Kladsko is a Bohemian castle and province in the basin of the upper Neisse beyond the mountains that ring Bohemia, on the main road from Prague to Wrocław.
The Slavník family held the castle in 981; the place below it was called a town (urbs) in a charter of 1114. The Peace of Glatz at Whitsun 1137, made under Emperor Lothar III, ended the Bohemian and Polish wars: Bohemia gave up its claims on Silesia and kept the Kladsko land. A royal castellan governs it with its forests; the Broumov land on the Bohemian side belonged to Kladsko until 1260.
The Hospitallers received land here from Vladislaus II in 1169 and the churches of St Mary (1183) and St Wenceslas (1184). The great German settlement of the land comes later, under Wenceslaus I and Ottokar II.
Who he is
- Name
- Not pinned for 1200. Known castellans: Hroznata (1169), Ryvín (Rivinus, 1175), Vítek of Prčice (1177), and a Smil in the early thirteenth century (de.wikipedia, Grafschaft Glatz)
- Title
- Castellan (burgrave) of Kladsko for the king of Bohemia
- Since
- Not pinned
- Confidence
- low
de.wikipedia (Grafschaft Glatz) gives the castellans of 1169, 1175 and 1177 and Smil 'of Ronov' for the early thirteenth century; the Ronovci forebear Smil is attested round Libochovice about 1200-1216 (en.wikipedia, Ronovci), so his tenure at Kladsko could fall after 1200: not pinned.
Overlord
Ottokar I, king of Bohemia
What it holds
- The castle of Kladsko and the market settlement below it
- The Kladsko basin with its forests up to the Silesian frontier (the Bardo gorge on the Neisse is the Silesian dukes' castle)
- The Broumov land on the upper Stěnava, frontier forest (given to Břevnov abbey in 1213: not yet)
- The road from Prague to Wrocław and its toll
How it was acquired
Bohemian since the tenth century; confirmed to Bohemia by the Peace of Glatz in 1137.
Allies and rivals
Across the frontier is Silesia under Duke Bolesław the Tall of Wrocław (died December 1201) and his son Henry the Bearded; the Silesian frontier castle is Bardo (Brido) on the Neisse gorge. Relations are peaceful that winter as far as the sources show.
How things stand that morning
Held by the king's castellan. The frontier with Silesia is quiet; the land is thinly settled forest and upland.
Wealth
The road toll on the Prague-Wrocław route, the forest, the market below the castle.
Military
The castle of Kladsko; the passes at Náchod (towards Bohemia) and at Bardo (towards Silesia).
Threats
- A Silesian claim to the land, which the 1137 peace settled in Bohemia's favour
Places of note
- Kladsko castle: Royal castle and seat of the castellan
- Broumov: Forest land belonging to Kladsko until 1260
- Bardo (Silesian): The Silesian dukes' frontier castle across the line
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: Bohemian possession is certain; the castellan of 1200 and the line of the frontier forest are not pinned.
On the map: The line follows the later County of Glatz with the Broumov land; in 1200 the edges were forest.
Primary sources for Kingdom of Bohemia (Ottokar I)
Chronicles, registers, sagas and inscriptions written in or near 1200 that cover this entry. Each has its own page with editions, translations and where to read it.
- Annals of Jarloch (Gerlach), abbot of Milevsko, Jarloch of Milevsko (about 1200 to 1220). The last Bohemian narrative before 1200, continuing Vincentius of Prague. Read online
- The Austrian and Salzburg annals (kept in the 12th and 13th centuries, with continuations to the late 13th century). A family of monastic annals from Austria, Styria and Salzburg, printed together. Read online
- Regesta Imperii V: calendar of the acts of Philip, Otto IV and Frederick II, 1198 to 1272 (calendar of documents of 1198 to 1272, published 1881 to 1901). A dated calendar of every known act of King Philip and King Otto IV, with the acts of popes and princes that bear on the Empire. Read online
- The Registers of Pope Innocent III for 1199 to 1201, Innocent III and the papal chancery (22 February 1199 to 21 February 1201). The pope's outgoing letters for the year, in his chancery's own copy, touching nearly every realm in the atlas. Read online
- Charters and letters of the kingdom of Bohemia, volume 2, 1198 to 1230 (documents of 1198 to 1230, edited 1912). The critical edition of every Bohemian and Moravian charter and letter from Ottokar I's accession to 1230.
- Constitutions and public acts of the emperors and kings, volume 2, 1198 to 1272 (documents of 1198 to 1272, edited 1896). The public documents of the throne war in full text: the election notices of 1198, the princes' declaration of Speyer of 28 May 1199 to Innocent III, the pope's replies, Philip's and Otto's letters and promises, and the imperial acts of 1200 and 1201 including Otto's promises at Neuss in June 1201. Read online
Sources and studies
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.