Duchy of Brzeg

Duchy of Brzeg
Księstwo Brzeskie (pl)
Herzogtum Brieg (de)
Silesian duchy
1311 – 1675


Coat of arms

Silesian duchies 1312-1317: Duchy of Brzeg in light grey
Capital Brzeg
Government Duchy
Historical era Middle Ages
Early modern period
 •  Partitioned from Legnica 1311
 • Vassalized by Bohemia 1329
 • Inheritance treaty
    with Brandenburg		 1537
 •  Seized by Habsburg 1675
 • Annexed by Prussia 1742
Preceded by 		Succeeded by
Duchy of Silesia
Kingdom of Bohemia

The Duchy of Brzeg (Polish: Księstwo Brzeskie) or Duchy of Brieg (German: Herzogtum Brieg), (Czech: Knížectví Břežské) was one of the Duchies of Silesia, created in 1311 during the fragmentation of the Duchy of Wrocław. A Bohemian fief from 1329, it was ruled by the Silesian Piasts until their extinction in 1675. Its capital was Brzeg in Lower Silesia.

History

When the Piast duke Henry V of Wrocław and Legnica died in 1296, his sons and heirs were still minors and his estates were ruled by their uncle Duke Bolko I the Strict of Świdnica, succeeded by their maternal uncle King Wenceslaus II of Bohemia in 1301 and by the Wrocław bishop Henryk z Wierzbnej in 1305. Finally in 1311, Henry's bequests were divided among his sons: Bolesław III the Generous, the eldest brother, received the southeastern lands around Brzeg and Grodków.

Brzeg Castle

Soon after however, Bolesław insisted on his rights as the firstborn son and ousted his younger brother Władysław from the Duchy of Legnica. He maintained good relations with his brother-in-law, the Luxembourg king John of Bohemia, and declared himself a Bohemian vassal in 1329.

The duchy was re-united with the Duchy of Legnica in 1419, then fragmented again, and united once more with Legnica under Duke Christian in 1664. When the Kingdom of Bohemia was inherited by the Habsburg dynasty of Austria in 1526, the duchy fell under their overlordship as Bohemian kings, although it was still ruled as a lien by the Silesian Piasts.

In 1537 Duke Frederick II concluded a treaty with Elector Joachim II Hector of Brandenburg, whereby the Hohenzollern dynasty would inherit the duchy upon the extinction of the Silesian Piasts. This agreement however was rejected by the Bohemian king Ferdinand I of Habsburg and did not come into effect.

Together with Legnica, Brzeg was the last autonomous duchy of Silesia. Following the death of the last Piast duke George William in 1675, it was administered directly by the House of Habsburg in dynasty's capacity as Kings of Bohemia. However Brandenburg-Prussia also claimed the duchy, referring to the old inheritance treaty of 1537. Nevertheless the Habsburg Monarchy again refused to acknowledge the validity of this agreement and annexed the duchies. Several decades later King Frederick II of Prussia used the dispute as a pretext to justify his campaign during the First Silesian War in 1740.

See also

Bibliography

Coordinates: 50°51′39″N 17°28′15″E / 50.860870°N 17.470802°E / 50.860870; 17.470802

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