Conrad II, Duke of Bohemia

Who was Conrad II, Duke of Bohemia?

Conrad II Otto was a member of Přemyslid dynasty, son of Duke Conrad II of Znojmo. He was the duke of Znojmo from 1177 until he was made margrave of Moravia from 1182 to 1186. He was then duke of Bohemia from 1189 to his death. Conrad was the son of Conrad I, Duke of Moravia, part of Znojmo and of the Serb princess Maria of the Vukanović dynasty, and thus grandson of the zhoupan Uroš I of Serbia. Conrad was grandson of first duke of Znojmo Luitold.

In Summer 1176, he invaded the region north of the Danube that belonged to Duke Soběslav II. He attacked churches and monasteries and was excommunicated by Pope Alexander III.

Conrad rose against his predecessor Frederick in 1182. He was named margrave by the Emperor Frederick Barbarossa, an opponent of the Bohemian duke. On Frederick's death in 1189, he was made duke with the unanimous support of the nobility. In May of that year, he accepted the formal affirmation of the emperor.

During his short reign, Conrad was beholden to the nobles. He was forced to concede them a set of privileges, the Iura Conradi. Among the concessions were:

freemen guaranteed against the abuses of the duke or the provincial courts under his zhupans