Duchy of Jawor

Duchy of Jawor Księstwo Jaworskie (pl) Herzogtum Jauer (de)
Silesian duchy
← 1274 – 1392 →
Coat of arms
Capital	Jawor
Government	Principality
Historical era	Middle Ages
- Partitioned from Legnica	1274
- Acquired Świdnica and     Ziębice	1291
- Reunited with Świdnica	1346
- Annexed by Bohemia	1392

Duchy of Jawor (Polish: Księstwo Jaworskie) was one of the Duchies of Silesia, with a capital in Jawor. It was created in 1274 as a subdivision of the Duchy of Legnica in Lower Silesia under the rule of Henry V the Fat, the eldest son of Duke Bolesław II the Bald. When Henry followed his father as Duke of Legnica in 1278, he gave Jawor to his younger brother Bolko I the Strict.

Jawor Castle

In 1286 Bolko I inherited Lwówek from his brother Bernard the Lightsome and in 1291 enlarged his territories by receiving Świdnica and Ziębice from his elder brother Henry, formerly part of the Duchy of Wrocław, which Henry had acquired after the death of Duke Henry IV Probus. For a brief period, the Duchy is sometimes known as the Duchy of Jawor-Świdnica.

When the sons of Bolko I divided the territories in 1312 the territories around Świdnica and Ziębice were split off into separate duchies, while Jawor was ruled by Duke Henry I. After his death in 1346, the duchy was reunited with Świdnica under the rule of his nephew Bolko II the Small.

Bolko II was the last Piast duke to retain his independence from the Kingdom of Bohemia, however as he had no male heirs he signed an inheritance treaty with King Charles IV of Luxembourg, who married Bolko's niece Anna von Schweidnitz in 1353. The duke died in 1368 and after the death of his widow Agnes of Habsburg in 1392 his duchy was finally annexed by the Bohemian Crown.

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  Jawor Duchy (in red) around the time of its creation, in the 1270s

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  Growth of the Jawor Duchy (in red) in the 1290s

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  Growth of the Jawor Duchy (in red) in the 1290s

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  Jawor Duchy (in light green) is reduced to its original size in 1312.

See also

• Dukes of Silesia