Kolowrat family

Legend

The legend by historian Bohuslav Balbín tells the story of a strong man who saved a Czech king and his little son. The Czech king and his little son were travelling in a carriage when suddenly their horses started panicking. The wheel of the carriage was about to fall off, inevitably resulting in the carriage crashing. A strong man, who stood nearby, saw what was happening and grabbed the wheel of the carriage by its spokes, stopping the carriage from crashing. As thanks, the king gave the man the right to the name Kolowrat, which is a combination of the word "kolo" (wheel) and "vrátit" (to return). In tribute to the above-mentioned legend, the original Kolowrat coat of arms had (still used by the city of Kolovraty) a wheel with eight spokes on the breast of the Kolowrat eagle. The family's mythical founder is Prince Vlastislav.

Family tree

During the 14th and 15th centuries, the Kolowrat family split into eight family branches, including the Kolowrat-Krakowsky branch.

Early modern period

Another significant member of the Kolowrat-Krakowsky line was Jan Nepomuk Karel, known as Hanuš (1794–1872). The last member of the Březno branch, pure patriot and philanthropist, he supported the Matice Česká and made the largest donation to the construction of the National Theatre. Due, in no small part, to his patriotism and readiness to help people in need he inspired the character of Count Březenský in the novel The Village Under the Mountains by Božena Němcová.

Modern history

Count Leopold Filip Kolowrat-Krakowsky (1852–1910) became famous for winning the last pistol duel in Prague, in which he shot Wilhelm the hereditiary Prince of Auersperg, and was forced into exile (until later pardoned by the Emperor). The duel occurred because they were both courting Anna Countess of Waldstein. He was a member of the Imperial Council and the Czech Assembly; for his service, he received the second class Order of the Iron Crown. Apart from the Přimda estate, the Klatovy estate, and multiple Kolowrat Palaces, he also became a major shareholder of Laurin and Klement, the predecessor of Škoda Auto.

20th century

After Count Leopold Filip's death, his son Count Alexander von Kolowrat-Krakowsky (1886–1927) became the new head of the family. Alexander, called Sascha, was not only a successful car and motorcycle racing driver but also Austria's best film producer whose biggest contribution to the world’s film industry, apart from making the largest and most expensive film production in Austrian film history (Sodom and Gomorrah), was the discovery of Marlene Dietrich and Michael Curtiz. He was the owner of Sascha-Film and a good friend of Ferdinand Porsche, who built championship winning cars called Sascha Wagen for the Count. He died of cancer in 1927. In his honour there is an annual gathering of historic cars, combined with a tour around Přimda and the neighbouring towns in Bavaria. His younger brother Count Jindrich Vilem Kolowrat-Krakowsky was also an important figure in 20th century Czech history. He was known for being a successful businessman and for fighting the Nazis during their occupation of Czechoslovakia. For his courage and achievements he was awarded the Czechoslovak War Cross from president Edvard Beneš and became the ambassador to Turkey. In 1948 when still in Turkey the communists took control of Czechoslovakia and declared him an enemy of state and his estates were confiscated. Count Jindrich Kolowrat fled Turkey and settled in the United States with his family.

House of Kolowrat today

In 1989 after the Velvet Revolution, Count Jindrich Kolowrat returned to his homeland and restored his ancestral properties. He did so followed by his youngest son, Count František Tomáš, whom he made his sole heir. In 1991, president Václav Havel awarded Count Jindrich the Order of Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk (second class). Count Jindrich also rented the Kolowrat Palace for 1kc a year for the duration of 20 years to the National Theatre. He died in 1996, the same year that František Tomáš Kolowrat-Krakowsky's son Maximilian Alexander (the current head of the family) was born. Count František Tomáš died in 2004 due to lung cancer.

Important family members

Coat of arms

The original Kolowrat coat of arms is a blue shield featuring a silver and blue halved eagle with a golden spring on her breasts. From the 15th century onwards a three-leaf golden crown has adorned the eagle’s neck.

Na uzavřené přilbě s červenostříbrným krytím se nachází křídlo vpředu stříbrné, po stranách červené se zlatým jetelovým trojlístkem.

Relatives

They married with the House of Colloredo-Mannsfeld, Berky, Fictumy, the House of Lobkowicz, Gutštejny či Šternberky.