The House of Colloredo-Mansfeld (German pronunciation:[ˌkɔlo:.ʀe:dɔ.ˈmans.fɛlt]) is an originally Italian noble family of which a branch came to Austria in the late 16th century. There they were raised to barons in 1588, imperial counts in 1727 and imperial princes (in primogeniture) in 1763. They obtained Opočno Castle in the Kingdom of Bohemia 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 Colloredo family is originally from Colloredo di Monte Albano, Italy, where they owned numerous estates. According to family tradition, it descends from the SwabianLords of Waldsee. Allegedly, Liebhart (Liobardo) of Waldsee came to Italy attending King Conrad II and about 1031 was enfeoffed by Patriarch Poppo of Aquileia with Mels Castle near Udine in Friuli.[1] His descendants from 1309 onwards built Colloredo Castle as their residence. The Waldsee lineage however is disputed today.
The Colloredo-Mansfeld line emerged when his son Franz de Paula Gundakar von Colloredo married Princess Maria Isabella of Mansfeld in 1771 and was able to inherit her family's Bohemian estates with Dobříš 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 union of the houses of Colloredo and Mansfeld was officially approved by decree of Emperor Joseph II in 1789; the decree used the spelling Colloredo-Mannsfeld whilst the spelling Colloredo-Mansfeld was more common.
In the Second Czechoslovak Republic about half of the family possessions of 60,000 hectares of forests and farmland was expropriated during a land reform. Under German occupation (Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia), 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, the family returned but only to face arrest and torture again, and subsequently expulsion from Czechoslovakia where they were again expropriated, this time "as Germans" under the Beneš decrees. 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,[2] among them Dobříš Castle and Zbiroh Castle and their farmlands, were restored by the Czech Republic to Jerome Colloredo-Mansfeld (who sold the latter and left the first to his nephew Jerome [cs]). Opočno Castle 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.
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 (1778–1864), leader of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta from the Italian branch of the family
References
^ abcGenealogisches Handbuch des Adels, Fürstliche Häuser XIV. "Colloredo-Mannsfeld". C.A. Starke Verlag, 1991, pp. 247-252. (German). ISBN3-7980-0700-4
