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Emperor Rudolph II (1576-1611)

By relocating the court from Vienna to Prague, Emperor Rudolph II (1576-1611) returned the luster to Prague for a time, as well as its importance as a capital city. Bohemia became the center of his empire. Rudolph became renowned primarily as a patron, collector and sponsor of astronomy, alchemy and astrology. But he was also known as an eccentric who alternated between fits of madness and deep apathy. Rudolph's empire was under threat from the Turks. Hungarian magnates exploited this situation and entered into an alliance with them against the Habsburgs. After one of the defeats that followed, the Hungarians won religious and political freedom through the Treaty of Vienna. Despite the fact that Rudolph was defeated, he refused to sign the treaty or to recognize its validity.

Eventually, this was done by his brother, the Emperor Matthias. The sickly Rudolph systematically suspected his brother of angling for the throne, and this is what eventually happened. By boycotting the Treaty of Vienna, Rudolph set Matthias, as well as the Hungarian, Austrian and Moravian estates, against himself. They all rebelled against him in 1608. However, the Bohemian estates' representatives did not rise up on the side of the rebels and Matthias had to come to an agreement with his brother. Rudolph II was forced to recognize the Peace of Vienna and surrender the government of Hungary, Moravia and the Austrian lands to Matthias. He was left with Bohemia and Upper and Lower Lusatia. The Bohemian estates skillfully exploited the very weak position of the monarch and threatened him with the outbreak of a rebellion.

On July 9, 1609, Rudolph II preferred to issue his famous Rudolphine Letter of Majesty, in which he stated that nobody could be forced into Catholicism or any other faith. He confirmed the Bohemian Confession of 1575 and made reference to the nobility, the royal cities and serfs. He guaranteed freedom of religion regardless of the status of the individual. Thirty defenders of the faith were elected, comprising 10 from each estate - the nobility, knights and the cities. In an effort to exclude his hated brother from succeeding him, the dissatisfied Rudolph attempted to reverse the situation. He used the assistance of his relative, the Bishop of Passau, and let Passau forces invade Bohemia. Of course, this only gave rise to disapproval and outrage in the country. He was forced to also vacate the Bohemian throne, which was then occupied by Matthias (who reigned from 1611 to 1619).