| (Princely) Landgraviate of Schwarzenberg (Gefürstete) Landgrafschaft Schwarzenberg |
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| State of the Holy Roman Empire | ||||
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Coat of arms |
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| Capital | Schwarzenberg Castle, Scheinfeld (to 1670s); Český Krumlov (from 1670s) |
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| Government | Principality | |||
| Historical era | Middle Ages | |||
| - Acquired by Lords of Seinsheim |
1405/21 | |||
| - Imperial immediacy | 1429 | |||
| - Raised to Imperial county |
1599 | |||
| - Raised to princely county |
14 July 1670 | |||
| - Raised to princely landgraviate |
1671 |
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| - Partitioned from Stephanswald-Franconia as Klingenberg |
1789 | |||
Schwarzenberg (Czech: ze Švarcenberka) is the name of a Franconian and Bohemian aristocratic family.
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The family was first mentioned in 1172. A branch of the Seinsheim family (the non-Schwarzenberg portion died out in 1958) was created when Erkinger I of Seinsheim acquired the Franconian barony of Schwarzenberg, the castle Schwarzenberg and the title Baron of Schwarzenberg, in 1405–21. At this time, they also possessed some fiefdoms in Bohemia. In 1599 the Schwarzenbergs were elevated to Counts and in 1670 to Princes. The House of Schwarzenberg came into extensive land holdings in Bohemia in 1661 through a marriage alliance with the House of Eggenberg. In the 1670s, they established their primary seat in Bohemia. Until 1918 their primary residence was in Český Krumlov, Bohemia (now in the Czech Republic).
In the late 18th century, the House of Schwarzenberg was divided into two titled lines (majorats). The elder line died out in the male line in 1965 with Heinrich Schwarzenberg, the 11th Prince of Schwarzenberg. The second line was established with Prince Karl Philipp of Schwarzenberg at Orlík, Murau and Vienna. Today the two lines are united under the current head of the house, Prince Karl VII of Schwarzenberg, who serves as the current minister of foreign affairs of the Czech Republic.
The ancestral coat of the lords of Seinsheim consisted of vertical stripes in silver and blue.
In 1566, when John Younger of Schwarzenberg was ennobled, he added an inescutcheon with a silver tower for Schwarzenberg.
In 1599 Adolf zu Schwarzenberg added a quarter showing the head of a Turk pecked by a raven, to symbolize the conquest of a Turkish fortress in Hungary known in German as Raab ('Raven').
In 1688, quarters were added for the domains of Sulz, Brandis (canting arms: a brand) and the Landgraviate of Klettgau.[1][2]
The House of Schwarzenberg produced many military commanders, politicians, church dignitaries (including an Archbishop of Prague), innovators and patrons of the arts. They were related to a number of European aristocratic families, notably to the Lobkowicz (Czech: Lobkovicové) family. By name, notable members are:
The Schwarzenberg property in Bohemia included the Duchy of Krumlov, the town of Prachatice and Orlík Castle. The family also acquired property of the House of Rosenberg (Czech: Rožmberkové). They created ponds, planted forests and introduced new technologies in agriculture.
Upon the establishment of the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia, the possessions of Prince Adolf of Schwarzenberg were seized by the Nazi authorities. He himself managed to flee, while his cousin and heir Duke Heinrich of Krumlov was arrested and deported. After World War II the Czechoslovakian government by law No. 143/1947 from August 13, 1947 (Lex Schwarzenberg) stated that the assets of the Schwarzenberg-Hluboká primogeniture passed to the Land of Bohemia.
The Schwarzenberg holdings included the following castles:
The House of Seinsheim regarded Erchanger, Duke of Swabia (died 917) as their ancestor.
In 1599, the barony was raised to an Imperial county.
On 14 July 1670, the county was raised to an Princely county and, the following year, to a Princely landgraviate.
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Primogeniture (Hluboká)
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Secundogeniture (Orlík)
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In November 1918 the Austro-Hungarian Empire ceases to exist.
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Primogeniture
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Secundogeniture
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Title of the head of the family:
All the other members of the family are not Dukes of Krumlov and they should be addressed without the "the" in front of the title prince. In the German language they are just "Prinz" and the son of the head of the family should be addressed with the titel "Erbprinz".
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