K7 Statue of the King Charles IV.

Overview

Figure of Charles IV, King of Bohemia and Emperor of Rome - a gift and souvenir not only for history lovers and visitors to Bohemia.

What to Expect

Description

The figure depicts Charles IV in the best years of his life, with the Roman imperial crown on his head and a scepter in his hand. It is based on the monarch's depiction on a mural in the Chapter Church of St. Mary at Karlštejn.

Details

The figure is made of plastic, hand-painted, and 12 cm high. It is placed in mica-openable packaging and a paper box size 8x8x16 cm. The figure has EC type certificate 110460 T/NB—toy. It comes with a leaflet with short information about all 6 figures of the first series in Czech, English, and German.

Biography

He was born on 14 May 1316 as the son of Eliška Premyslovna and Jan Lucemburský. His mother was the last Přemyslovna on the Czech throne, she was twenty-four years old at the time of the birth of her first son. The child's father was Jan Lucemburský, son of King Henry VII of Rome and the first Luxemburg on the Czech throne. The prince was baptized by Archbishop Peter of Aspelt of Mohic and given the name Wenceslas at his baptism. Prince Wenceslas' childhood was severely marked by a dispute between his parents. He lived with his mother Eliška at Loket Castle, which was militarily invaded by his father Jan, who banished his wife to Mělník and left little Wenceslas as a prisoner in the castle so that his mother could not use him as a weapon of power against her husband. He met his mother, Eliška Přemyslovna, only once and briefly before his departure for the French court, where his father sent him to be brought up when he was less than seven years old.The prince lived at the French royal court with his uncle, King Charles IV. the King of France, King Charles XIV the Magnificent. Here he was confirmed and given the name Charles. Charles lived there quite happily, he had beautiful chambers, his aunt Marie, Queen of France, and his uncle loved him very much. But most of all, Charles received an excellent education and a truly worldly outlook, which he then put to good use in his reign. His teacher was Pierre de Rosieres, who later became Pope Clement VI. Here Charles learned German, French, Latin and Italian. Later, after his return to Bohemia, he also learned Czech. At the royal court, Charles also contracted his first marriage, to Margaret of Valois, called Blanka. Both fiancés were seven years old at the time of their wedding.

In 1330 Charles went to Luxembourg at his father's request and became governor-general of the Signoria of northern Italy from 1331 to 1333. On St Catherine's Day in 1332 he fought the first battle at the siege of San Felice Castle. He later described this battle and the oracular dream that accompanied it in detail in his biography Vita Caroli. On the same day, Charles was knighted by his father, John of Luxembourg.

In 1333 Charles returned to his native land, Bohemia. He found the country in a very poor state, impoverished and essentially in a state of limbo. Moved by his active nature, he immediately took action. He stayed in a town house, because Prague Castle was uninhabitable. He drew up a municipal tax, borrowed considerable sums from the bourgeoisie and began to recover the royal castles and estates, most of them pledged by John of Luxembourg. He also began to repair the Prague Castle so that his wife Blanka of Valois could move to Prague. She arrived accompanied by a magnificent retinue, over which the whole of Prague marvelled. King John of Luxembourg appointed Charles Margrave of Moravia and continued to live abroad. John of Luxembourg tried with all his might to make Charles king of Rome. On 11 July 1346, Charles was elected defiant king of Rome against his rival Louis the Bavarian. Charles received five electoral votes from the archbishops of Cologne, Mainz, Trier and King John of Bohemia and Duke Rudolf of Saxony. In November 1346, Charles was crowned King of Rome in Bonn. His position was duly strengthened when his rival, Ludwig of Bavaria, died suddenly in October 1347, allegedly mauled by a bear. Charles' opponents still tried to elect the English monarch Edward III as king of Rome, but he resigned after the Battle of Cressac.From 1349, Charles was the only Roman king, crowned King of Italy and Roman Emperor in 1355, and King of Burgundy in 1365, making him ruler of all the kingdoms of the Holy Roman Empire.

In the aforementioned Battle of Krescak, which took place on 26 August 1346, the Bohemian King John of Luxembourg, by then completely blind, fought and fell. He allegedly had his horse tied to the horses of two noblemen and had himself led into the greatest battle. We can therefore rightly speak of a noble suicide. His son Charles was wounded in the same battle and subsequently taken from the battle by his nobles. With the death of John of Luxembourg, Charles IV. I the king of Bohemia. Charles IV was a typical medieval warrior, he liked to fight. He was of a stout and sturdy build and liked to take part in tournaments. Historians believe that he suffered a severe wound in 1350 at a tournament he secretly attended, which left him paralysed for a time, and scientists found traces of him on his skeleton. As a lifelong consequence, Charles suffered a defective head posture and limited mobility.

Charles Iv. He was a very wise and far-sighted ruler, founder of many cities, religious and secular buildings. Charles founded Charles University in Prague, laid the foundation stone in the construction of the new Prague Bridge, and built Karlstejn Castle as a repository for the Roman crown jewels. Charles IV supported artists, his Prague court became the true heart and centre of the empire, and the Bohemian kingdom rose significantly in importance within Europe. Throughout his life, Charles IV collected the relics of saints and built worthy shrines for them. As a result, Prague became a centre of 'holy tourism' and this led to the further flourishing of the city. A somewhat dark side of Charles' character was his relationship with the Jews, who were the property of the king in the Roman Empire. Charles IV did not hesitate to mortgage the property and lives of Jews whenever he needed cash - and he needed it very often. Many pogroms against Jews occurred as a result of the amnesty he declared, and hundreds of people died.

Charles IV was married four times in his life. His first wife, Blanca of Valois, died in 1348, probably of tuberculosis. With Blanca, the emperor had two daughters. The second wife was Anne of the Palatinate, who bore a son, but he died as a child. Anna of the Palatinate died in 1353, cause of death unknown. The third time Charles IV married Anna of Swidnica, whom he had originally planned as a wife for his son. With Anna, Charles had two children, a daughter and a son born in 1361, later King Wenceslas IV. Anna of Swidnica died in 1362 while giving birth to a child. For the fourth and last time, Charles IV married Elizabeth of Pomerania, who survived him. With this wife, who was renowned for her physical strength-she is said to have broken swords and bent horseshoes-Charles had six children, including the later Roman Emperor Sigismund of Luxembourg.

Charles IV died on 29 November 1378 at Prague Castle of pneumonia, which he probably contracted as a result of a fractured femoral neck. A spectacular funeral followed, during which the funeral procession reportedly reached from Prague's Old Town to Vyšehrad. In his funeral oration, Charles IV was first referred to as the Father of the Fatherland. He is buried in the Church of St. Vitus in Hradčany.

The importance of Charles IV for our country is quite crucial. During his reign, the Czech kingdom became the centre of Europe and the whole country experienced economic and cultural development. He was a statesman of extraordinary education, pan-European outlook, refined sophistication, diplomatic skill, bold plans and amazing dash.

Availability

Pick up your product at any time from 09.00 till 16.00 at our office GET PRAGUE GUIDE at Maiselova 5, 110 00, Prague 1 or we can send it to your address via post (the shipping is not included in the price of the item).

Customer service phone number +420 725 744 770

Thank you, your GetPragueGuide