Oldà Âich I (; ; â 9 November 1034), a member of the Pà Âemyslid dynasty, was Duke of Bohemia from 1012 to 1033 and briefly again in 1034. His accession to the Bohemian throne marked the start of a phase of stability after a long period of internal dynastic struggles. Under his rule, the Moravian lands were reconquered from Polish occupation.
Oldà Âich was the fourth (third surviving) son of Duke Boleslaus II of Bohemia (d. 999). his mother was Emma of MÃÂlnÃÂk. Upon the death of his father, his eldest brother Boleslaus III succeeded as duke, however, he soon entered into a fierce conflict with his younger brothers Oldà Âich and JaromÃÂr. In 1001, both had to flee to the Bavarian court at Regensburg. When Boleslaus III was deposed by the rival Vrà ¡ovci dynasty the next year and the Polish ruler Bolesà Âaw I the Brave invaded Bohemia, King Henry II of Germany intervened. As a part of Henry's expedition to Prague, Boleslaus's brothers were able to return to Bohemia, and JaromÃÂr was installed as Bohemian duke in 1004.
In the GermanâÂÂPolish War of 1002âÂÂ18, Duke JaromÃÂr remained a loyal supporter of the German king. Nevertheless, Henry did not take action when he was deposed and blinded by his brother Oldà Âich on 12 April 1012. While JaromÃÂr fled to Poland, Oldà Âich recognised the sovereignty of the German king. He secured his rule by suppressing the Vrà ¡ovci insurgents.
Oldà Âich and his son Bretislaus sought to win back Moravia, once conquered from the Poles by Oldà Âich's grandfather Duke Boleslaus I. Bretislaus and his wife Judith of Schweinfurt took up residence in Olomouc. In 1029, the Bohemian forces, backed by Holy Roman Emperor Conrad II, finally drove the Poles out of the eastern lands. However, Bretislaus's efforts to occupy adjacent territories in what is today Slovakia by marching against the forces of the Kingdom of Hungary failed in 1030 due to the jealousy of the emperor, who reached an agreement with King Stephen I. In the following year, Bohemian forces refused to take the field for the emperor.
In 1032, Duke Oldà Âich was invited to the Hoftag diet at Merseburg, but did not appear. His absence raised the ire of the emperor and Conrad, busy with events in Burgundy, charged his son Henry III with punishing the recalcitrant Bohemian. Oldà Âich was arrested, deposed and sent to Bavaria. He was again replaced by his brother JaromÃÂr. However, when Oldà Âich was pardoned the next year, he returned to Bohemia and had JaromÃÂr captured, blinded, and deposed. He seized power again and drove out JaromÃÂr's son from Moravia.
Oldà Âich died abruptly on 9 November 1034 during a banquet.
According to legend rendered by the medieval chronicler Cosmas of Prague, Duke Oldà Âich about 1002 married a Boà ¾ena, daughter of Kà Âesina, after discarding his first wife on the grounds that they were childless. Together they had a son: