Because Spytihněv and his younger brother Vratislaus were still minors at the time of their father's death about 889, the Bohemian lands were placed under the regency of their suzerain, the Great Moravian ruler Svatopluk I.

He reinforced Přemyslid rule in Central Bohemia around present-day Prague, having several castles erected along the borders of his realm at Mělník, Libušín, Tetín, Lštění, and Boleslav.

He also continued the extension of Prague Castle as the administrative centre of the rising Přemyslid duchy as a replacement for the early medieval gord of Levý Hradec.

Spytihněv further strengthened ties with East Francia by forming an alliance with Margrave Luitpold of Bavaria, who in 898 fought against Mojmír II with the result that Bohemia finally separated from the Greater Moravian realm.

He was confirmed to buried in the Church of the Virgin Mary in Prague Castle,[3] as were many members of the royal Přemyslid dynasty during this period.