Rader, Olaf B. Kaiser Karl der Vierte. Das Beben der Welt. Eine Biographie

Anyone who travels to Prague will experience the Golden City of Charles IV - with Charles Bridge, St. Vitus Cathedral and the University. From here, the ruler of the House of Luxembourg ruled an empire that stretched from southern France and northern Italy to northern Germany. Based on newly discovered sources, Olaf B. Rader vividly recounts the life of the art-loving emperor, who, aware of divine election, expanded his power both cleverly and ruthlessly and was immortalized in his epitaph as "Quake of the World".

The dramatic 14th century - a time of economic and cultural prosperity as well as deep crises such as the Great Plague, floods and the beginning of the Little Ice Age - was the century of Charles IV (1316-1378). The Holy Roman Emperor and King of Bohemia purposefully expanded the power of his dynasty through wars and diplomatic skills and issued the Golden Bull, the most important basic law of the empire, which remained in force until its dissolution in 1806. He founded the first university in Prague and employed the Parlers, the best builders and sculptors of the time. The fact that this pious, relic-collecting, justice-conscious emperor benefited from the plunder and persecution of the Jews, and even encouraged it, has irritated many historians. In his book, Olaf B. Rader paints a new picture of the most powerful late medieval emperor, who had a more lasting impact on Germany and Europe than we realize today. The emperor who expanded Prague into a splendid capital and reorganized the empire with the Golden Bull. A new image of one of the most powerful rulers of the Middle Ages. Based on newly discovered sources.