For his historical tragedy "King Ottokar's Fortune and End" (, written 1823, but owing to difficulties with the censor, not performed until February 19, 1825), Grillparzer dramatized the conflict of Ottokar II of Bohemia with Rudolph I of Germany. It appealed strongly to the patriotic sympathies of the Viennese, because it depicted one of the proudest periods of Austrian history, the founding of the House of Habsburg. With an almost modern realism Grillparzer reproduced the medieval era, at the same time not losing sight of the needs of the theatre. It cannot be said that the materials of the play are welded into a compact whole, but the characters are vigorously conceived, and there is a fine dramatic contrast between the brilliant, restless, and unscrupulous Ottokar and the calm, upright, and ultimately triumphant Rudolph. Because Ottokar is defeated, critics argue that this play represents another work in which Grillparzer preaches the futility of endeavour and the vanity of worldly greatness.