Queens and their towns in Bohemia during the reign of Luxembourg

An institution of royal dowry towns was established in the early 14th century because kings of Bohemia needed to ensure possessive and social conditions for their queens-wives and queens-widows. Expect of most important financial provisions this towns provided their queens space for continuing dignified residence and for realization their plans e.g. patronage. Queen could manage her towns in two ways. In the first one she could draw the payments from towns, which her husband had ensured her in a marriage articles. In the second cases the towns were tum over to her control and than she could be in active relations with them. Existence of the institution of royal dowry towns was limited with lifetime of the queen. When she had died, the towns retumed into the hands of king. Among dowry towns belong Hradec Králové, Chrudim, Polička, Jaroměř, Vysoké Mýto, Trutnova Dvůr Králové nad Labem. Most of them were situated in the east Bohemia, where every royal town was at the same time dowry town too. The most imported position belonged to Hradec Kralové, which was administrative and ecclesiastical centre of this area. A status of this town raised, when queen-widow Elisabeth Rejčka moved with her court to Hradec. This residential tradition fixed Elisabeth Pomořanská, the fourth wife of Charles IV. The Hussite Movement..