Václav

Autor: Václav
Rok: 1289-1306

Biogr./Hist. údaje: Narozen 6. 10. 1289, jako syn Václava II. a Jitky (Guty Habsburské), zavražděn 4. 8. 1306 v Olomouci. Český, polský a uherský král.
Zdroj: Autoritní databáze Národní knihovny ČR

Wenceslaus III (Czech: Václav III., Hungarian: Vencel, Polish: Wacław, Slovak: Václav; 6 October 1289 – 4 August 1306) was King of Hungary between 1301 and 1305, and King of Bohemia and Poland from 1305. He was the son of Wenceslaus II, King of Bohemia, who was later also crowned king of Poland, and Judith of Habsburg. Still a child, Wenceslaus was betrothed to Elizabeth, the sole daughter of Andrew III of Hungary. After Andrew III's death in early 1301, the majority of the Hungarian lords and prelates elected Wenceslaus king, although Pope Boniface VIII supported an other claimant, Charles of Anjou.Wenceslaus was crowned king of Hungary on 27 August 1301. As king of Hungary, he signed his charters under the name Ladislaus. However, his rule was only nominal, because a dozen powerful lords held sway over large territories in the kingdom. After realizing that Wenceslaus's position could not be strengthened even by force, his father took him back to Bohemia in August 1304.Wenceslaus succeeded his father in Bohemia and Poland on 21 June 1305. On 9 October, he abandoned his claim to Hungary in favor of Otto III of Bavaria. He started his rule in Bohemia by granting large parcels of the royal domains to his young friends. A claimant to the Polish throne, Władysław the Elbow-high, who had started conquering Polish territories during the rule of Wenceslaus's father, captured Cracow in early 1306. Wenceslaus decided to invade his rival's territories in Poland, but he was murdered before starting his campaign. He was the last of the male Přemyslid rulers of Bohemia.