born Sept. 17, 1271
died June 21, 1305
King of Bohemia (1278–1305).
He inherited the throne from his father at age seven, but his cousin Otto IV of Brandenburg served as his regent until 1283. Wenceslas gained full control of the country only after suppressing a dissident faction and executing his ambitious stepfather in 1290. A capable ruler who extended the boundaries of his kingdom, he annexed most of Upper Silesia and occupied Kraków (1291). He became king of Poland in 1300 but declined to become king of Hungary in 1301, instead placing his son Wenceslas on the Hungarian throne (1301–04).