The House of Kolowrat-Krakowsky () is an old, historic Bohemian noble family from Central Europe. It is a branch of the House of Kolowrat.
The Kolowrat family originated in Central Bohemia, in what is today the Czech Republic, in the 13th century.
The Kolowrat-Krakowsky branch of the Kolowrat family still exists today in the Czech Republic and the United States. Over the past 600 years, this family branch has produced:
During the 14th and 15th centuries, the Kolowrat family split into eight family branches. Of these eight branches, only the Krakowsky branch, the largest one, survived into the 21st century. The branches were:
Albrecht the Elder of Kolowrat is considered the founder of the Kolowrat family He was born in the 13th or 14th century in the village of Kolovraty in what is today the Czech Republic. Hence the name "Kolowrat".
Albrecht served as a hetman, a court marshal of Anna of Schweidnitz, and an assessor of the provincial and royal feudal court. In 1347, when Roà ¾mitál castle was sold, Albrecht was mentioned as an assessing witness. He married three times and had eight children. Albrecht's six sons laid the foundation of the Kolowrat family.
In 1373, Albrecht the Younger established an Augustinian monastery of the Assumption in RoÃÂov, where he was later buried.
Albrecht I (1422âÂÂ1470) acquired Krakovec castle near what is today Krakovec, Czech Republic. The name "Krakowsky" derives from the castle name. Albrecht was the founder of the Kolowrat-Krakowský branch.
A much later descendent, Count Leopold Vilém (1727âÂÂ1809), was a close friend of the Hapsburg Empress Maria Theresia and a holder of the Order of the Golden Fleece. Vilém married twice and had 17 children,
Count Frantià ¡ek Xaver (1783âÂÂ1855), Villam's youngest son, is the common ancestor of all living Kolowrat-Krakowsky descendents.
Leopold Filip Kolowrat-Krakowsky (1852âÂÂ1910) became the administrator of the family property in the second half of the 19th century. He was a member of the Imperial Council of the Austro-Hungarian Emprire and later served in the Bohemian Assembly. Leopold Filip was a Second Class Knight of the Order of the Iron Crown. Apart from the Pà Âimda estate and the estate in Klatovsko, he also administered the Kolowrat Palace and the New Kolowrat Palace in Prague.
Alexander Kolowrat-Krakowsky (1886âÂÂ1927), Leopold Filip's oldest son, inherited the Kolowrat-Krakowsky estate. Alexander, called Sascha, was a successful car and motorcycle racing driver but also a film producer. Sascha founded the Sascha-Film company, which discovered actor Marlene Dietrich. As a racing driver, Sascha received many awards and became the right hand of car builder Václav Klement. In Sascha's honor, an annual gathering of antique cars, is held in Pà Âimda.
When Sascha died of cancer in 1927, his brother, Jindà Âich Vilém Kolowrat-Krakowsky (1897âÂÂ1996), became administrator of the family estate. A builder, Jindà Âich erected the Functionalist-styled Palace Chicago in Prague. He founded the Wooden Houses Kolowrat company, where he employed 600 permanent workers.
In 1943, the German-controlled government of Czechoslovakia nationalized the Kolowrat-Krakowsky estate, removing it from Jindà Âich's control. After the end of World War II in 1945, President Edvard Beneà ¡ of the new Czechoslovak government returned the estate to Jindà Âich. He would serve as ambassador to as the Czechoslovak ambassador to Turkey until 1948, when he emigrated with his family to the United States.
In February 1948, the new Czechoslovak Socialist Republic nationalized the Kolowrat-Krakowsky estate again. In 1950, the government dissolved the Wooden Houses Kolowrat. In 1960, the Diana hunting lodge owned by the family was converted into a retirement home.
In 1992, after the fall of the communist regime in 1989, the Kolowrat-Krakowsky estate was returned to the Kolowrat-Krakowsky family. Jindà Âich and his youngest son, Frantià ¡ek TomÃ¡à ¡ Kolowrat-Krakowsky (1943âÂÂ2004) returned to Czechoslovia. In 1991, Jindà Âich had received the Order of TomÃ¡à ¡ Garrigue Masaryk, Second Class, from President Václav Havel. In 1993, Jindà Âich rented the Kolowrat Palace to the National Theatre in Prague for one Czech Crown per year.
After Jindà Âich died in 1996 at age 98, Frantià ¡ek became his successor. He was the only one of Jindà Âich's children who returned permanently to the Czech Republic.
Frantià ¡ek repaired the HraniÃÂky Ponds and the Václavský Pond, which came to be used in the Pà Âimda Triathlon. He built private wood roads that became cycle paths that connect different areas of the Upper Palatine Forest. In an effort to increase tourism and develop Pà Âimda, Frantià ¡ek bought the ruins of Pà Âimda castle and converted it into Mountain Hotel Kolowrat.
In 1997, Frantià ¡ek bought three new bells for the Roman St. George's Church in Pà Âimda, as the original bells had been destroyed after World War II. He made a significant donation to the Czech Red Cross after flooding in the Czech Republic in 2002. Frantià ¡ek supported other charities, schools and cultural organizations.
In 2001, the Forestry of Frantià ¡ek TomÃ¡à ¡ Kolowrat-Krakowsky was ranked in the top 100 companies of agricultural production, food industry and forestry. He was recognized by Comenius â the Pan-European Society for Culture, Education and Scientific and Technical Cooperation.
Frantià ¡ek died prematurely in 2004. After his death, Dominika Kolowrat-Krakowska became the new administrator of the family property.