Kolowrat family
| House of Kolowrat | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Country |
Bohemia Holy Roman Empire Austrian Empire Austria-Hungary |
| Titles |
Lords Counts Imperial Counts |
| Founded | 1347: Albrecht z Kolowrat |
| Current head | Count Maximilián Alexander Kolowrat-Krakowský |
| Ethnicity | Czech |
| Cadet branches |
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The Kolowrat family is an old and prominent Central European noble family originating in Bohemia, present-day Czech Republic. The family origins are far enough back in Bohemian history that no extant documents show them, and only a few legends from historians such as Bohuslav Balbín and František Palacký describe them. They rose to prominence during the Habsburg Monarchy, during which its members held the highest of political, military, and clerical functions. Among members of the Kolowrat family we may find Minister-Presidents, Supreme Chancellors, field marshals, archbishops, and knights of the Order of the Golden Fleece.
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.
During the 14th and 15th centuries, the Kolowrat family split into eight family branches, including the Kolowrat-Krakowsky branch.
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.
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