page_title: Ottokar II of Bohemia
section_title: Building an empire
hierarchical_section_title: Ottokar II of Bohemia / Biography / Building an empire
caption_attribution_description: Deutsch: Böhmen unter Ottokar II
context_page_description: Ottokar II, the Iron and Golden King, was a member of the Přemyslid dynasty who reigned as King of Bohemia from 1253 until his death in 1278. He also held the titles of Margrave of Moravia from 1247, Duke of Austria from 1251, Duke of Styria from 1260, as well as Duke of Carinthia and landgrave of Carniola from 1269.
  With Ottokar's rule, the Přemyslids reached the peak of their power in the Holy Roman Empire. His expectations of the imperial crown, however, were never fulfilled.
context_section_description: Feeling threatened by Ottokar's growing regional power beyond the Leitha River, his cousin King Béla IV of Hungary challenged the young king. Béla formed a loose alliance with the Wittelsbach duke Otto II of Bavaria and tried to install his own son Stephen as Duke of Styria, which since 1192 had been ruled in personal union with Austria under the terms of the Georgenberg Pact of 1186. Papal mediation settled the conflict : the parties agreed that Ottokar would yield large parts of Styria to Béla in exchange for recognition of his right to the remainder of Austria.
  Subsequently King Ottokar II led the two crusade expeditions against the pagan Old Prussians (1254-1255 and 1268).Königsberg (now Kaliningrad, Russia), founded in 1255 by the Teutonic Order, was named in his honour and later became the capital of the Duchy of Prussia.
  After a few years of peace the conflict with Hungary resumed: Ottokar defeated the Hungarians in July 1260 at the Battle of Kressenbrunn, ending years of disputes over Styria with Béla IV. Béla now ceded Styria back to Ottokar, and his claim to those territories was formally recognized by Richard of Cornwall, then king of Germany and nominal ruler of all the German lands. This peace agreement was also sealed by a royal marriage. Ottokar ended his marriage to Margaret and married Béla's young granddaughter Kunigunda of Halych, who became the mother of his children. The youngest of them became his only legitimate son, Wenceslaus II.
  During the Imperial Imperial interregnum of 1250 to 1273, Ottokar could increase his personal influence while Richard of Cornwall and Alfonso of Castile jostled to attain the Imperial dignity. In 1266 he occupied the Egerland in north-west Bohemia, and in 1268 he signed an inheritance treaty with the Sponheim duke Ulrich III of Carinthia, succeeding him in Carinthia, Carniola and the Windic March the next year. In 1272 he also acquired Friuli. His rule was once again contested by the Hungarians on the field of battle. After another victory, Ottokar became the most powerful king within the Empire.
caption: At the peak of his power, Ottokar II's realm stretched from the Sudetes to the Adriatic Sea.
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