Duchy of Racibórz (german: Herzogtum Ratibor, cs, Ratibořské knížectví) was one of the duchies of Silesia. Its capital was

Racibórz Racibórz (german: Ratibor, cz, Ratiboř, szl, Racibōrz) is a city in Silesian Voivodeship in southern Poland. It is the administrative seat of Racibórz County. With Opole, Racibórz is one of the historic capitals of Upper Silesia, being ...

Upper Silesia Upper Silesia ( pl, Górny Śląsk; szl, Gůrny Ślůnsk, Gōrny Ślōnsk; cs, Horní Slezsko; german: Oberschlesien; Silesian German: ; la, Silesia Superior) is the southeastern part of the historical and geographical region of Silesia, locate ...

History

After

Bolesław I the Tall Bolesław I the Tall ( pl, Bolesław I Wysoki) (born 1127 – died Leśnica (now part of Wrocław), 7 or 8 December 1201) was Duke of Wroclaw from 1163 until his death in 1201. Early years He was the eldest son of Władysław II the Exile by h ...

and his younger brother

Mieszko I Tanglefoot Mieszko IV Tanglefoot ( pl, Mieszko IV Plątonogi) (c. 1130 – 16 May 1211) was Duke of Kraków and High Duke of Poland from 9 June 1210 until his death one year later. He was also Duke of Silesia from 1163 to 1173 (with his brother as co-ruler) ...

backed by Emperor

Frederick I Barbarossa Frederick Barbarossa (December 1122 – 10 June 1190), also known as Frederick I (german: link=no, Friedrich I, it, Federico I), was the Holy Roman Emperor from 1155 until his death 35 years later. He was elected King of Germany in Frankfurt o ...

had retained their Silesian heritage in 1163, the Duchy of Racibórz was formed in 1172 as a territory for Mieszko. It was centered on the towns of

Koźle Koźle (german: Cosel) is a district of Kędzierzyn-Koźle (since 1975), Poland and is at the junction of the Kłodnica and Oder rivers, km southeast of Opole. The district has a Roman Catholic church, a medieval chateau, remains of a 19th-cent ...

and

Cieszyn Cieszyn ( , ; cs, Těšín ; german: Teschen; la, Tessin; szl, Ćeszyn) is a border town in southern Poland on the east bank of the Olza River, and the administrative seat of Cieszyn County, Silesian Voivodeship. The town has 33,500 inhabitan ...

. Mieszko's small share was enlarged the first time in 1177, when he received the territories of

Bytom Bytom (Polish pronunciation: ; Silesian: ''Bytōm, Bytōń'', german: Beuthen O.S.) is a city in Upper Silesia, in southern Poland. Located in the Silesian Voivodeship of Poland, the city is 7 km northwest of Katowice, the regional capi ...

Oświęcim Oświęcim (; german: Auschwitz ; yi, אָשפּיצין, Oshpitzin) is a city in the Lesser Poland ( pl, Małopolska) province of southern Poland, situated southeast of Katowice, near the confluence of the Vistula (''Wisła'') and Soła riv ...

, Zator,

Pszczyna Pszczyna (german: Pleß, cs, Pština) is a town in southern Poland with 25,823 inhabitants (2019), and a seat of a local gmina (commune). It is situated in the Silesian Voivodeship, and was a part of the Katowice Voivodeship from 1975 until ad ...

and

Siewierz Siewierz is a town in southern Poland, in the Będzin County in the Silesian Voivodeship, seat of Gmina Siewierz. History Siewierz was first mentioned in 1125, and was administered by the Castellan of Bytom. In 1177, Casimir II of Poland grant ...

from his uncle High Duke

Casimir II the Just Casimir II the Just ( pl, Kazimierz II Sprawiedliwy; 28 October 1138 – 5 May 1194) was a Lesser Polish Duke of Wiślica from 1166–1173, and of Sandomierz after 1173. He became ruler over the Polish Seniorate Province at Kraków and thereby Hi ...

of Poland. In 1202 Mieszko occupied the

Duchy of Opole Duchy of Opole ( pl, Księstwo opolskie; german: Herzogtum Oppeln; cs, Opolské knížectví) was one of the duchies of Silesia ruled by the Piast dynasty. Its capital was Opole (Oppeln, Opolí) in Upper Silesia. Duke Boleslaw III 'the Wrymo ...

of his deceased nephew Jarosław, forming the united Duchy of Opole and Racibórz. Zamek w Raciborzu po remoncie (jesień 2013) 2

After the death of Mieszko's grandson Duke

Władysław Opolski Vladislaus I of Opole ( pl, Władysław opolski) ( – 27 August/13 September 1281/2) was a Duke of Kalisz during 1234–1244, Duke of Wieluń from 1234 to 1249 and Duke of Opole–Racibórz from 1246 until his death. He was the second son ...

in 1281, his sons again divided the Duchy of Opole and Racibórz and in 1290 the Duchy of Racibórz was recreated again, assigned to Władysław's youngest son Przemysław. Racibórz at that time comprised the lands of Wodzisław,

Żory Żory (; german: Sohrau, szl, Żory) is a town and city county in Silesian Voivodeship, Poland with 62,462 inhabitants (2019). Previously it was in Katowice Voivodeship (1975–1998). It is located in the historic Upper Silesia region about sou ...

Rybnik Rybnik (Polish pronunciation: ; szl, Rybńik) is a city in southern Poland, in the Silesian Voivodeship, around 38 km (24 mi) southwest of Katowice, the region's capital, and around 19 km (11 miles) from the Czech border. It is ...

Mikołów Mikołów (german: Nikolai, szl, Mikołōw) is a town in Silesia, in southern Poland, near the city of Katowice. It borders the Upper Silesian Metropolitan Union, a metropolis with a population of over 2 million, and is within a greater Silesia ...

and

, while some of the territory of was used for the creation of the duchies of

and

under Przemysław's brothers. In 1327 Przemysław's son Duke

Leszek Leszek () is a Slavic Polish male given name, originally ''Lestko'', ''Leszko'' or ''Lestek'', related to ''Lech'', ''Lechosław'' and Czech ''Lstimir''. Individuals named Leszek celebrate their name day on June 3. Notable people * Lestko * ...

paid homage to King

John of Bohemia John the Blind or John of Luxembourg ( lb, Jang de Blannen; german: link=no, Johann der Blinde; cz, Jan Lucemburský; 10 August 1296 – 26 August 1346), was the Count of Luxembourg from 1313 and King of Bohemia from 1310 and titular King o ...

, whereafter his duchy became a

Bohemian Bohemian or Bohemians may refer to: *Anything of or relating to Bohemia Beer * National Bohemian, a brand brewed by Pabst * Bohemian, a brand of beer brewed by Molson Coors Culture and arts * Bohemianism, an unconventional lifestyle, origin ...

fief. After Leszek died without issue in 1336, King John seized the duchy and granted it to the Přemyslid Duke Nicolas II of

Opava Opava (; german: Troppau, pl, Opawa) is a city in the Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 55,000 inhabitants. It lies on the river Opava. Opava is one of the historical centres of Silesia. It was a historical capital of ...

(Troppau), forming the united Duchy of Opava and Racibórz. The Duchy would suffer several territorial changes until in 1521 it was again merged with Opole under Duke

Jan II the Good Jan II of Opole ( pl, Jan II Dobry) ( – 27 March 1532) was a Duke of Opole-Brzeg (until 1481)- Strzelce-Niemodlin in 1476 (with his brothers as co-rulers during 1476), ruler over Gliwice (in 1494), Toszek (in 1495), Niemodlin (again, in 1497), By ...

. As a Duchy of Opole and Racibórz, after Jan's death in 1532 it fell back to the

House of Habsburg The House of Habsburg (), alternatively spelled Hapsburg in Englishgerman: Haus Habsburg, ; es, Casa de Habsburgo; hu, Habsburg család, it, Casa di Asburgo, nl, Huis van Habsburg, pl, dom Habsburgów, pt, Casa de Habsburgo, la, Domus Hab ...

, Bohemian kings since 1526. The fief was given in pawn to Margrave George of Brandenburg-Ansbach from the

House of Hohenzollern The House of Hohenzollern (, also , german: Haus Hohenzollern, , ro, Casa de Hohenzollern) is a German royal (and from 1871 to 1918, imperial) dynasty whose members were variously princes, electors, kings and emperors of Hohenzollern, Brandenbu ...

, later briefly to the Polish

House of Vasa The House of Vasa or Wasa Georg Starbäck in ''Berättelser ur Sweriges Medeltid, Tredje Bandet'' pp 264, 275, 278, 291–296 & 321 ( sv, Vasaätten, pl, Wazowie, lt, Vazos) was an early modern royal house founded in 1523 in Sweden. Its memb ...

and finally would be annexed and incorporated into the

Kingdom of Prussia The Kingdom of Prussia (german: Königreich Preußen, ) was a German kingdom that constituted the state of Prussia between 1701 and 1918.Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. ...

by the 1742 Treaty of Breslau. The title of a "Duke of Ratibor" was acquired by Landgrave Victor Amadeus of Hesse-Rotenburg in 1821. King

Frederick William IV of Prussia Frederick William IV (german: Friedrich Wilhelm IV.; 15 October 17952 January 1861), the eldest son and successor of Frederick William III of Prussia, reigned as King of Prussia from 7 June 1840 to his death on 2 January 1861. Also referred to ...

in 1840 granted it to the landgrave's nephew Prince Victor of Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst, in turn for his renunciation of the

Hohenlohe The House of Hohenlohe () is a German princely dynasty. It ruled an immediate territory within the Holy Roman Empire which was divided between several branches. The Hohenlohes became imperial counts in 1450. The county was divided numerous tim ...

inheritance in favour of his younger brother

Chlodwig Louis is the French form of the Old Frankish given name Chlodowig and one of two English forms, the other being Lewis (). Etymology The name Louis (through the intermediate form Clovis) derives from the Frankish name ᚺᛚᛟᛞᛟᚹᛁᚷ ...

Dukes

Silesian Piasts

(1172–1211) ''United with

Opole Opole (; german: Oppeln ; szl, Ôpole) ; * Silesian: ** Silesian PLS alphabet: ''Ôpole'' ** Steuer's Silesian alphabet: ''Uopole'' * Silesian German: ''Uppeln'' * Czech: ''Opolí'' * Latin: ''Oppelia'', ''Oppolia'', ''Opulia'' is a city l ...

from 1202.'' * Casimir I of Opole (1211–1230), son, under the tutelage of Duke

Henry I the Bearded Henry the Bearded ( pl, Henryk (Jędrzych) Brodaty, german: Heinrich der Bärtige; c. 1165/70 – 19 March 1238) was a Polish duke from the Piast dynasty. He was Duke of Silesia at Wrocław from 1201, Duke of Kraków and High Duke of all P ...

until 1238 *

Mieszko II the Fat Mieszko II the Fat ( pl, Mieszko II Otyły) ( – 22 October 1246) was a Duke of Opole-Racibórz from 1230 until his death, and Duke of Kalisz-Wieluń during 1234–1239 (with his brother as co-ruler). He was the eldest son of Duke Casimir I of ...

(1230–1246), son * Władysław of Opole (1246–1281), brother ''Split off Opole,

and

.'' * Mieszko of Cieszyn (1281–1290), son of Władysław, Duke of Cieszyn in 1290, jointly with his brother ** Przemysław (1281–1306) *

(1306–1336), son of Przemysław, died without issue ''Line extinct, duchy seized as a reverted fief by King

.''

Přemyslid dukes of Opava

Nicholas II Nicholas II or Nikolai II Alexandrovich Romanov; spelled in pre-revolutionary script. ( 186817 July 1918), known in the Russian Orthodox Church as Saint Nicholas the Passion-Bearer,. was the last Emperor of Russia, King of Congress Pol ...

(1337–1365) *

John I John I may refer to: People * John I (bishop of Jerusalem) * John Chrysostom (349 – c. 407), Patriarch of Constantinople * John of Antioch (died 441) * Pope John I, Pope from 523 to 526 * John I (exarch) (died 615), Exarch of Ravenna * John I ...

(1365–1378), son, also Duke of Krnov from 1377 * John II (1378–1424), son *

Nicholas V Pope Nicholas V ( la, Nicholaus V; it, Niccolò V; 13 November 1397 – 24 March 1455), born Tommaso Parentucelli, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 6 March 1447 until his death in March 1455. Pope Eugene made ...

(1424–1437), son, jointly with his brother **

Wenceslaus Wenceslaus, Wenceslas, Wenzeslaus and Wenzslaus (and other similar names) are Latinized forms of the Czech name Václav. The other language versions of the name are german: Wenzel, pl, Wacław, Więcesław, Wieńczysław, es, Wenceslao, russian ...

(1424–1456) *John III (1456–1493), son of Wenceslaus *Nicholas VI (1493–1506), son, jointly with his brothers **John IV (1493–1506) **Valentin (1493–1521) ''Line extinct, duchy inherited by Duke

of Opole.''

House of Hohenlohe-Schillingfürst

Dukes of Ratibor and Princes of Corvey * Victor I Moritz Carl (1840–1893) * Victor II Amadeus (1893–1919) Heads of the House of Ratibor after World War I *Victor II Amadeus (1919–1923) *Victor III August Maria (1923–1945) *Franz-Albrecht Metternich-Sándor (1945–2009) *Victor IV (since 2009)

Bibliography

*ŽÁČEK, Rudolf. ''Dějiny Slezska v datech''. Praha : Libri, 2003. .