TheHouse of Zierotin orHouse of Žerotín (Czech:Žerotínové) was a Czechnoble family in theLands of the Bohemian Crown, one of the oldest and most illustrious noble families fromBohemia andMoravia. The ancestors of the family were first mentioned around 1200. The family achieved the rank ofImperial Counts in theHoly Roman Empire. The family died out at the turn of the 20th and 21st centuries, but its indirect lines continue to exist. Several properties were returned to the Mornstein-Zierotin after fall ofCommunist rule in 1989.
According to romanticlegend, the Zierotins were the offspring of PrinceOleg of Drelinia, brother ofVladimir I of Kiev, and therefore the family uses in itscoat of arms a royal crown (or more properly the crown ofGrand Prince) and princelymantling. The heraldic device is a blazon of arms in gules (red) with a lion sable (black), crowned, on three mountains argent (silver). The crest is the crowned lion rampant.
The ancestors of the family were the Bludov family. The oldest documented member of this family was Blud of Bludov, who was theburgrave of the castle inPřerov in 1213–1215.[1] He had two sons, Oneš (1209–1249) and Viktor.[2] He was the probable founder ofBludov that his family and then the Zierotin family have owned since time immemorial.[3]
Members of the family were judges, governors, patrons of art and politicians. The most famous is Karel the Elder of Zierotin (1564–1636). He was head of the family in the times when the Zierotin family had the largest property inMoravia. He was highly educated, spoke several languages and was an able politician. He was a friend ofHenry IV of France and brother-in-law ofAlbrecht von Wallenstein. For several years until 1614, he held the position of the Moravian governor.[4]
Other notable members were Johan Karl of Zierotin (1719–1776), directeur des spectacles ofFrederick II of Prussia and friend ofJohann Sebastian Bach; Karel Emanuel of Zierotin (1850–1934), peer of theAustrian Empire and governor of Moravia (1900–1906); and Ladislav Velen of Zierotin (1579–1638), head of the uprising against theHabsburgs.
The male line of this family died out in 1985. The female line died out in 2016. There are several lines of the family that are not direct descendants of the founders of the family: Mornstein-Zierotin, Klinger-Zierotin and Zierotin-Lilgenau.[5] After the fall of theCommunist rule in 1989, several properties were returned to Karel Mornstein-Zierotin, includingBludov Chateau.[6]
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