In 1322, Emperor
Louis IV had pawned the
Egerland region to King
John of Bohemia of the
House of Luxembourg. John's son, Charles IV, who also succeeded Louis as Emperor, rivalled with the houses of
Habsburg and
Wittelsbach and aimed to expand his hereditary lands to win influence over the
Imperial Princes. Charles obtained the approval of the
Prince-electors to affiliate the Imperial City of
Eger (Cheb) with the
Kingdom of Bohemia. In 1349, he married
Anne of Bavaria, daughter of the Wittelsbach
Count Palatine of the Rhine Rudolf II, who held the adjacent lands in the Bavarian
Nordgau (the later "Upper Palatinate" region). However, Charles had to abandon his hope to be heir to his father-in-law's estates upon Anna's early death in 1353. In 1353, Charles gained 24 estates in the Upper Palatinate from
Rupert I in compensation for his debts. To these, he joined other territories, and the whole region was incorporated into the Crown of Bohemia in 1355. The administrative center of this area was in
Sulzbach-Rosenberg, while for representational purposes, Charles built the
Lauf Castle. The Emperor intensively supported the area through tax reliefs for craftsmen and traders, as well as other privileges for settlements and markets. In 1373, Charles ceded the greater part of the area back to the
Wittelsbachs in exchange for the
Electorate of Brandenburg.
Wenceslaus IV lost the rest in 1401. ==Gallery==