House of Waldstein

The family coat of arms at the end of the 16th century

The House of Waldstein (Czech – Valdštejn) is a Bohemian noble family. It acquired large properties in Bohemia and Moravia and (especially during the 16th century) produced many statesmen and civil servants. In 1628 the family was one of the first among the Bohemian nobility to be promoted to graf status, then to Reichsgraf two years later. After uniting with the line of the lords of Wartenberg, the family title today is "Reichsgrafen von Waldstein, Herren von Wartenberg". Its most famous members include Albrecht von Wallenstein, who was both duke of Friedland and Mecklenburg and Fürst (prince) of Sagan, and Count Ferdinand Ernst Gabriel von Waldstein, the patron of Beethoven. Valdštejn Castle was the main family property.

Notable family members

• Albrecht von Wallenstein (24 September 1583 – 25 February 1634) was Duke of Friedland, Mecklenburg and Fürst (prince) of Sagan
• Johann (Jan) (died 15 June 1576) was supreme Landrichter (judge) in Bohemia from 1554 to 1570 (and, until 1576, in the upper Kämmerer). He was a follower of the utraquistist faith.
• His son, Burggraf Adam the Younger von Waldstein auf Komorní Hrádek, Sasau, Lobositz, Dobrowitz, Rožďalovice and Trebitsch (8 June 1570 – 24 August 1638), was appointed supreme Landrichter in 1611 and was Obersthofmeister in the years 1611–1619. He was a faithful supporter of the Holy Roman Emperor and for these services he was granted more lands and posts in 1621. In 1628 he was appointed Reichsgraf and from 1627 to 1638 was the highest Markgraf. He received these distinctions with mixed feelings – as a Bohemian šlechtic or nobleman, he represented the old Bohemian Königsrechte, which only had the ranks of Herr and Ritter. With the support of other Bohemian noblemen, he brought about the abandonment of the policy of appointing more and more Reichsgrafen. He also wished to be allowed to die as a Bohemian pán (lord).
• Burian Ladislaus (Burian Guedstein) (1591 – 8 October 1645, Prague) was a general.
• Karl Ernst (Karel Arnošt) (4 May 1661, Vienna – 7 January 1713, Vienna) was the Austrian ambassador to Spain, Savoy and Brandenburg. When in 1703 he returned from a diplomatic mission to France and Portugal on a Portuguese ship, he was captured by the French and held at Vincennes for nearly a year. His release came as a prisoner exchange for the French marshal François de Neufville, duc de Villeroy.
• Franz de Paula Adam Norbert Wenzel Ludwig Valentin von Waldstein (14 February 1759 – 24 May 1823) was an Austrian soldier, explorer and naturalist.
• Count Ferdinand Ernst Gabriel von Waldstein was the patron of Beethoven.
• Emmanuel Ernst von Waldstein was Bishop of Litoměřice.
• Dr. Michael Waldstein was the founding president of the International Theological Institute of Trumau, Austria and translator of Pope John Paul II's Theology of the Body.

Bibliography

• Pavel Koukal: Duchcov v zrcadle dějin (Dux im Spiegel der Geschichte). Duchcov: Kapucín, 2005. ISBN 80-86467-10-4.

External links

• Stanislav Kasík: Die Waldsteiner. from: Waldsteiner Bildergalerie im Egerer Museum – Katalog zur ständigen Ausstellung. Eger 1999

• This page is a translation of its German equivalent.