The House of Schwarzenberg is a German (Franconian) and Czech (Bohemian) aristocratic family, formerly one of the most prominent European noble houses. The Schwarzenbergs are members of the German and Czech nobility, and they once held the rank of Princes of the Holy Roman Empire. The family belongs to the high nobility and traces its roots to the Lords of Seinsheim during the Middle Ages.
Alliance crest on Jinonice castle
Ferdinand & Maria Anna
Alliance crest on Schwarzenberg Ducat, which was the own currency issued by the House of Schwarzenberg
The three last Princes of the primogeniture: Adolf (l.), Johann II (m.) and Josef III (r.)
Czech nobility consists of the noble families from historical Czech lands, especially in their narrow sense, i.e. nobility of Bohemia proper, Moravia and Austrian Silesia – whether these families originated from those countries or moved into them through the centuries. These are connected with the history of Great Moravia, Duchy of Bohemia, later Kingdom of Bohemia, Margraviate of Moravia, the Duchies of Silesia and the Crown of Bohemia, the constitutional predecessor state of the modern-day Czech Republic.
Defenestration of Prague, 1618
A snapshot showing members of the Czech nobility during a horse race in Prague, 1900
Prince Karel VII. Schwarzenberg and Czech President Václav Havel in 2008
Saint Adalbert (c. 956–997), the second bishop of Prague and later a missionary among the Prussians is for his life and deeds honoured as a patron saint of three countries
