Cultural depictions of Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor
Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor, from the House of Luxembourg was King of Bohemia (1346–1378) and Holy Roman Emperor (1355–1378). A powerful and intellectual ruler, Charles has been remembered for his munificient patronage, especially in the Kingdom of Bohemia which reached the apex of political and cultural power under his reign. In the Holy Roman Empire, his Golden Bull of 1356 marked a point of change concerning the political structure of the Empire – some historians opine that this gave recognition to the victory of the particularism of the princes, while others think of the document as an achievement that maintained balance of power in the Empire and brought a measure of peace. Recently, some darker aspects of his rule like religious persecution have also attracted attention. Historiography Charles IV's era has been remembered as the Golden Age of the Czech nation and he has been praised for bringing great cultural prosperity to Bohemia – Prague became the center of the Holy Roman Empire and the "cultural capital of Eastern-Central Europe". He is widely considered to be the greatest Czech ruler (in a 2005 television competition, he also received the most votes as the greatest Czech overall). Charles's reputation as