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The Buquoys in Nové Hrady

The presence of the Buquoy family in the Nové Hrady region spanned over more than three centuries. They belonged to the most important noble houses of Southern Bohemia.

                        The Buquoys came to the Kingdom of Bohemia from France and present-day Belgium in the 17th century. The family's former name was Longueval after the castle in Picardy in north France.

            Karl Bonaventura von Buquoy was born January 9^th, 1571 in Arras, studied the university and became a chamberlain of the king's court in Madrid. From age 21, he actively participated in the wars of Spanish king Phillip II. He quickly acquired titles and property, and in 1613 he was awarded the Golden Fleece order. In 1606, he married Mary Magdalena Biglia, Countess de Sarona, who belonged to one of the oldest and most powerful noble houses of Milan. After the Prague defenestration, Karl was named high commander of all imperial armies in Bohemia. He did not actively participate in the Battle of Bílá hora but directed it while laying down as he was recuperating from previous injuries. Half a year later, Karl Bonaventura von Buquoy was killed while leading a small cavalry unit near to the present-day town of Nové Zámky. His remains lie in an unnamed grave in the Church of the Virgin Mary in Rožmberk. On February 6th, 1620, the count received the Nové Hrady, Rožmberk and Libějovice estates from the Emperor. The deed of gift was written out in Czech and signed by the Emperor, who didn’t have enough money for paying the soldier’s pay, and so paid with estates instead.

            After the general’s death, governance over the estates was taken over by his widow Mary Magdalena, as their son was too young at the time. She was a very capable woman who spoke four languages, though very little German and Czech. In 1635 she moved to Bohemia permanently, which was one of the reasons for building the new Residence. Mary Magdalena granted extensive rights to her cities, gave them forest lands, established glassworks and had a water conduit built in Nové Hrady in 1639. On November 15^th, 1627, the family was fully recognized as a Czech noble house and given the right to permanent residence, occupation of high state offices and ownership of estates.

            Karl Albert inherited the estates after his mother, but he served Spain all his life. He only visited the Czech lands once. Under his rule, Baroque renovations were carried out in the Nové Hrady and Rožbmerk churches. In his will, Karl Albert made all his Czech estates into a majorat, which secured their indivisibility in the future and protected them against sale in the case of financial troubles. He had thirteen children.

The next in descent was Ferdinand, imperial advisor and chamberlain. In 1677 he founded a Servite monastery in Nové Hrady. The lineage continued with Ferdinand's brothers.

Karl Philipp was granted the title of prince from Karl II, King of Spain. He and his descendants used the title Prince de Longueval, Count de Buquoy.

The estates were inherited by Philipp Emanuel, who commissioned the construction of a chateau in Libějovice and founded a small church in Lomec nearby. Phillip died without children.

The Czech estates were then inherited by Albert Karl, Austrian court councilor. The church in Dobrá Voda was built during his governance.

The next owner was Albert's son Karl Kajetan, a confident Baroque cavalier, who held the function of High Controller of the Kingdom of Bohemia. As he loved luxury and merrymaking, he expanded the residence and garden in Nové Hrady and established a leisure park on an island in the Žárský pond.

Next in line Franz Leopold was a typical Rococo nobleman, who loved balls and celebrations. When the French and Bavarians invaded Bohemia, he showed his patriotism by naming his son Johan Nepomuk after one of the patrons of Bohemia. Nepomuk became the next lord of the estates. He became famous for his charitable activities and reformed the forestry trade. In the years 1778 to 1783 some of the waterways in the region were modified and were used for floating lumber down from the forests. Johan Nepomuk supported the foundation of glassworks and new villages. Being a genius of organization, he strived to improve education, founded social homes, co-founded the Mortgage Bank for the Bohemian Kingdom and participated in many other activities. Together with his wife they established the romantic park named Terčino údolí as well as a new Empire style chateau in Nové Hrady. He died without leaving a heir.

The Buquoy estates were inherited by his nephew Georg Franz August, a known polymath, macroeconomist and industrial tycoon, an eccentric lover of science, material values and freemasonry. He studied political and natural science, mathematics, physics, chemistry, technology, philosophy, engineering, finance and economy in Prague. His friends included Johan Wolfgang Goethe, André Marie Amoer, F.A.Gerstner and many others.  On his estates, Georg Franz August introduced modern economical procedures, advanced textile manufacturing industries and glassmaking, and he was the first person in Bohemia to purchase a steam engine. He invented and produced the famous black glass known as Hyalite. In 1838 he declared nature reservations in two old forested areas (the Žofínský and Hojnovodský natural forests). His only son Georg Johan was an active Catholic, art enthusiast, antiques collector and traveler. In 1852 he had the Swiss House in Terčino údolí built, and two years later he ordered the construction of the Žofín hunter's lodge in the woods. He lies buried in the family tomb in the Nové Hrady church.

Karl Bonventura established a pension fund for his employees as well as an organisation which helped orphans and widows in the Nové Hrady and Rožmberk areas, he built factories and strived to improve the economy. His wife established a children's nursery in Nové Hrady. Both lie buried in the new tomb in the city graveyard.

The estates were then inherited by their nephew Karl Georg. In the times of the First World War, he worked to helped the needy. After the war he paid large amounts of money to defend his family inheritance and many jobs during the land reform. He got into an unenviable position during the Second World War:  Large parts of the estates were located in the border areas, which might have been the reason why the Buquoys registered as German nationals. Based on the Decrees of Eduard Beneš, the count was convicted of treason and collaboration and his property was confiscated by the state. Even though he was not politically involved during the war, he was named traitor and germanizer of the region and he and his family lost their citizenship and all their property. He died in prison. His successor in direct line was his eldest son Ferdinand Buquoy. Today his children, nephews and nieces live mostly in Germany and their attempts at restitution of their property in the Czech republic have not been succesful.