The House of Lobkowicz (Lobkovicové in modern Czech, sg. z Lobkovic; Lobkowitz in German) is an important Bohemian noble family that dates back to the 14th century and is one of the oldest noble families of the region.Krishan Kumar. Visions of Empire: How Five Imperial Regimes Shaped the World. Page 191. Chapter: The Habsburg Empire. April 17, 2017. Citation: "[...] Czech families who played prominent roles in the imperial administration: Martinic of Slatava, Lobkowitz and Czernin, Kinsky and Sternberg, Kolowrat, Nostitz and Schlick." . Over the centuries, the family expanded their possessions through marriage with the most powerful families of the region, which resulted in gaining vast territories all across central Europe. Due to that, and despite the Czech roots, the family was also incorporated into the German, Austrian and Belgian nobility.
History The first Lobkowiczs were members of the gentry of north-eastern Bohemia in the late 14th century. On 3 August 1459 they were granted the title of Freiherr. In the 17th century, members of the family were awarded with the title of Prince, which was granted to them on 17 October 1623 by Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor. In 1786, Emperor Joseph II further ennobled the 7th Prince when he created him Duke of Roudnice (Herzog von Raudnitz in German, vévoda roudnický in Czech).Family History Lobkowicz, accessed 25 February 2017.
The family's Imperial immediacy over Princely county of Störnstein was mediatized to Bavaria in 1807. As such, the House of Lobkowicz belong to the small group of families that constitute the and is one of the mediatised houses.
Princes of Lobkowicz Zdenko Adalbert, 1st Prince 1624–1628 (1568–1628) Wenzel Eusebius, 2nd Prince 1628–1677 (1609–1677) Ferdinand August, 3rd Prince 1677–1715 (1655–1715) Phillip Hyacinth, 4th Prince 1715–1737 (1680–1737) Wenzel Ferdinand, 5th Prince 1737–1739 (1723–1739) Ferdinand, 6th Prince 1739–1784 (1724–1784) Joseph Franz Maximilian, 7th Prince 1784–1816 (1772–1816) Ferdinand Joseph, 8th Prince 1816–1868 (1797–1868) Moritz, 9th Prince 1868–1903 (1831–1903) Ferdinand, 10th Prince 1903–1938 (1858–1938) Prince Ferdinand, renounced his succession rights 1920 Prince Johann of Lobkowicz (1799–1878) Prince Franz Eugen of Lobkowicz (1839–1898) Jaroslav, 11th Prince 1938–1953 (1877–1953) Friedrich, 12th Prince 1953–1954 (1907–1954) Jaroslav, 13th Prince 1953–1985 (1910–1985) Jaroslav, 14th Prince 1985–present (b. 1942) Vladimir, Hereditary Prince of Lobkowicz (b. 1972) Prince Jaroslav of Lobkowicz (b. 2012) Prince Jaroslav of Lobkowicz (b. 1974) Prince Philippe of Lobkowicz (b. 1981) Prince Casimir of Lobkowicz (b. 2009) Prince Rudolf of Lobkowicz (b. 2011) Prince Joseph Franz of Lobkowicz (1803–1875) Prince Georg Ferdinand of Lobkowicz (1862–1921) Prince Edouard Josef of Lobkowicz (1899–1959) Prince Edouard of Lobkowicz (1926–2010) Prince Edouard-Xavier of Lobkowicz (1960–1984)Eric Pace, "Body of Prince Found Near Paris", New York Times (8 May 1984), A12. Prince Robert of Lobkowicz (1961–1988) Prince Charles-Henri of Lobkowicz (b. 1964)
Notable family members Mikuláš Chudý ("the Poor") z Újezda (c. 1378–1435) was a poor squire from the village of Újezd in Bohemia. After studying at the Charles University in Prague, he became a scribe in Kutná Hora. King Wenceslaus IV rewarded him for his services with the title to the village of Lobkovice (after which he began styling himself Nicholas of Lobkowicz), and he became the supreme scribe of the Bohemian kingdom in 1417. At the king's command, he captured several castles belonging to rebellious nobles; he was allowed to keep one, Hasištejn Castle, as a hereditary possession. Nicholas Hasištejnský z Lobkowicz (died 1462). The elder son of Nicholas of Lobkowicz, he inherited Hasištejn Castle. He and his brother Jan were raised to the status of free lords by Emperor Frederick III in 1459. Twenty years later, they were awarded Czech lordly status as well. Jan Popel z Lobkowicz (died 1470) was the younger son of Nicholas of Lobkowicz. He inherited Hluboká Castle and the village of Lobkovice from his father's estate. Along with his elder brother Nicholas, he was ennobled in 1459. Jan Hasištejnský z Lobkovic (1450–1517) was a diplomat who traveled on ambassadorial missions to Luxembourg in 1477 and Rome in 1487. King Vladislaus II entrusted him with negotiating his marriage to Mary of Burgundy, but the match ultimately never occurred. Much like his younger brother Bohuslav, the so-called “Czech Ulysses,” Jan journeyed to the Holy Land, later writing a book about his experiences (Pilgrimage to the Holy Grave in Jerusalem, 1505). He helped develop a Franciscan monastery in Kadaň, and is buried there. His brother Bohuslav Hasištejnský z Lobkovic (1461–1510) was a poet, essayist, and philosopher. He was well known for his prose, letters, and verses, including a satire on life in Bohemia. An extensive traveler who studied in Bologna and Ferrara and who voyaged to Egypt and the Holy Land, Bohuslav was elected Bishop of Olomouc but never held that office, as the pope refused to appoint him. He collected more than 650 books, primarily humanist and classical texts—an astonishing number for the era in which he lived. Roughly two thirds of his collection remains in the Lobkowicz Library, including more than 400 of the 750 incunabula belonging to the library. Krystof Popel the Younger of Lobkowicz (1549–1609) was the Chief Steward of Bohemia during the reign of Emperor Rudolf II. Kryštof was a close friend of Hans von Aachen, the celebrated court painter. Known for his diplomatic and linguistic skills, he was often tasked with welcoming foreign visitors—including Persians, Turks, and Russians—to the Emperor's court, and was responsible for peace negotiations with the Polish king Sigismund. Jiří Popel z Lobkowicz (c. 1551–1607 or 1613) was a devout Catholic nobleman who founded a Jesuit college in Chomutov and reestablished a monastery in Kadaň after it had been abolished due to connections with Lutheranism. Influential at the Imperial Court, in 1585 he became the Court Administrator, the second-highest office in Bohemia. However, he soon fell out of favor with Emperor Rudolf II, who blamed him and the other councillors for his brother Maximilian's defeat at the Battle of Byczyna and subsequent imprisonment. In 1593, he and his brother Ladislav Popel z Lobkowicz led an unsuccessful revolt against Rudolf II among the nobility. The two brothers fled Prague and were sentenced to death in absentia; Jiří was captured, but the Emperor lessened his sentence to life imprisonment and loss of property. He remained in prison for the rest of his life; the date of his death is unknown, but the years most frequently cited are 1607 and 1613. Vilém mladší Popel z Lobkovic (c. 1575–1647). On 15 June 1587, he inherited the lordship of Horšovský Týn, which his father, John the Younger, had purchased in 1546. He was a royal councillor, and a court justice from 1628 to 1634. Being a Protestant, he was dispossessed in favour of the Catholic Lobkowicz line after the Battle of White Mountain in 1620.
Zdeněk Vojtěch Popel z Lobkovic (1568–1628), 1st Prince Lobkowicz, was Chancellor to the Czech Kingdom under Emperors Rudolf II, Matthias, and Ferdinand II. Zdeněk Vojtěch was a major political figure in both Bohemia and the larger Habsburg empire. He and his wife Polyxena Pernštejn (1566–1642), the daughter of a Chancellor to the Czech Kingdom and an influential Spanish noblewoman, were leaders of the “Spanish” (i.e. Catholic) bloc at court, opposed to the Protestant factions. When the Emperor's Catholic ministers were hurled from the windows of Prague Castle in the famous Defenestration of Prague in 1618, they took refuge in the nearby Lobkowicz Palace. The incident also signalled a turning point in the fortunes of the Lobkowicz family: although their property was confiscated by rebellious Protestants in 1618, the Catholic victory at the Battle of White Mountain in 1620 resulted in the restoration of their property and ensured that the family, as Catholic nobles, would continue to be highly influential. That same year, King Philip III of Spain awarded Zdeněk Vojtěch the Order of the Golden Fleece, the highest order of European chivalry. In 1624, Ferdinand II granted him the title of Imperial Prince, and he became the first hereditary Prince Lobkowicz. Polyxena Pernštejn (1566–1642), 1st Princess Lobkowicz, was the daughter of Vratislav II of Pernštejn (1530–1582), Chancellor of the Czech Kingdom, and Maria Maximiliana Manrique de Lara y Mendoza (1538–1608), an influential Spanish noblewoman. In 1587, she became the fourth wife of William of Rosenberg (1535–1592), High Treasurer and High Burgrave of Bohemia and the wealthiest man in the country. After William's death, she married Zdeněk Vojtěch of Lobkowicz, Chancellor of the Czech Kingdom and later 1st Prince Lobkowicz. As all of William's marriages had been childless, Polyxena's marriage to Zdeněk Vojtěch brought considerable wealth and property into the Lobkowicz family. Polyxena and her husband were highly influential at the Imperial Habsburg court, where they spearheaded Catholic opposition to Protestant factions. After the Defenestration of Prague in 1618, the Emperor's Catholic ministers took refuge in the Lobkowicz Palace. A later painting shows a romanticized version of the incident, with Polyxena barring the door of the palace against a Protestant mob while the battered ministers cower behind her—while another version of events claims that Polyxena concealed the ministers under her skirts. The defeat of the Protestants at the Battle of White Mountain in 1620 ensured that the Lobkowicz family would continue to play a major role in Bohemian and Imperial politics. Kateřina Benigna Popelovna Lobkowicz (1594–1653), wife of Vilém mladší Popel z Lobkowicz, helped establish Loreta as a significant pilgrimage destination in Prague. She financed the construction of the site, which was designed by Italian architect Giovanni Orsi and built between 1626 and 1631. Anna Magdalene (1606–1668), Baroness Popel von Lobkowicz, was the daughter of William the Younger Popel of Lobkowicz, Lord of Horšovský Týn. She married Julius Henry, Imperial Field Marshal and future Duke of Saxe-Lauenburg, in 1632. Of their six children, two survived infancy. The youngest, Julius Francis (1641–1689), was the last Ascanian duke of Saxe-Lauenburg. Juan Caramuel y Lobkowitz (1606–1682) was a Spanish Catholic philosopher, mathematician, architect and architectural theorist, ecclesiastic, and writer, believed to be a grandson of the eldest daughter of Jan Popel z Lobkowicz (c. 1527–1590). After a precocious childhood, he entered the Cistercian Order and was later awarded a doctorate of theology by the University of Leuven. His titles and positions included Philip IV of Spain's envoy to the court of Emperor Ferdinand III; Abbot of Melrose, Scotland; Abbot-Superior of the Benedictines of Vienna; Grand Vicar to the Archbishop of Prague; Bishop of Satrianum; Bishop of Campagna; and, at his death, Bishop of Vigevano. His intellectual pursuits were no less illustrious: he published 262 works on subjects from poetry to astronomy to asceticism, was one of the earliest scholars to write on probability, and designed the façade of the Vigevano Cathedral. When the Swedes attacked Prague in 1648, he armed and led a band of ecclesiastics to serve in defense of the city, and the emperor rewarded him for his bravery with a collar of gold.