Visiting Prague

After the death of the King Václav, the last of the dynasty of Premysl, Prague went through a period of invasions and foreign occupations, anarchy and revolt, hunger and pestilence. By the start of the fourteenth century the newborn Old Town had as a strong influence from an origin German bourgeoisie, which soon started to establish their interests towards politics and economics, but especially in Bohemian silver mines. This influent bourgeoisie also created its own net of clienteles, these strong families created a depended craftsmen and relationships with other important families and the government itself. Since the last dace of the thirtieth century they already occupied important positions in the justice system, politics and economical, most of the positions were both and hereditary.
In part these situation was result of the unstable rule of the King Henry of Carinthia, King of Bohemia and Moravia. Later, his son, John of Luxemburg married Eliska of the Premyslids and become the Bohemian King. John mad a great effort to make Bohemia a peaceful and prosperous place. Therefore, John became the founder of Bohemian great power, was the most important imperial prince and the builder of Charles’s empire. John of Luxemburg son, Václav was kept to study in the court of France, eleven years after being away form Bohemia he returns. At this time he was already matured by political and military experience in Italy and France. The son if the Czech princess, goes back to France, where he gets the name Charles and also married Blanch e of Valois, although he married another three times legally. After 1325 his education was supervised my Pierre de Rosières a singular theologian and diplomat.
King John of Luxemburg didn’t want Prince Charles in Bohemia therefore kept him in Luxemburg and France although after he won this first military victory in St. Catherine he decided himself to return to Bohemia to restore royal power, whish had been abused.
At first he began to define his position among the baronial factions, favoured the important monasteries and royal towns as bases of his power, and repossessed, by ingenious financial transactions, royal property his father had liberally pawned.
He was elected Roman king twice, in 1346 by five out of seven votes, and later in 1347 he was crowned King of Bohemia. Not wanting to meddle in Italian affaires, he was also crowned king of Italy in Milan in 1355. Two months later, together with his new wife Anna von der Pfalz, he becomes emperor of the Holy Realm, in Rome. He was expected to renew the gory of ancient Rome, the true capital of the Christian world. Although, his preference was the Bohemia Kingdom, the Premyslid of his beloved mother. Therefore he becomes the father of his motherland.
The king moved to the centre of Empire to Bohemia, where he built the base of his family clan. The aim of this shift of power was to spread civilization in the region (towards the East), not through wars but political dominance. He changed the idea of broader Luxembourg Empire, including Poland, Hungary (probably Scandinavia).
In 1343 he demanded an archbishop to Bohemian kingdom, for that he meet the pope in Avignon. His power was already noticed and Prague had their own and impendent from Mainz, archbishop. Charles created equilibrium of power in the kingdom: royal power and church against nobility.
In the year of 1348 King Charles founded a university in Prague: the oldest university north of the Alps and east of the Rhine, based on the model of Sorbonne and Bologna. Prague University was composed by four faculties (theological, law, medicine, artistic).
Its self-administrative system of the university was based on four academic nations (Czech, Polish, Saxon, Bavarian). The Chancellor of the university, which was considered a spiritual institution, was the Archbishop of Prague;. Its head was Rector elected for one year, later half-year his first one was Jan Hus. The new professors were loyal to the Church and Curia, their appointments show Charles and archbishop’s conservative thinking: theologically incorrect choices were carefully avoided.
The castle of Karlštejn was an other constroction orded by this amazing King. At first was meant to be the spiritual centre of the Empire (1348-1357). The Great Moravian Empire was united with the Empire of Charlemagne in this castle. A rare collection of c. 130 panel paintings by Magister Theodorick is placed in this castle.. The collection symbolizes a celestial army of saints, represented in their majesty and dignity whish was the style of monumental realism. The King Charles’ chiaroscuro of the so called “soft sculptural style” is typical for Central European painting.
It is undeniable that this king turned Prague into the heart of European power, religious feeling, creativity and erudition.

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