History of Pszczyna

from the lineage of Opole-Racibor: Kazimierz, Mieszko II, his brother Władyslaw, his two sons—Casimir of Bytom and Bolko I, and finally Leszek, who was the last to preserve the Duchy's independence. In 1327, he was forced to acknowledge sovereignty of John, King of Bohemia. After Leszek died childless in 1336, his lands passed down to his brother-in-law, Nicholas II, Duke of Opava (Mikołaj II), of the Czech royal family of Premyslid.

Mikołaj II, his son John I, Duke of Opava-Ratibor, and his grandson John II, Duke of Opava-Ratibor (Jan II Żelazny) ruled the land for seven decades. In 1407, John II separated the area that is modern-day Pszczyna from his duchy as a wittum for his new wife, Helena of Lithuania (Helena Korybutówna, niece of Władysław Jagiełło, the king of Poland). The boundaries outlined by John II survived well into the 20th century. The contemporary land of Pszczyna is only about half the size it was during the Middle Ages.

In 1433, Pszczyna was attacked by the Hussites, who laid siege to the castle but were eventually repulsed. Helena outlived John II, and reigned until 1449. The land was inherited by her son, Nicholas V and then his widow, Barbara Rockenberg, the daughter of a wealthy merchant from Kraków. She was expelled by her stepson, John IV, who assumed power in the years 1462-1465. His rights were disputed, on the other side, by his brother, Wenceslaus III, Duke of Rybnik. Aggressive policies caused a conflict between Wenceslaus III and the King of Hungary, Maciej Korwin (Matthias Corvinus or Matthias I). Matthias overran the land and held the duke in captivity until his death. Casimir II, Duke of Cieszyn, the last of the Piast dynasty bloodline, bought the land in 1480, and in turn sold it to Hungarian magnate Aleksy Thurzo in 1517. Two years later, Luis II, King of Hungary, Bohemia and Croatia instituted the "Free State of Pszczyna", with its owner responsible not to him, but directly