Chotek family
Encyclopedia
The Chotek family was an aristocratic
Aristocracy (class)
The aristocracy are people considered to be in the highest social class in a society which has or once had a political system of Aristocracy. Aristocrats possess hereditary titles granted by a monarch, which once granted them feudal or legal privileges, or deriving, as in Ancient Greece and India,...

 family from Bohemia
Bohemia
Bohemia is a historical region in central Europe, occupying the western two-thirds of the traditional Czech Lands. It is located in the contemporary Czech Republic with its capital in Prague...

. When this and other Bohemian noble families' surnames and/or territorial suffixes are translated from the Czech language
Czech language
Czech is a West Slavic language with about 12 million native speakers; it is the majority language in the Czech Republic and spoken by Czechs worldwide. The language was known as Bohemian in English until the late 19th century...

, particules and conjunctions are usually translated into German, rather than into English..
The family is first documented in the 14th century when Miloslav, his wife Wele and their son Wenlynus are mentioned as masters of the Chockov estate near Radnice
Radnice
Radnice is a town in the Plzeň Region of the Czech Republic. It lies some to the northeast from the region capital of Plzeň.Radnice is also the seat of the Municipality with Commissioned Local Authority within the Plzeň Municipality with Extended Competence.In 19th century coal mining developed...

 in the Plzeň Region
Plzen Region
Plzeň Region is an administrative unit in the western part of Bohemia in the Czech Republic. It is named after its capital Plzeň .- Communes :...

. The uninterrupted lineage
Kinship
Kinship is a relationship between any entities that share a genealogical origin, through either biological, cultural, or historical descent. And descent groups, lineages, etc. are treated in their own subsections....

 of the family starts with Otto Chotek of Chockov and Liblín
Liblín
Liblín is a village and municipality in Rokycany District in the Plzeň Region of the Czech Republic.The municipality covers an area of , and has a population of 322 ....

.

In the late 16th century, Václav Chotek took the name of Chotkov and Vojnín, while his older brother Adam Chotek retained the name of Chockov and Liblín.

In 1685 the coat of arms
Coat of arms
A coat of arms is a unique heraldic design on a shield or escutcheon or on a surcoat or tabard used to cover and protect armour and to identify the wearer. Thus the term is often stated as "coat-armour", because it was anciently displayed on the front of a coat of cloth...

 of the Chotek family was joined with the coat of arms of the extinct Charwat von Bärnstein family.

On February 6, 1702, Václav Antonín Chotek of Chotkov and Vojnín
Václav Antonín Chotek of Chotkov and Vojnín
Václav Antonín Chotek of Chotkov and Vojnín was Austrian Stadtholder in Bohemia.-Family background:Václav Antonín Chotek Ritter of Chotkov and Vojnín was born in Bělušice, Bohemia Austrian Empire Václav Antonín Chotek of Chotkov and Vojnín (February 26, 1674 – May 2, 1754) was Austrian...

 was elevated rank of lord
Lord
Lord is a title with various meanings. It can denote a prince or a feudal superior . The title today is mostly used in connection with the peerage of the United Kingdom or its predecessor countries, although some users of the title do not themselves hold peerages, and use it 'by courtesy'...

s in Bohemia. On 13 May 1743, in Laxenburg
Laxenburg
Laxenburg is a town in the district of Mödling in the Austrian state of Lower Austria, near Vienna.- History :The place is well-known for its castle, Schloss Laxenburg, which, beside Schönbrunn, was the most important summer seat of the Habsburg dynasty....

 he was awarded the title Count
Graf
Graf is a historical German noble title equal in rank to a count or a British earl...

 in Bohemia and on 4 October 1745 in Frankfurt am Main he was elevated to the rank of Reichsgraf.

After the death of Jan Nepomuk Rudolf Chotek von Chotkov und Vojnín, the family split into four main branches created by his surviving sons:
  • Branch of the descendants of Jan Nepomuk Josef Chotek
  • Branch of the descendants of Josef Chotek
  • Branch of the descendants of Karel Chotek von Chotkov und Vojnín
  • Branch of the descendants of Heřman Chotek von Chotkov und Vojnín


The best known member of the family was Sophie, Duchess of Hohenberg
Sophie, Duchess of Hohenberg
Sophie, Duchess of Hohenberg ; 1 March 1868 – 28 June 1914) was a Czech aristocrat, the morganatic wife of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria. Their assassination sparked World War I.- Early life :...

, the morganatic wife of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria
Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria
Franz Ferdinand was an Archduke of Austria-Este, Austro-Hungarian and Royal Prince of Hungary and of Bohemia, and from 1889 until his death, heir presumptive to the Austro-Hungarian throne. His assassination in Sarajevo precipitated Austria-Hungary's declaration of war against Serbia...

, as his and her assassination
Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria
On 28 June 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir presumptive to the Austro-Hungarian throne, and his wife, Sophie, Duchess of Hohenberg, were shot dead in Sarajevo, by Gavrilo Princip, one of a group of six Bosnian Serb assassins coordinated by Danilo Ilić...

 sparked World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

.

Branch Chotek von Chockov und Liblín

Branch Chotek of Chotkov und Vojnín

Descendants of Jan Nepomuk Josef Chotek

Descendants of Josef Chotek

Descendants of Karel Chotek

Descendants of Heřman Chotek

Sources

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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