Wenceslas IV - The King

The Czech lands were known as Bohemia before the 20^th century. The Bohemian or Czech monarchs ruled the Czech lands since the beginning of  the establishment of the Duchy of Bohemia. The legacies of the Czech kings stretch a long way throughout the history of the Czech Republic. One of the first names that comes up when talking about the Czech kings is Wenceslas IV. Wenceslas IV was already a king because of his inheritance since 1363, but later, he stood in an election and was made king by a board of electors consisting of seven members including himself. All the six members voted in favor of him, and he was thus elected as the king from 1376.

Wenceslas IV was the son of the Holy Roman emperor Charles IV, who is one of the most famous personalities of the Czech Republic. Although Wencelas IV had Charles IV’s genes, he was as incompetent a ruler as his father was successful.

Wenceslas was given the nickname of der Faule, which means “The Idle”. This is because Wenceslas IV was a weak king and under his reign, the country was continually going into wars and rivalries with other countries. He made countless enemies that he could not control, and under his rule, the country was gradually falling apart. The King of Bohemia repeatedly got into disagreements with the Bohemian nobility which was headed by the House of Rosenberg. Finally, after the continuation of further wars and conflicts, four Rhenish electors demanded a trial for Wenceslas, accusing him of failing in his duties as the king. Wenceslas ignored this trial and as a result, the four Rhenish members marked him punishable on the charge of “futility, ignobility, and idleness”, and chose another king in his place. On 1419, Wenceslas IV died of a heart attack while he was on a hunt in the woods, leaving the country in a deeply embedded political crisis after his death.

So, if you are going to visit this beautiful country with the interesting and rich history you should take one of the Prague walking tours where you will get to know not only about the life and reign Wenceslas IV, but about another great kings and personalities of the Czech history.