305 – 4 August 1306 |
Predecessor | Wenceslaus |
Successor | Władysław I |
Born | 6 October 1289 Prague, Kingdom of Bohemia |
Died | 4 August 1306 Olomouc, Kingdom of Bohemia | (aged 16)
Spouse | Viola of Teschen |
Issue | Elizabeth, Abbess of Pustiměřu (illegitimate)[citation needed] |
Dynasty | Přemyslid |
Father | Wenceslaus II of Bohemia |
Mother | Judith of Habsburg |
Religion | Roman Catholic |
Wenceslaus III (Czech: Václav III., Hungarian: Vencel, Polish: Wacław, Croatian: Vjenceslav, Slovak: Václav; 6 October 1289 – 4 August 1306) was King of Hungary and Croatia between 1301 and 1305, and King of Bohemia and Poland from 1305. He was the son of Wenceslaus II, King of Bohemia, who was later also crowned king of Poland, and Judith of Habsburg. Still a child, Wenceslaus was betrothed to Elizabeth, the sole daughter of Andrew III of Hungary. After Andrew III's death in early 1301, the majority of the Hungarian lords and prelates elected Wenceslaus king, although Pope Boniface VIII supported another claimant, Charles Robert, a member of the royal house of the Kingdom of Naples.
Wenceslaus was crowned king of Hungary on 27 August 1301. He signed his charters under the name Ladislaus in Hungary. His rule was only nominal because a dozen powerful lords held sway over large territories in the kingdom. His father realized that Wenceslaus's position could not be strengthened and took him back from Hungary to Bohemia in August 1304. Wenceslaus succeeded his father in Bohemia and Poland on 21 June 1305. He abandoned his claim to Hungary in favour of Otto III of Bavaria on 9 October.
Wenceslaus granted large parcels of the royal domains to his young friends in Bohemia. A local claimant to the Polish throne, Władysław the Elbow-high, who had started conquering Polish territories during the rule of Wenceslaus's father, captured Kraków in early 1306. Wenceslaus decided to invade his rival's territories in Poland, but he was murdered before starting his campaign. He was the last of the male Přemyslid rulers of Bohemia.