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Margraviate of Moravia

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Margraviate of Moravia
Markrabství moravské (cs)
Markgrafschaft Mähren (de)
1182–1918
Map of Margraviate of Moravia and Duchy of Silesia from 1897.
Map of Margraviate of Moravia and Duchy of Silesia from 1897.
StatusLand of the Bohemian Crown
CapitalOlomouc
Brno (from 1641)
Common languagesMoravian dialects
Czech
Polish
German
GovernmentMargraviate
Margrave 
• 1182–1191 (first)
Conrad II of Bohemia
• 1916–1918 (last)
Charles I of Austria
LegislatureProvincial Diet
History 
• Established
1182
• Disestablished
1918
Area
191822,222 km2 (8,580 sq mi)
Population
• 1918
2,662,000
Preceded by		 Succeeded by
Brno Brno
Olomouc Olomouc
Znojmo Znojmo
First Czechoslovak Republic

The Moravian Margraviate (Czech: Markrabství moravské), Margraviate of Moravia (German: Markgrafschaft Mähren) or March of Moravia was a marcher state existing in various forms from 1182 to 1918. It was officially administrated by a margrave in cooperation with a provincial diet. It was variously a de facto independent state, and a also subject to the Duchy, later the Kingdom of Bohemia. It comprised the region called Moravia within the modern Czech Republic.

Geography

The Margraviate laid east of Bohemia proper, with an area about half that region’s size. In the north, the Sudeten Mountains, which extend to the Moravian Gate, formed the border with the Polish Duchy of Silesia, incorporated as a Bohemian crown land upon the 1335 Treaty of Trentschin. In the east and southeast, the western Carpathian Mountains separated it from present-day Slovakia. In the south, the winding Thaya River marked the border with the Duchy of Austria.

Moravians, usually considered a Czech people that speak Moravian dialects, made up the main part of the population. According to a 1910 Cisleithanian census, 27.6% identified themselves as German Moravians.[1] These ethnic Germans would later be expelled after the Second World War. Other ethnic minority groups included Poles, Roma and Slovaks.

History

See also: History of Moravia

After the early medieval Great Moravian realm had been finally defeated by the Árpád princes of Hungary in 907, nowadays Slovakia was incorporated as "Upper Hungary" (Felső-Magyarország), while adjacent Moravia passed under the authority of the Bohemian dukes. King Otto I of Germany officially granted it to Duke Boleslaus I in turn for his support against the Hungarian forces in the 955 Battle of Lechfeld. Temporarily ruled by King Bolesław I Chrobry of Poland from 999 until 1019, Moravia was re-conquered by Duke Oldřich of Bohemia and ultimatively became a land of the Crown of Saint Wenceslas held by the Přemyslid dynasty.[1]

In 1182, the Margraviate was created at the behest of Emperor Frederick Barbarossa by merger of the three Přemyslid appanage principalities of Brno, Olomouc and Znojmo, and given to Conrad II, the son of Prince Conrad of Znojmo. As heir apparent, the later King Ottokar II of Bohemia was appointed Moravian margave by his father Wenceslaus I in 1247. With Bohemia, Moravia was ruled by the House of Luxembourg from the extinction of the Přemyslid dynasty until 1437. Jobst, nephew of Emperor Charles IV inherited the Margraviate in 1375, ruled autonomously and was even elected King of the Romans in 1410. Shaken by the Hussite Wars, the Moravian nobles remained loyal supporters of the Luxembourg emperor Sigismund.[1]

In 1469, Moravia was occupied by the Hungarian king Matthias Corvinus, who had allied with the Catholic nobility against the rule of George of Poděbrady and had himself elected antiking of Bohemia at Olomouc. The rivalry with King Vladislaus II was settled in the 1479 Peace of Olomouc, whereby Matthias renounced the royal title but retained the rule over the Moravian lands.[2] With the Lands of the Bohemian Crown, the Margraviate was incorporated into the Habsburg Monarchy upon the death of King Louis II in the 1526 Battle of Mohács. Moravia was ruled as a crown land within the Austrian Empire from 1804 and Cisleithanian Austria from 1867.[3]

During the foundation of Czechoslovakia after World War I, the Margraviate was transformed into “Moravia Land”, later “Moravia-Silesia Land” in 1918. This autonomy was eliminated in 1949 by the communist government and has not been re-established yet.[1]

Government

The Margrave held ultimate authority in Moravia, throughout the history of the Margraviate. This meant that as its Margraves became more foreign, so too did governance of the Margraviate.

Moravia possessed a legislature, known as the Provincial Diet. The assembly has its origins in 1288, with the Colloquium generale, or curia generalis.[4] This was a meeting of the upper nobility, knights, the Bishop of Olomouc, abbots and ambassadors from royal cities. These meetings gradually evolved into the diet.

The power of this diet waxed and waned throughout history. By the end of the Margraviate, the diet was almost powerless. The diet consisted of three estates of the realm: the estate of upper nobility, the estate of the lower nobility, and the estate of prelates and burghers.[5] With the February Patent of 1861, the diet was reformed into a more egalitarian body. It still retained the same structure, but the members changed. It consisted of assembly seats for landowners, city-dwellers, and rural farmers. This was retained until the diet was abolished after the fall of the Dual Monarchy.[5]

Moravian eagle

The coat of arms of Moravia is charged with a crowned white-red chequered eagle with golden claws and tongue. It first appeared in the seal of Margrave Přemysl (1209-1239), a younger son of King Ottokar I of Bohemia.[2]

From 1272 onwards, it was also displayed in the town seal of Znojmo, bearing a 'Z' as escutcheon. In the days of the Habsburg Monarchy, the eagle's colours changed to gold and red, the Habsburg family colours. In 1758, the citizens of Olomouc were granted the Moravian coat of arms by Maria Theresa in thanks for their defence against Prussian troops under King Frederick the Great during the Seven Years' War, then with the initials 'F' (for Emperor Francis I), 'M' and ’T' (for Maria Theresa).

Administration

Until 1848

In the mid 14th century Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV, also King of Bohemia and Margrave of Moravia, had kraje administrative subdivisions established.
Some of these subdivisions were:

After 1848

After the 1848 revolution, the kraje were replaced by political districts (politický okres), which were largely maintained by the Czechoslovak administration after 1918:

Margraves of Moravia

Přemyslids

united with Bohemia 1189-1197

directly held by King Rudolph I of Germany 1278-1283

Various dynasties

Luxembourgs

Various dynasties

Jagiellons

Habsburgs

Under the united rule of the Bohemian kings from 1611 (see List of rulers of Bohemia).

  • The original coat of arms of Moravia.
    The original coat of arms of Moravia.
  • The variation of the coat of arms used during the reign of the Habsburgs.
    The variation of the coat of arms used during the reign of the Habsburgs.
  • A picture of the Moravian Diet in the 17th century.
    A picture of the Moravian Diet in the 17th century.
  • The former Moravian Diet building. It now houses the Constitutional Court of the Czech Republic.
    The former Moravian Diet building. It now houses the Constitutional Court of the Czech Republic.

References

  1. ^ a b c d Pánek, Jaroslav; Tůma, Oldřich (2009). A History of the Czech Lands. Prague: Charles University Press. ISBN 978-80-246-1645-2. {{cite book}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  2. ^ a b Prinz, Friedrich (1993). Deutsche Geschichte in Osten Europas: Böhmen und Mähren. Berlin: Wolf Jobst Siedler Verlag GmbH. p. 381. ISBN 3-88680-200-0. Retrieved 25 February 2013.
  3. ^ Urban, Otto (1998). "V.". Czech Society 1848–1918. United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-43155-7. Retrieved 25 February 2013.
  4. ^ Válka, Josef (1995). Dějiny Moravy: Morava reformace, renesance a baroka (in Czech). Brno: Muzejní a vlastivědná společnost v Brně. ISBN 9788085048629. Retrieved 7 March 2013.
  5. ^ a b David, Jiří (2009). "Moravian estatism and provincial councils in the second half of the 17th century". Folia historica Bohemica. 1. 24: 111-165. ISSN 0231-7494. {{cite journal}}: Cite has empty unknown parameters: |měsíc= and |link to author= (help)


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