Lobkowicz family
Bohemian noble family
The House of Lobkowicz (Lobkovicové in modern Czech, sg. z Lobkovic; Lobkowitz in German) is an important Bohemian noble family that dates back to the 14th century and is one of the oldest noble families of the region. Over the centuries, the family expanded their possessions through marriage with the most powerful families of the region, which resulted in gaining vast territories all across central Europe. Due to that, and despite the Czech roots, the family was also incorporated into the German, Austrian and Belgian nobility.
History
The first Lobkowiczs were members of the gentry of north-eastern Bohemia in the late 14th century. On 3 August 1459 they were granted the title of Freiherr. In the 17th century, members of the family were awarded with the title of Prince, which was granted to them on 17 October 1623 by Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor. In 1786, Emperor Joseph II further ennobled the 7th Prince when he created him Duke of Roudnice (Herzog von Raudnitz in German, vévoda roudnický in Czech).
The family's Imperial immediacy over Princely county of Störnstein was mediatized to Bavaria in 1807. As such, the House of Lobkowicz belong to the small group of families that constitute the Hochadel (German for 'high nobility') and is one of the mediatised houses.
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This entry incorporates text from “Lobkowicz family” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.