Václav Eusebius František, Prince of Lobkowicz

Wenzel Eusebius Fürst Lobkowitz (1609–1677), by Anselm van Hulle

Václav Eusebius František, Prince of Lobkowicz (German: Fürst Wenzel Eusebius von Lobkowicz) (30 January 1609 – Raudnitz, 22 April 1677) was a Bohemian military and diplomat, and since 1646 Duke of Sagan.

Life

Born in the noble House of Lobkowicz, he was the son of Bohemian Chancellor Zdeněk Vojtěch Popel von Lobkowicz and Polyxena von Pernstein. He was a passionate advocate of Catholic doctrine and succeeded, with clever tactics, to amass a considerable fortune for the Roudnice branch of the family.

After a thorough training, he joined the Imperial Army in 1631 where he reached the rank of fieldmarshal, but later made a name as a politician and diplomat. In 1646 he purchased the Silesian Duchy of Sagan which Emperor Ferdinand III had confiscated in 1634 after the death of the imperial commander Albrecht von Wallenstein.
The confidant of the Emperor Leopold I was appointed in 1657 as President of the Hofrat. Although his parents, and especially his mother, were pro-Spanish, Wenceslas sought his allies at the French court and thus created many enemies amongst the Spanish supporters at the Viennese court. Because of their intervention, he fell out of favor with the Emperor in 1674, was arrested and imprisoned in Raudnitz where he died 3 years later.

Marriage and Children

Václav Eusebius married firstly on 3 November 1638 with Johana Myšková ze Žlunic (1600–1650). They had no children.

His second marriage was on 6 February 1653 with Auguste Sophie von Pfalz-Sulzbach (1624–1682), daughter of Duke Augustus, Count Palatine of Sulzbach, they had 5 children:

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