Coat of Arms of the house of Colloredo-Mannsfeld

The House of Colloredo-Mansfeld () is an originally

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

noble family of which a branch came to

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

in the late 16th century. There they were raised to

baron Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often Hereditary title, hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than ...

s in 1588, imperial counts in 1727 and

imperial princes Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor/empress, or imperialism. Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to: Places United States * Imperial, California * Imperial, Missouri * Imperial, Nebraska * Imperial, Pennsylvania * Impe ...

(in primogeniture) in 1763. They obtained

Opočno Castle Opočno Castle () is a complex of buildings comprising a former aristocratic residence located in the East Bohemian town of Opočno, Czech Republic. Its outer arcades are a valuable example of the Czech Renaissance architecture, Renaissance archi ...

in the

Kingdom of Bohemia The Kingdom of Bohemia (), sometimes referenced in English literature as the Czech Kingdom, was a History of the Czech lands in the High Middle Ages, medieval and History of the Czech lands, early modern monarchy in Central Europe. It was the pr ...

in 1634 and acquired numerous further estates in Bohemia and Austria. In 1945 they were expropriated and expelled from the Czechoslovak Republic, but returned after 1990 and had parts of their former estates restituted. The family is one of the Mediatised Houses because the Princes were Sovereign of the

County of Rieneck The County of Rieneck was a comital domain within the Holy Roman Empire that lay in what is now northwestern Bavaria (in the west of Lower Franconia). It bore the same name as its original ruling family, the Counts of Rieneck, from whom the count ...

History

Colloredo di Monte Albano Castello 23072008 01

The Colloredo family is originally from

Colloredo di Monte Albano Colloredo di Monte Albano () is a (municipality) in the Regional decentralization entity of Udine in the Italian region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, located about northwest of Trieste and about northwest of Udine. History The Roman villa at M ...

, Italy, where they owned numerous estates. According to family tradition, it descends from the

Swabia Swabia ; , colloquially ''Schwabenland'' or ''Ländle''; archaic English also Suabia or Svebia is a cultural, historic and linguistic region in southwestern Germany. The name is ultimately derived from the medieval Duchy of Swabia, one of ...

n Lords of Waldsee. Allegedly, Liebhart (''Liobardo'') of Waldsee came to

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

attending King

Conrad II Conrad II (, – 4 June 1039), also known as and , was the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire from 1027 until his death in 1039. The first of a succession of four Salian emperors, who reigned for one century until 1125, Conrad ruled the kingdom ...

and about 1031 was

enfeoffed In the Middle Ages, especially under the European feudal system, feoffment or enfeoffment was the deed by which a person was given land in exchange for a pledge of service. This mechanism was later used to avoid restrictions on the passage of t ...

by Patriarch

Poppo of Aquileia Poppo of Treffen (also Wolfgang) was the fifty-seventh patriarch of Aquileia from 1019 to 1045. In 1020, Poppo commanded the smallest of three armies which Emperor Henry II (who had appointed him as patriarch) led through Italy. Poppo followed th ...

with Mels Castle near

Udine Udine ( ; ; ; ; ) is a city and (municipality) in northeastern Italy, in the middle of the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region, between the Adriatic Sea and the Carnic Alps. It is the capital of the Province of Udine, Regional decentralization entity ...

Friuli Friuli (; ; or ; ; ) is a historical region of northeast Italy. The region is marked by its separate regional and ethnic identity predominantly tied to the Friulians, who speak the Friulian language. It comprises the major part of the autono ...

.Genealogisches Handbuch des Adels, Fürstliche Häuser XIV. "Colloredo-Mannsfeld". C.A. Starke Verlag, 1991, pp. 247-252. (German). His descendants from 1309 onwards built

Colloredo Colloredo is a surname that may refer to: *Colloredo-Mansfeld, Princely family which was based in Bohemia and Austria, with Waldsee and Melz subsidiary names **Rudolf von Colloredo (1585–1657), Field Marshal of the Holy Roman Empire, who fought ...

Castle as their residence. The Waldsee lineage however is disputed today. The house was elevated to the noble rank of ''

Freiherr (; male, abbreviated as ), (; his wife, abbreviated as , ) and (, his unmarried daughters and maiden aunts) are designations used as titles of nobility in the German-speaking areas of the Holy Roman Empire, the Austro-Hungarian Empire and in ...

'' by the

Habsburg The House of Habsburg (; ), also known as the House of Austria, was one of the most powerful dynasties in the history of Europe and Western civilization. They were best known for their inbreeding and for ruling vast realms throughout Europe d ...

Emperor

Rudolf II Rudolf II (18 July 1552 – 20 January 1612) was Holy Roman Emperor (1576–1612), King of Hungary and Croatia (as Rudolf I, 1572–1608), King of Bohemia (1575–1608/1611) and Archduke of Austria (1576–1608). He was a member of the H ...

in 1588 and became ''

Reichsgraf Imperial Count (, ) was a title in the Holy Roman Empire. During the medieval era, it was used exclusively to designate the holder of an imperial county, that is, a fief held directly (Imperial immediacy, immediately) from the emperor, rather th ...

'' in 1724.
In 1634 two Colloredo brothers were granted

in Bohemia by

Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand II (9 July 1578 – 15 February 1637) was Holy Roman Emperor, King of Bohemia, King of Hungary, Hungary, and List of Croatian monarchs, Croatia from 1619 until his death in 1637. He was the son of Archduke Charles II, Archduke of Austr ...

Rudolph Joseph von Colloredo Rudolph or Rudolf may refer to: People * Rudolph (name), the given name including a list of people with the name Religious figures * Rudolf of Fulda (died 865), 9th century monk, writer and theologian * Rudolf von Habsburg-Lothringen (1788� ...

(1706-1788), Vice-Chancellor of Empress

Maria Theresa Maria Theresa (Maria Theresia Walburga Amalia Christina; 13 May 1717 – 29 November 1780) was the ruler of the Habsburg monarchy from 1740 until her death in 1780, and the only woman to hold the position suo jure, in her own right. She was the ...

, was appointed

Prince of the Holy Roman Empire Prince of the Holy Roman Empire (, , cf. ''Fürst'') was a title attributed to a hereditary ruler, nobleman or prelate recognised by the Holy Roman Emperor. Definition Originally, possessors of the princely title bore it as immediate vassal ...

in 1763. The Colloredo-Mansfeld line emerged when his son Franz de Paula Gundakar von Colloredo married Princess Maria Isabella of

Mansfeld Mansfeld (), sometimes also unofficially Mansfeld-Lutherstadt, is a town in the district of Mansfeld-Südharz, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Protestant reformator Martin Luther grew up in Mansfeld, and in 1993 the town became one of sixteen places ...

in 1771 and was able to inherit her family's Bohemian estates with

Dobříš Dobříš (; ) is a town in Příbram District in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 8,900 inhabitants. It is known for the Dobříš Castle. Administrative division Dobříš consists of two municipal parts (in brack ...

Castle upon the extinction of the dynasty's male line in 1780, while the original Mansfeld possessions passed to the Prussian

Duchy of Magdeburg The Duchy of Magdeburg () was a province of the Margraviate of Brandenburg from 1680 to 1701 and a province of the German Kingdom of Prussia from 1701 to 1807. It replaced the Archbishopric of Magdeburg after its secularization by Brandenburg, gi ...

. The union of the houses of Colloredo and Mansfeld was officially approved by decree of Emperor

Joseph II Joseph II (13 March 1741 – 20 February 1790) was Holy Roman Emperor from 18 August 1765 and sole ruler of the Habsburg monarchy from 29 November 1780 until his death. He was the eldest son of Empress Maria Theresa and her husband, Emperor F ...

in 1789; the decree used the spelling ''Colloredo-Mannsfeld'' whilst the spelling ''Colloredo-Mansfeld'' was more common. In 1803 Prince Franz Gundakar purchased a part of the

from the House of Nostitz because its

Imperial immediacy In the Holy Roman Empire, imperial immediacy ( or ) was the status of an individual or a territory which was defined as 'immediate' () to Emperor and Empire () and not to any other intermediate authorities, while one that did not possess that stat ...

granted him a seat in the Imperial Diet, although he never moved there. In 1806 this territory was mediatised by the Archbishop of Regensburg,

Karl Theodor von Dalberg Karl Theodor Anton Maria von Dalberg (8 February 1744 – 10 February 1817) was a Catholic German bishop and statesman. In various capacities, he served as Archbishop of Mainz, Prince of Regensburg, Arch-Chancellor of the Holy Roman Empire, ...

, as part of his

Principality of Aschaffenburg The Principality of Aschaffenburg () was a principality of the Holy Roman Empire created in 1803 and, following the dissolution of the Empire in 1806, of the Confederation of the Rhine, which existed from 1806 to 1810. Its capital was Aschaffenb ...

. In 1815 Rieneck was annexed by the

Kingdom of Bavaria The Kingdom of Bavaria ( ; ; spelled ''Baiern'' until 1825) was a German state that succeeded the former Electorate of Bavaria in 1806 and continued to exist until 1918. With the unification of Germany into the German Empire in 1871, the kingd ...

. The Prince purchased in 1804 a portion of the County of Limpurg known as the Lordship of Limpurg-Gröningen; this was mediatised by the

Kingdom of Württemberg The Kingdom of Württemberg ( ) was a German state that existed from 1806 to 1918, located within the area that is now Baden-Württemberg. The kingdom was a continuation of the Electorate of Württemberg, which existed from 1803 to 1806. Geogr ...

in 1806. In the

Second Czechoslovak Republic The Second Czechoslovak Republic (Czech language, Czech and ), officially the Czecho-Slovak Republic (Czech and Slovak: ''Česko-Slovenská republika''), existed for 169 days, between 30 September 1938 and 15 March 1939. It was c ...

about half of the family possessions of 60,000

hectare The hectare (; SI symbol: ha) is a non-SI metric unit of area equal to a square with 100-metre sides (1 hm2), that is, square metres (), and is primarily used in the measurement of land. There are 100 hectares in one square kilometre. ...

s of forests and farmland was expropriated during a

land reform Land reform (also known as agrarian reform) involves the changing of laws, regulations, or customs regarding land ownership, land use, and land transfers. The reforms may be initiated by governments, by interested groups, or by revolution. Lan ...

. Under German occupation (

Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia The Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia was a partially-annexation, annexed territory of Nazi Germany that was established on 16 March 1939 after the Occupation of Czechoslovakia (1938–1945), German occupation of the Czech lands. The protector ...

), when the Colloredos who had become Czechoslovak citizens refused to become Germans, their remaining estates were confiscated by the Nazis and some of the nephews of prince Joseph II. (who lived in Paris) were arrested for slave work, others emigrated. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the family returned but only to face arrest and torture again, and subsequently expulsion from

Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...

where they were again expropriated, this time "as Germans" under the

Beneš decrees The Beneš decrees were a series of laws drafted by the Czechoslovak government-in-exile in the absence of the Czechoslovak parliament during the German occupation of Czechoslovakia in World War II. They were issued by President Edvard Beneš fr ...

. They emigrated to Canada and the US. Their only remaining possession was Gstatt forest estate in Austria that they had purchased in 1929, while a younger branch still owns Sierndorf in Austria (purchased in 1756). Parts of the Colloredo's possessions, among them

Castle and

Zbiroh Zbiroh () is a town in Rokycany District in the Plzeň Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 2,500 inhabitants. Administrative division Zbiroh consists of five municipal parts (in brackets population according to the 2021 census): *Zbiroh ( ...

Castle and their farmlands, were restored by the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

to Jerome Colloredo-Mansfeld (who sold the latter and left the first to his nephew ).

was returned to prince Joseph III's daughter Kristina Colloredo-Mansfeld. A high court decision however forced her to give the castle back to the State while she was allowed to keep the farmland. A lawsuit over the arts collection at Opočno Castle is still pending. Countess Kristina is living in Opočno and in Gstatt, Austria. The family now owns again about 20,000 of their original 60,000 hectares. File:Opočno zámek.jpg,

, Czech Republic File:Zámek Dobříš 02.jpg,

Castle, Czech Republic File:Zámek Zbiroh, Rokycany.jpg,

Castle, Czech Republic File:Schloss Gstatt.jpg, Gstatt Castle, Austria File:Sierndorf Schloß.jpg, Sierndorf Castle, Austria File:Old Carpet Factory Hydra.jpg,

Old Carpet Factory The Old Carpet Factory is a historical mansion located in Hydra island, Greece and a private home of music producer Stephan Colloredo-Mansfeld. It was originally built for the prominent Tsamados family in the late 18th century. It has gone thr ...

mansion, Hydra, Greece. Originally built for the prominent Tsamados family in the 18th century.

Princes of Colloredo-Mannsfeld (1789–present)

* Franz Gundackar, Count 1788–1789, 1st Prince 1789-1807 (1731-1789), son of Rudolph Joseph, Prince (1763) and Vice-Chancellor ** Rudolf, 2nd Prince 1807-1843 (1772-1843) ** ''Count Hieronymus (1775-1822)'' *** Franz, 3rd Prince 1843-1852 (1802-1852) ** ''Count Ferdinand (1777-1848)'' *** Joseph, 4th Prince 1852-1895 (1813-1895) **** ''Hieronymus, Hereditary Prince of Colloredo-Mannsfeld (1842-1881)'' ***** Joseph, 5th Prince 1895-1957 (1866-1957) ***** ''Count Hieronymus (1870-1942)'' ****** Joseph, 6th Prince 1957-1990 (1910-1990) ****** Hieronymus, 7th Prince 1990-1998 (1912-1998) ****** ''Count Friedrich (1917-1991)'' ******* , 8th Prince 1998–present (b.1949) ******** Paul-Josef Count of Mannsfeld, Hereditary Prince of Colloredo-Mannsfeld (b.1981) ********* Count Hieronymus (b.2011) ********* Count Felix (b.2013) ********* Count Paul (b.2016) ******** Count Lelio (b.1985)

Notable members

Hieronymus Graf von Colloredo Hieronymus Joseph Franz de Paula Graf Colloredo von Wallsee und Melz (; Jérôme Joseph Franz de Paula, Count of Colloredo-Wallsee and Mels; ) was Prince-Bishop of Gurk from 1761 to 1772 and Prince-Archbishop of Salzburg from 1772 until 1803, ...

(1732–1812) was Prince-Bishop of Gurk from 1761 and last

Prince-Archbishop of Salzburg The Prince-Archbishopric of Salzburg (; ) was an ecclesiastical principality and state of the Holy Roman Empire. It comprised the secular territory ruled by the archbishops of Salzburg, as distinguished from the much larger Catholic diocese f ...

from 1771 until 1803, when the Archbishopric was

secularized In sociology, secularization () is a multilayered concept that generally denotes "a transition from a religious to a more worldly level." There are many types of secularization and most do not lead to atheism or irreligion, nor are they automatica ...

. *

Hieronymus Karl Graf von Colloredo-Mansfeld Hieronymus Karl Graf von Colloredo-Mansfeld (30 March 1775 – 23 July 1822) was an Austrian corps commander during the Napoleonic Wars.StafA Biographical Dictionary of Austrian Generals of the Napoleonic Wars: Callenberg - Czollich website o/r ...

(1775–1822) was an Austrian corps commander during the Napoleonic Wars. * Franz Gundaker von Colloredo-Mansfeld (1802–1852), his son, was an Austrian corps commander during the suppression of the Hungarian Revolution of 1848. *

Filippo di Colloredo-Mels Filippo di Colloredo-Mels (29 November 1779 in Udine – 9 October 1864 in Recanati) was, from 1845 to 1864, the leader of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta. From the Friulian noble family of the counts of Colloredo-Mels, his decision to join ...

(1778–1864), leader of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta from the Italian branch of the family

References

External links

* (in German and Czech) {{DEFAULTSORT:Colloredo House of Mansfeld Austrian noble families German noble families