Emperior Henry III, alarmed by the expansion of the Bohemian power, invaded the country and advanced to Prague. Betislav agreed to give up his Polish conquests and pay tribute to the emperor.
VRATISLAV II, who, throughout his reign, loyally supported the German emperor, Henry IV, in his struggle with the papacy and took part in the Italian campaigns. He was rewarded by Henry with a crown (1086), but only for his own person.
VLADISLAV II. Like his predecessors, he supported the German emperors in the main, and he was rewarded (1158) by Frederick Barbarossa with a hereditary crown for his aid against the Italian cities.
OTTOKAR I. He took full advantage of the struggles for the succession that began to wrack the German Empire. Siding now with one party, now with another, he made the Bohemian king (an imperial elector since the early 12th century) one of the decisive powers in German affairs. On the other hand, a long-drawn conflict with the clergy (1214–21) led to the almost complete independence of the Church.
WENCESLAS (VACLAV) I. His reign was marked by an acceleration of German immigration that was encouraged by the ruler, possibly to counteract the growing power of the nobility. Germans began to open up large forested tracts and to build cities, which were given practical autonomy under German (Magdeburg) law.
OTTOKAR II (the Great) whose reign marked the widest expansion of Bohemian power and was characterized by great prosperity (opening of the famous silver mines, which made Bohemia one of the wealthiest countries in the later Middle Ages).
ETISLAV I (the Restorer), who overran Silesia, took Kraków (1039), and for a time ruled Poland, which had entered into a period of disruption.
etislav agreed to give up his Polish conquests and pay tribute to the emperor.
