Wenceslaus was the younger son of Duke
Nicholas V of Krnov and Ratibor, who was an opponent of the
Hussites. His older brother was Jan III. He was born between around 1442 and 1450. Since Wenceslaus was still a minor when his father died in 1452, he was under the guardianship of his uncle
Wenceslaus II and his step-mother,
Barbara Rockemberg. From 1460 to 1464, Wenceslaus and his elder brother
John IV ruled their territories together. In 1464, they divided the inheritance, with John IV taking Krnov,
Bruntál and
Wodzisław Śląski and Wenceslaus taking Rybnik with
Żory and
Pszczyna. Wencelaus III supported King
Vladislaus II of Bohemia and Hungary during the conflict between the Bohemian nobility and the Hungarians about control of Bohemia. The anti-Hungarian King
Matthias Corvinus formed a coalition against Wenceslaus III. Members of the coalition included Duke
Victor of Münsterberg and Opava and his brother
Henry the Elder, as well as Duke
Przemyslaus II of Cieszyn, Duke
Nicholas II of Niemodlin and his brother
John II of Opole. The coalition overthrew Wencelaus III in 1474 and he was taken prisoner by Matthias Corvinus, who handed him over to henry the Elder. Henry's brother Victor took Wenceslaus's possessions, however, he lost them again after Wenceslaus' death. Wenceslaus died as a prisoner in 1478 in
Kłodzko. He was unmarried and childless. == Footnotes ==