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68-461: Mladá Boleslav is the second most populated city in the region. It is a major centre of the Czech automotive industry thanks to the Škoda Auto company and therefore the centre of Czech industry as a whole. The city was named after Duke Boleslaus II , who founded a gord here. The historic city centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an urban monument zone . Mladá Boleslav is made up of

136-517: A Swedish landing of troops in northern Germany , and only Denmark was granted immunity against this. The main challenge for Gustav II Adolf was to defend the Lutheran faith against the Catholics of the south (according to Swedish geography; "the south" was actually present-day Germany and Poland and should not be confused with today's southern Europe). To do this he realized that he had to defeat

204-641: A Renaissance church and a printing house. In 1518, the first map of Bohemia was printed by Mikuláš Klaudyán in Mladá Boleslav. After death of Adam Krajíř of Krajek in 1588, Mladá Boleslav became property of the Hasištejnský branch of the Lobkowicz family . They invited a large Lutheran community from Germany to the city and thus began the Germanization of the city. In 1595, Mladá Boleslav became

272-476: A beachhead in northern Germany. Although the state of Magdeburg , one of Sweden's few allies in the region, were overwhelmed by an Imperial army and had their capital city burnt to the ground with its citizens slaughtered , this only served to make the Holy Roman army underestimate their adversaries, being crushed in the following battle of Werben by a less numerous Swedish force. But no truly decisive battle

340-605: A fast rate and maneuver during the battle with only a handful of infantrymen (as opposed to the hostile artillery, which consisted almost entirely of enormous cannons that were very difficult to move even with horses). However, the cannon itself could quickly overheat and Gustavus had to rely on superior infantry and cavalry to defeat the Holy Roman Empire. The common "gallop cavalry" were armed with broadswords and also equipped with one flintlock carbine and two flintlock pistols . The infantry varied in equipment, with

408-516: A free city. In 1600, Mladá Boleslav was promoted to a royal city by Emperor Rudolf II . At the beginning of the 17th century, Mladá Boleslav has about 3,100 inhabitants. During the Thirty Years' War in the first half of the 17th century, the city was twice burned, in 1631 by the imperialists, and in 1640 by the Swedish army . After the war, the city's population declined by 40% and the castle

476-648: A long-lasting conflict with Poland around the lands of Silesia and Lesser Poland (the Polish-Bohemian War ). In 992, he approached King Otto III and participated in an unsuccessful campaign against the Lutici tribes in the wake of the Great Slav Rising of 983. Boleslaus's reign is most notable for the foundation of the Diocese of Prague in 973, which earned him the epithet "The Pious" by

544-472: A new army, the king decided that the state would take control of land formerly belonging to noblemen while also adding a heavy taxation on the upper class; an action that would also give the king popular support among the lower classes. Between 1680–1682, the Swedish nobility lost more than half of their estates and riches. An absolute monarch , Karl XI met little meaningful opposition to his demands and in 1682

612-485: A sword and at least one pistol, but officers often decided to wield the same kind of spear/glaive/partisan that their soldiers used, in order to keep enemies at a distance with greater effect than a sword would. During the Thirty Years' War, hand grenades were a rare sight on the battlefield, but Sweden did possess at least one specialized grenadier company. Denmark had always threatened Swedish naval dominance in

680-648: Is twinned with: Boleslaus II, Duke of Bohemia Boleslaus II the Pious ( Czech : Boleslav II. Pobožný Polish : Bolesław II. Pobożny ; c. 932 – 7 February 999), a member of the Přemyslid dynasty , was Duke of Bohemia from 972 until his death in 999. Boleslaus was an elder son of Duke Boleslaus I the Cruel and brother of the three other children of his father who survived to adulthood: Strachkvas , Doubravka (the wife of Duke Mieszko I of Poland) and

748-542: Is a three-time national champion. The main landmark of the city is the Mladá Boleslav Castle. It was built in the first half of the 14th century. In the 16th century, it was rebuilt in the Renaissance style. The castle was a ruin after the Thirty Years' War, but at the beginning of the 18th century, it was rebuilt into barracks . During World War II, it was an internment centre of Jews. Today it houses

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816-509: Is believed that the army of Gustav II Adolf was the first military to utilize effective combined arms tactics in renaissance history, and that the Swedish Empire was indeed the most successful fighting force of the Thirty Years' War . The Swedish army at the beginning of the Thirty Years' War was equipped with state-of-the-art weaponry of domestic designs, including the leather cannon – a lightweight artillery piece that could fire at

884-711: Is located about 45 kilometres (28 mi) northeast of Prague . The eastern part of the municipal territory lies in the Jičín Uplands and the western part lies in the Jizera Table . The highest point is located on the slopes of the Chlum hill at 301 m (988 ft) above sea level. The city is situated on the left bank of the Jizera River, at its confluence with the Klenice River. The historic city centre

952-444: Is situated on a promontory above the confluence. In the second half of the 10th century, a gord was founded by Duke Boleslaus II on a promontory , in the area of today's historic centre. The first trustworthy written mention of the gord is from 1130, when it was also called "New Boleslav" for the first time. Probably in the 11th century, a settlement was founded below the promontory in an area called Podolec, on an important site on

1020-523: The Caroleans desperately tried to overcome a heavily fortified line of defenses, but failed. The Russian army severely outnumbered the Swedish invaders, was in good condition, had a much larger artillery force and were heavily dug in behind lines of redoubts along with wooden stakes and trenches. The Battle of Poltava was a severe blow to the Carolean army. King Charles led his men to the southwest in

1088-546: The Czech First League since 2004. They were runners-up in 2005–06, have been Czech Cup winners twice (2011 and 2016) and have qualified for the European cups for multiple times. The ice hockey team BK Mladá Boleslav has been playing in the top-tier Czech Extraliga without interruption since 2014. The city's floorball team, Florbal MB , belongs to the most successful Czech teams of the modern era. The team

1156-476: The European Structural and Investment Funds . It is an area that includes the city and its surroundings, linked to the city by commuting and migration. It has about 107,000 inhabitants. The D10 motorway passes next to the city. Mladá Boleslav lies on the railway lines Mladá Boleslav– Turnov , Kolín – Rumburk and Tanvald – Všetaty . Škoda Auto University is a private university, founded by

1224-588: The Holy Roman Empire on the field of battle; this was the dominating Catholic state in Europe which had begun enforcing its faith upon small Protestant nations in Germany, most notably Sweden's ally of Pomerania . This action provoked Sweden to initiate an invasion, and after landing in allied territory the superior Swedish army easily defeated an Imperial force at Frankfurt one year after establishing

1292-551: The Swedish Empire held a territory more than twice the size of its modern borders and one of the most successful military forces at the time, proving itself on numerous occasions on battlefields such as Wallhof , Narva , and Düna . The military of the Swedish empire is commonly (and wrongfully) recognized only as the Caroleans , which were in fact not in service until the late 17th century under Charles XI and his successor . The Swedish Empire and its modern military force

1360-662: The eastern parts of the empire , giving Sweden a standing army of 19,584 men. Cavalry forces were organized in a similar fashion, with 13 companies (six Swedish, four Finnish and three noble ), every company having 250 men and an equal number of horses (meaning that the Swedish army possessed 3,250 cavalrymen). While in military service, the provincial regiments were divided into field regiments of 1,176 men in eight companies of 147 men each – these comprised 21 officers, 54 pikemen and 72 musketeers . This system of field organization enabled small and mobile groups with high-quality leadership, excellent communication and unrivaled firepower. It

1428-481: The 14th century, built outside the city gates. It was rebuilt in the Baroque style in 1727. The Church of Saint Gall is located on a former cemetery, currently converted into a park. It is a Baroque church with a Gothic-Renaissance core. The tower dates from 1735. The former Church of Saint Bonaventure served as a Benedictine monastery in the mid-14th century, but it is probably much older. A school of Moravian Church

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1496-617: The 15th century, they left the desolated Minorite monastery to the Unity of the Brethren , which settled there and thus began and thus began the period of the town's greatest prosperity. At the beginning of the 16th century, Mladá Boleslav was inherited by the Krajíř of Krajek family. In the 16th century, Mladá Boleslav was a leading centre of the Unity of the Brethren, hosting the Brethren's bishop ,

1564-457: The 1621 to 1648 campaigns: 40,000 in the 1621–1629 in the Prussian and Livonian wars, and 110,000 in the 1635–1648 war in Germany. Wilson estimates that another 400,000 foreigners (mostly Germans) died in Swedish service in the period, as conscripts or mercenaries. These figures are considerable, considering that Sweden and Finland together only had a population of 1.2 million in 1620. Although

1632-510: The 1990s, the factory has made it one of the richest and most prosperous Czech cities. The first written mention of the presence of Jewish community in Mladá Boleslav is from 1471. In 1634, Jacob Bassevi von Treuenberg, the first ennobled Jew in the Habsburg monarchy, was buried in the Jewish cemetery in Mladá Boleslav. In the 17th and 18th centuries, Mladá Boleslav (called Bumsla by Jews)

1700-455: The 20th century, mainly due to World War II and politics of the socialist republic. In 1895, the Laurin & Klement company (the predecessor of Škoda Auto ) was founded and the automotive industry became the main pillar of the city's economy. In 1925, Laurin & Klement was acquired by Škoda works. During the 20th century, many car parts manufacturers were established in the city, including

1768-583: The Assumption of the Virgin Mary is located next to the Old City Hall and is the main parish church of the city. It has a Gothic core from the mid-15th century. Baroque modifications were made in 1701–1702 and in 1761. The Church of Saint John of Nepomuk is located on the eastern edge of the historic city centre and form the dominant feature of Míru Square. It was originally a Gothic church from

1836-521: The Baltic Sea, and even during the reign of a tactical genius such as Gustavus Adolphus, the Swedish navy remained somewhat inferior to their southern adversaries. The Vasa was built in a response to this, and was the most heavily armed warship of its time. But the Vasa did not pass its maiden voyage and sunk in 1628, leaving Sweden without its most powerful vessel and causing financial problems within

1904-635: The Polish and Saxons . Upon Bishop Dětmar's death in 982, Soběslav's brother Adalbert (later known as Saint Adalbert of Prague) was appointed his successor until he abandoned his primacy to lead a mission to the Old Prussians in 994. On 28 September 995, Boleslaus' forces and the confederate Vršovci clan stormed Libice Castle in southern Bohemia and massacred the members of the Slavník dynasty that were found there. Boleslaus's brutal triumph ensured

1972-634: The Swedish Army never lost a single major land battle until 1709. In the Dano-Swedish war of 1700 king Charles forced his adversaries to the southwest to abandon the conflict, and one year after that he launched a five-year campaign against Poland which saw the Commonwealth forced out of the conflict. Sweden saw no military failures in west or south, even though Russia had conducted some successful raids against Swedish outposts and villages on

2040-478: The Swedish Empire with a more warlike ruler. Charles X Gustav was only king for 5 years, but conquered large amounts of territory that still belong to Sweden today (including Blekinge , Bohuslän , Skåne , and Halland ). His son Karl XI would further strengthen the army by introducing the Caroleans , which were also used by Karl XII in the Great Northern War . However, despite great successes on

2108-576: The Swedish army was called Hakkapeliitta after their battle cry " Hakkaa päälle! ". Approximately 110,000 soldiers from Finland lost their lives serving the Swedish Empire between 1617–1721; taking into account the contemporary number of inhabitants in Finland, this is roughly equivalent to 1,000,000 20th century casualties. Upon inheriting the Swedish throne in 1611, Gustav II Adolf (Gustavus Adolphus in Latin ) also inherited three ongoing wars where Sweden

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2176-575: The abbess Mlada . His mother may have been Biagota , a mysterious figure known only from her coins. According to some historians, she was the wife of Boleslaus I. Boleslaus II took over the rule of the Duchy of Bohemia as kníže (a title that may be translated either as duke or prince) on his father's death in 972. Like his father, Boleslaus II initially quarrelled with the Ottonian kings of Germany . In 974, he and Duke Mieszko I of Poland supported

2244-567: The ages of 16 and 60. Not only did the church-based conscription enable a quicker and easier way to find able men of suitable age, but religious influence would strengthen the morale and unity of the Swedish troops compared to foreign mercenaries. Gustav II also introduced a new regimental system, in which every province would be able to maintain one regiment of 3,264 men, divided in twelve companies of 272 men each. Four such regiments were to be active in mainland Sweden at all times (numbering 13,056 men), and another two regiments would be stationed in

2312-599: The battlefield, inadequate economy and small manpower caused the demise of the Swedish Empire, which ended its 110-year period as a great power in 1721. Finland was an integral part of Sweden during the Swedish Empire. At the time of the Thirty Years' War , Finns represented an essential part of the Swedish army. Roughly 2/5 from the infantry and 3/7 from the cavalry in the army were from Finland . They served in their own units which used Finnish as their main language. Commands were also given in Finnish. The Finnish cavalry in

2380-618: The beginning of the English civil war). In 1648, the Swedish army in Germany (commanded by Carl Gustaf Wrangel) nominally comprised 62,950 men of which 45,206 were Germans and 17,744 Swedes. In spite of this composition, the Swedish army was a coherent fighting force, well-disciplined and trained, and strictly led. Many foreign officers could attain high ranks, such as marshal Alexander Leslie , William of Saxe-Weimar , Bernard of Saxe-Weimar , Hans Christoff von Königsmarck or, later Otto Wilhelm Königsmarck and Bernhard of Baden-Durlach . During

2448-406: The city parts and villages of Mladá Boleslav I (locally called Staré Město, i.e. "Old Town"), Mladá Boleslav II (locally called Nové Město, i.e. "New Town"), Mladá Boleslav III (locally called Podolec), Mladá Boleslav IV (locally called Pták), Bezděčín, Čejetice, Čejetičky, Chrást, Debř, Jemníky, Michalovice, Podchlumí and Podlázky. Mladá Boleslav was named after its founder, Duke Boleslaus II , who

2516-537: The company in 2000. The Secondary Industrial School in Mladá Boleslav was founded in 1867 as one of the first vocational schools in the Czech lands . The development of the school was closely connected with the boom of the Škoda Auto factory. Before the World War II and the first decade after it, the school was the only specialized industrial school in the country. The football team FK Mladá Boleslav has played in

2584-484: The diplomatic situation for the Swedish Empire worsened significantly after Poltava - Denmark-Norway and the three nations of Saxony, Poland and Lithuania, all three ruled by one king, broke previous peace treaties (Traventhal 1700, and Altrandstädt 1706 respectively), meaning that, more or less, the nine years of previous warfare was undone. The situation would only become more dire for the Empire, as Prussia would later join

2652-471: The district archive and the Regional Museum with historical, cultural and social history collections. The Old City Hall in the historic centre is a Renaissance house built in 1554–1559. It is decorated with ornamental and figurative sgraffiti . In the second half of the 19th century and in 1939–1941, the building was reconstructed and other wings were completed. It has two towers, the higher of them

2720-442: The eastern border. Charles XII's reputation as an invincible military commander would only end after he decided to launch a major campaign against Russia, known as the invasion of Russia . Once the army had reached as far as Poltava, Ukraine, Charles himself was wounded and his men were in a dreadful state, having not slept or eaten for days and lacking sufficient ammunition. Under the leadership of Field Marshal Carl Gustav Rehnskiöld

2788-666: The hopes of reaching his allies in the Ottoman Empire for support, but Swedish general Adam Ludwig Lewenhaupt ordered the surviving troops to lay down their arms when the Russian forces approached, much to the dismay of some soldiers and certainly to the king, Charles XII, who never forgave Lewenhaupt for his actions. The outcome of the events surrounding the disaster at Poltava effectively meant that Sweden had no land army left on continental Europe to contest renewed Russian attempts at reconquering their lost territories. Furthermore,

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2856-464: The king's personal strike force was only 16,000 men at Mainz. In addition to Germans, about 30,000 mercenaries from Britain served in the Swedish army from 1631 to 1639, a large chunk of the 111,950 Britons who fought in the Holy Roman Empire between 1620 and 1644 (most of the rest fought with the French, Dutch, or Danish). Per Swedish military archives, around 150,000 Swedish and Finnish soldiers died in

2924-568: The market village was moved to the area in front of the castle and was promoted to a town. From that times, the town was called Mladá Boleslav. In the Hussite Wars , Mladá Boleslav adhered to the Taborites . In the mid-15th century, the town has about 2,000 inhabitants. Lords of Michalovice died out in 1468 and Mladá Boleslav was acquired by the Tovačovský of Cimburk family. Before the end of

2992-595: The medieval chronicler Cosmas of Prague . Nevertheless, the Bohemian diocese was placed at that time within the jurisdiction of the Archbishop of Mainz , and Emperor Otto II enforced the appointment of the Saxon monk Thietmar ( Dětmar ) as first bishop. Meanwhile, the struggle with the rival Slavník dynasty flared up again from 981 onwards, when Prince Soběslav of the Slavník dynasty began to forge alliances with

3060-457: The musketeers being armed with a flintlock musket , a rapier sword and a shortened spear , glaive , or partisan that would not exceed 2 meters in length. Pikemen were commonly equipped with pikes of 4 to 6 meters in length and a rapier or broadsword for close defense. It was not uncommon for soldiers to also wield daggers and short-range pistols, but this was a voluntary addition to the common armament. Any infantry officer would be armed with

3128-522: The naval ministry. No expenses had been spared decorating the warship, and many tonnes of gold and bronze statues were now very difficult to salvage. Instead of relying on a naval power of his own, Gustavus sought to ally with the dominant Protestant naval powers in Europe (namely England and the Dutch Republic ). But a strong navy was not considered important by the king – it was on land that the battles against Catholicism would be fought and not in

3196-604: The new allotment system was created during the rule of Queen Kristina , it was not until the reign of Karl XI that the new system came into effect. After the bloody Scanian War , during which Sweden had suffered great casualties and the king soon realized that his army and navy was in need of change. Conscription was poorly organized and the soldiers were uneducated in survival, meaning that many died from attrition. Also, conscripts were not always disciplined enough to avoid atrocities against enemy civilians, most notably in Skåne . To fuel

3264-453: The new allotment system was in effect. As the Swedish allotment system was completely introduced in 1682, the Swedish military saw significant change from the mercenaries of Gustavus Adolphus who were financed by looting, to a strictly Christian (in some areas fundamentalistic) fighting force. The soldiers were to pray every day, be respectful towards civilians, and were not allowed to display fear in battle. A soldier would be executed if he

3332-562: The old factory in 1995. An important architectural monument, protected as a national cultural monument , is the building of the Secondary Industrial School. It was designed by Jiří Kroha in the Functionalist and Constructivist styles and built in 1923–1927. It is an exceptionally large building, still serving its original purpose. The sculptural decoration of the interiors is also valuable. The Church of

3400-523: The producer of accumulators for motor vehicles AKUMA (founded in 1903), now part of the FIAMM company. Since its inception, Škoda Auto is the most important and most influential industrial company in the Czech Republic. As of 2017, the company had 32,000 employees worldwide, out of which 23,000 worked in Mladá Boleslav. The Mladá Boleslav agglomeration was defined as a tool for drawing money from

3468-568: The rebellious Duke Henry II of Bavaria in his civil war against the rule of Emperor Otto II . In 976, Henry was defeated and fled to Boleslaus' court at Prague Castle , after which Otto's forces campaigned in the Bohemian lands. Finally in 978, Boleslaus solemnly pledged allegiance to the emperor at the Easter festivities in Quedlinburg . In turn, relations with Poland deteriorated from about 980 onwards. When Emperor Otto II died in 983 and

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3536-483: The road from Prague to northern Bohemia , Lusatia and Brandenburg . During the 13th century, the settlement in Podolec grew, acquired an urban character and even some privileges of the town. A new stone royal castle was built on top of the promontory next to the gord in the middle of the 13th century and the gord was abandoned. In 1318, Lords of Michalovice acquired Mladá Boleslav from King John of Bohemia . In 1334,

3604-484: The small Baltic Sea. The concept of Dominium Maris Baltici was not a primary goal for Sweden during the Thirty Years' War, as it was overshadowed by the struggle to protect Protestantism . Nevertheless, Sweden did possess a quite powerful naval force compared to most adversaries other than Denmark – the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and the Holy Roman Empire both had inadequate naval forces to stop

3672-573: The thirty years war, as the Imperial army had defeated many Protestant states from 1618 to 1629, German Protestants increasingly looked to the king of Sweden as their main protector and many enlisted in his army. The Swedes could also easily pay foreign troops thanks to French subsidies. This policy continued in later wars. The Swedish army peaked at 140,000 troops in 1632, the majority of the regulars being German recruits. However these troops were spread out so individual battles remained relatively small;

3740-690: The unity of Bohemia under a single ruler. Boleslaus's first wife Adiva may have been a daughter of the English king Edward the Elder (the daughter known to English historians as "Ælfgifu" who married a prince "near the Alps "), though the evidence for this is weak. His second wife was Emma of Mělník . It is certain that Boleslaus's oldest son was born by Adiva, but the mother of the others cannot be established with certainty: Soon after his father's death, Boleslaus III entered into conflict with his brothers and

3808-458: Was a water source for newly founded factories. The most significant was the textile industry – its largest representative, the Česana factory, had more than 2,000 employees at the end of the 19th century. Another industry in the Jizera valley included mills, breweries, distillery, soaps and perfumes factory, and production of artificial fertilizers. Most of the factories was gradually shut down during

3876-472: Was an important Jewish centre. The synagogue was demolished in 1962. The population rapidly increased between 1960 and 1980 because of the rapid growth of production in the Škoda Auto factory and the construction of housing estates for its employees. Mladá Boleslav became an industrial centre already in the 19th century. The main factor of its success was its location next to the Jizera River, which

3944-428: Was built in 1779 and is open to the public as a lookout tower. The nearby New City Hall was built in the neo-Romanesque style in 1865–1867 and still serves its original purpose. The Gothic building of Templ Palace comes from 1488–1493. It includes a historic exhibition and also serves cultural purposes. The history and products of Škoda Auto are exhibited in Škoda Museum . It was opened in the reconstructed premises of

4012-524: Was called "the Young One", to distinguish him from his father. Because there was already a town known as Boleslav near Prague, this new town was called "Město Boleslava Mladého" ("the town of Boleslav the Young"), later abbreviated to Mladá Boleslav ("young Boleslav"), to distinguish it from the older town of Boleslav, which in the 15th century became known as Stará Boleslav ("old Boleslav"). Mladá Boleslav

4080-618: Was deposed in 1002. The internal struggles of the Přemyslid dynasty shook the Bohemian duchy until Duke Oldřich's efforts stabilised the country. Military of the Swedish Empire From 1611 to 1721, Sweden was a European great power , becoming a dominant faction in the quest for control of the Baltic Sea and a formidable military power. During this period, known as Stormaktstiden (Swedish: "The Great Power Era" ),

4148-489: Was drunkenness (50 lashes), stealing (35 lashes), absence during marching (25 lashes), questioning a commander (16 lashes), and absence after taps (5 lashes). In the beginning of the Great Northern War in 1700, Karl XII proved himself a gifted military leader and won devastating victories over his enemies with relentless offensive tactics in battles such as Narva , Düna , Kliszów and Jakobstadt . In fact,

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4216-595: Was established in the monastery in the 15th–17th centuries. After the Battle of White Mountain , the monastery complex was acquired by the Catholic Church, which rebuilt it in the Baroque style. In 1784–1785, the Piarists established a gymnasium and college here. The church was completely devastated in the 20th century and was only repaired in 2007. Today it is used for social and cultural purposes. Mladá Boleslav

4284-439: Was fought until 17 September 1631, when the Swedish Royal Army supported by Protestant Saxony engaged an imperial army of 35,000 men at Breitenfeld, resulting in the destruction of roughly 70% of Tilly ' army with fairly low casualties on the Swedish side. Sweden's limited manpower meant that from early on, the army had to rely on a majority of foreign soldiers, mainly from Germany, but also from Scotland or England (at least until

4352-480: Was found guilty of rape, interrupting a prayer or taking God's name in vain . The latter was considered the worst of all crimes, as religion was an important measure to keep morale and discipline high compared to an enemy force who fought simply because a human leader forced them into doing so. The Caroleans considered themselves specifically chosen by God to fight against eastern heretics and protect Christianity in Europe. Other crimes that would be harshly punished

4420-422: Was founded by Gustavus Adolphus , who inherited the throne in 1611 at age 17. He immediately reformed the common European military based on mercenaries to a professional national army. However, before completing his vision of conquering the Holy Roman Empire , the warrior king was killed in action in 1632. His daughter and successor did little to improve Sweden's military position and abdicated early, providing

4488-418: Was hopelessly outmatched by its wealthier neighbors. The young king saw the need of a strong military force if Sweden was to survive as a nation, and thus he began reforming the army with inspiration from the strategies used by Maurice of Nassau . To reach out to as many citizens as possible, Gustavus Adolphus gave the responsibility of conscription to the church, which would choose physically fit locals between

4556-471: Was in ruins. The castle remained unrestored for several decades and the city lost its former importance. Other disasters were the Silesian Wars and a large fire in 1761. A new stage of development and prosperity began only in 1784. In the 19th century, new prosperity came: the city became an important regional centre as new schools, theatres, museums and factories (including the automobile factory Laurin & Klement , today Škoda Auto ) were founded. Since

4624-452: Was succeeded by his minor son Otto III , the Bohemian alliance with Poland was discarded, as Boleslaus again allied with the insurgent Bavarian Duke Henry, while Mieszko I took the side of the young king. Moreover, when Boleslaus occupied the Saxon Margravate of Meissen , he thwarted the plans of Mieszko's son Bolesław , who had married a daughter of Margrave Ricdag . In 987, Boleslaus had to retire from Meissen, and from about 990, he sparked

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