The last years of Vratislaus, are, sadly, occupied by dynastic quarreling.

When his brother Otto dies in 1086, he gives Olomouc to Boleslaus, his son by Swatawa of Poland, a daughter of Casimir I of Poland.

This act is seen to be against the interests of his brother Conrad.

Vratislaus raises an army against Conrad and sends it out under Bretislaus, his son by Adelaide, daughter of Andrew I of Hungary, who had died in 1061.

Bretislaus then turns on father.

Vratislaus, in keeping with Bohemian custom, designates an heir: Conrad.

Thus reconciled, the two attack Bretislaus, who flees to Hungary.

Vratislaus dies of a hunting wound on January 14, 1092, after a reign of thirty years.

His brother succeeds him as Duke Conrad I of Bohemia.

He does not succeed as king, because his brother had only been lifted to the royal dignity ad personam by the Emperor Henry IV and that title is therefore not hereditary.

Before he became duke of Bohemia, he had long ruled over Moravia, as junior sons typically do, as duke of Brno and Znojmo (since 1054).

By his marriage to Wirpirk of Tengling, he has two children: Oldřich (or Ulrich), prince of Brno from 1092, and Luitpold, prince of Znojmo from 1092.

Dying on September 6, 1092, Conrad is succeeded as duke by his nephew Bretislaus, the eldest son of the late Vratislaus II and Adelaide, daughter of Andrew I of Hungary.

East Central Europe (1096–1107 CE): Coloman’s Hungarian Consolidation, Polish Fragmentation under Władysław I and Zbigniew, and Bohemian Stability under Bretislav II

Between 1096 and 1107 CE, East Central Europe—comprising modern-day Poland, Czechia, Slovakia, Hungary, and the eastern portions of Germany and Austria east of 10°E and north of the defined southeastern boundary—experienced critical political, dynastic, and cultural shifts. King Coloman the Learned solidified Hungarian stability and expanded royal authority, Poland remained politically fragmented under the rule of Władysław I Herman and his sons, and Bohemia enjoyed stability and regional influence under Bretislav II. These developments reshaped regional dynamics and set lasting precedents for future medieval statehood.

Political and Military Developments

Hungarian Consolidation and Expansion under Coloman

• Coloman the Learned (r. 1095–1116) secured internal peace in Hungary after Ladislaus I’s successful reign. He expanded Hungarian influence, notably annexing Croatia (1102), effectively ruling it as part of a personal union. His reforms strengthened legal structures, royal administration, and military capabilities.

Polish Dynastic Fragmentation and Rivalries

• After Władysław I Herman’s death in 1102, Poland experienced intensified internal conflicts between his sons, Zbigniew and Bolesław III Wrymouth, leading to fragmented territories, internal instability, and weakened royal authority throughout this period.

Stability and Influence of Bohemia under Bretislav II

• Duke Bretislav II of Bohemia (r. 1092–1100) maintained Přemyslid stability and aligned Bohemia with imperial interests, reinforcing its regional status. His reign was marked by strengthened governance, improved administrative efficiency, and enhanced regional diplomacy.

Imperial Influence under Henry IV and Henry V

• The Holy Roman Emperors Henry IV and his son Henry V (from 1106) maintained active involvement in East Central European affairs, shaping alliances, succession disputes, and regional power dynamics, especially influencing Bohemia’s strategic alignment.

Economic and Technological Developments

Hungarian Prosperity and Economic Expansion

• Under Coloman’s reign, Hungary’s economic prosperity grew significantly, benefiting from expanded trade with Byzantium, Venice, and Central European markets. Urban centers flourished, bolstered by increased commercial activity and improved infrastructure.

Polish Economic Disruption and Localized Recovery

• Poland’s internal dynastic struggles temporarily disrupted economic activity, yet key urban centers (Kraków, Gniezno) continued local recovery, maintaining trade and commerce despite instability.

Continued Bohemian Urban and Economic Growth

• Prague and other Bohemian towns remained economically robust under Bretislav II, benefiting from stable governance, increased trade, and enhanced urban infrastructure.

Cultural and Artistic Developments

Hungarian Cultural Renaissance under Coloman

• Coloman the Learned, renowned for his intellectual interests, actively promoted ecclesiastical institutions, supported literary and scholarly activities, and initiated cultural projects, fostering a Hungarian cultural revival and intellectual flourishing.

Bohemian Ecclesiastical and Cultural Vitality

• Bretislav II’s patronage supported ecclesiastical building programs, monastic foundations, and manuscript production, significantly enriching Bohemia’s cultural and religious life, particularly in Prague.

Polish Cultural Continuity amid Political Instability

• Despite political fragmentation, Polish monasteries, ecclesiastical institutions, and cultural centers preserved scholarly traditions and cultural identity, providing continuity during ongoing turmoil.

Settlement and Urban Development

Expansion of Hungarian Urban Centers

• Coloman actively supported urban growth in key Hungarian cities, notably Esztergom, Székesfehérvár, and Zagreb, strengthening administrative efficiency, economic vitality, and regional governance.

Continued Bohemian Urban Prosperity

• Prague and other Bohemian urban centers experienced continued growth and fortification under Bretislav II, reinforcing their economic and political roles.

Polish Urban Resilience amid Dynastic Strife

• Major Polish cities, including Kraków and Gniezno, showed resilience and maintained incremental development, ensuring continued administrative and economic significance despite political challenges.

Social and Religious Developments

Consolidation of Ecclesiastical Authority

• Christianity remained dominant throughout the region, with strengthened ecclesiastical authority evident under Coloman in Hungary and Bretislav II in Bohemia, shaping governance, education, and cultural identities.

Dynastic Power and Aristocratic Influence

• Dynastic and aristocratic structures continued to solidify, with Hungarian royal authority notably strengthened under Coloman. Meanwhile, Poland’s weakened central authority enhanced aristocratic influence, altering political governance patterns for subsequent decades.

Long-Term Consequences and Historical Significance

The era 1096–1107 CE significantly shaped the medieval trajectory of East Central Europe. Hungary under Coloman experienced significant territorial expansion and cultural flourishing, Poland faced severe dynastic fragmentation and weakened royal authority, and Bohemia maintained stable governance and strengthened regional influence under Bretislav II. These developments profoundly influenced regional alliances, political identities, cultural traditions, and societal structures, laying foundational elements that endured throughout subsequent medieval centuries.

A number of small bands of knights and peasants, inspired by the preaching of the Crusade, had set off in the spring of 1096 from various parts of France (Cologne) and Germany (Worms).

The First Crusade has ignited what will be a long tradition of organized violence against Jews in European culture.

Jewish survivors of the massacres in the Rhineland perpetrated by the irregular, disorderly bands of rabid peasant Crusaders begin moving to settle in the more tolerant religious climate of eastern Europe.

The crusade of the priest Folkmar, beginning in Saxony, persecutes Jews in Magdeburg and later, …

…on May 30, 1096 in Prague in Bohemia.

The Catholic Bishop Cosmas attempts to prevent forced conversions, and the entire Catholic hierarchy in Bohemia preaches against such acts.

Duke Břetislav II is out of the country and the Catholic Church's officials' protests are unable to stop the mob of crusaders.

At Visegrad, near Prague, five hundred Jews, together with one thousand soldiers of the Duke, defeat the attacking crusaders, thus escaping the fate of many other Central European Jewish communities.

However, the Jewish settlement is destroyed and not rebuilt.

Jews arriving from the west in Prague are not permitted to reside in the city, and so move east to Poland.

Jews sometimes survive by being subjected to involuntary baptism, such as in Regensburg, where a crusading mob rounds up the Jewish community, forces them into the Danube, and performs a mass baptism.

After the crusaders leave the region, these Jews return to practicing Judaism.

Bretislaus II, who in 1092 had succeeded his uncle Conrad I as Duke of Bohemia, is a major enemy of paganism who works for the destruction of the old Slavic culture.

In 1097, he expels the Slavonic monks of the monastery in Sazava, founded in 1033 by Procopius.

Bretislaus also wishes to end the elective principle of succession and replace it with a type of seniorate as conceptualized by Bretislaus I: the eldest prince of the reigning family will hold Bohemia as sovereign over the entire state while the younger scions of the dynasty will rule as territorial dukes over the regions of Moravia.

This is to the benefit of his half-brother Borivoj II.

He invests Borivoj as duke of Brno in 1097, thus removing the sons of Conrad I from the succession.

Bretislaus also succeeds in receiving a long-desired imperial investiture at the Diet of Regensburg on April 19, 1099.

Bretislaus is assassinated by his adversaries at the hunting lodge of Zbecno in western Bohemia on December 22, 1100.

Borivoj II, the younger half-brother and successor of Bretislaus II, is opposed in the succession by Duke Oldrich of Brno, his cousin, who had recovered the stronghold originally confiscated from his father.

A civil war ensues.

Oldrich intends to recognize the suzerainty of Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor, and thereby gain his support, but Borivoj has already been confirmed by the emperor.

Oldrich is eventually forced to flee to Moravia.