Raid Into Poland
In 1035 Bretislaus helped Emperor Conrad II in his war against the Lusatians. In 1039 he invaded Little and Great Poland, captured Poznań and sacked Gniezno, bringing the relics of St. Adalbert, Radim Gaudentius and the Five Brothers back with him. On the way back he conquered part of Silesia including Wrocław (Czech: Vratislav). His main goal was to set up an archbishopric in Prague and create a large state subject only to the Holy Roman Empire. His raid had an unintended enduring influence on Polish history, as the plundering and destruction of Gniezno pushed the next Polish rulers to move their capital to Kraków, which would retain this role for many centuries ahead.
In 1040 the German King Henry III invaded Bohemia, but was forced to retreat after he lost the battle at Brůdek (a pass in the Bohemian Forest). The following year Henry III invaded again, skirted the border defences and laid siege to Bretislaus in Prague. Forced by a mutiny among his nobles and betrayed by his bishop, Bretislaus had to renounce all of his conquests save for Moravia.
In 1047, Emperor Henry III negotiated a peace treaty between Bretislaus and the Poles. This pact worked in Bretislaus' favour, as the Polish ruler swore never again to attack Bohemia in return for an annual subsidy to Gniezno.
Read more about this topic: Bretislaus I, Duke Of Bohemia
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