After Charles IV's death, the crown was inherited by his son Vaclav IV of Luxembourg (1361-1419), King of Czechia (1378-1419), and Germany (1376-1400). He was crowned in Czechia in 1363, while his father was alive, and in Germany in 1376. In Czechia, Vaclav attempted to enhance the king's power, fought against noble alliances, and was captured in 1394-1396 and 1402-1403. He had conflicts with the Church, intervened in its internal affairs, and ordered the execution of John Nepomuk, the vicar general of the Prague diocese, who rejected his will in 1393. He also supported the rising Hussite movement. Historians have a joke about this king: "What the father conquered; the son squandered". He may have performed few good things. Concerned primarily with Czech issues, he lost power in Germany, was deposed by electors in 1400, and abdicated the German throne in 1411.

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