Count Wenzel Chotek of Chotkow and Wognin

Václav Antonín Chotek of Chotkov and Vojnín (German: Wenzel Anton Chotek von Chotkow und Wognin) (February 26, 1674 – May 2, 1754) was a Bohemian nobleman and royal Stadtholder in the Kingdom of Bohemia.

Family background

Václav Antonín Chotek of Chotkov and Vojnín was born in Bělušice, Bohemia (now Czech Republic), on February 26, 1674. His title was knight (Czech: rytíř; German: Ritter). He was son of Vilém Chotek of Chotkov and Vojnín (1628–1674) and his second wife Johanna Sabina Proy von Gaiselsberg und Findtelstein (1650–1692).

He married Maria Theresia Ludmilla Scheidler von Scheidlern (1684–1709) on October 28, 1698 in Prague. Maria Theresia was daughter of Ferdinand Christoph (Ritter) Scheidler von Scheidlern, captain of the Prague quarter Malá Strana (Lesser Town) and High Chamberlain (nejvyšší zemský komorník; Oberstlandkämmerer) of the Kingdom of Bohemia.

He was father of:

• Wenzel Chotek of Chotkow and Wognin (1703–1725).
• Johann Karl, Count Chotek of Chotkow and Wognin (1704–1787).
• Rudolf Chotek of Chotkow and Wognin (1707–1771).

Biographical data

On February 6, 1702, Václav Antonín Chotek Ritter (Knight) of Chotkov and Vojnín was received into the Bohemian nobility in Vienna. On May 13, 1743, in Laxenburg he was awarded the title of Bohemian Graf (Count) and on October 4, 1745 in Frankfurt am Main he was elevated to the rank of Reichsgraf (Imperial Count) with heraldic augmentation.

Owner of the Bělušice estate, Václav Chotek also acquired the Veltrusy estate, where architect František Maxmilián Kaňka erected his new residence, the Veltrusy Mansion in 1716. He later also purchased the Domašín estate, becoming one of the richest landowners in Bohemia.

Václav Chotek was head of the Slaný Landkreis (district) and, thereafter, head of the Litoměřice Landkreis. After these assignments, he was appointed Imperial Counsellor. He also held the position of Austrian Stadtholder of the Kingdom of Bohemia from 1735–1738.

Václav Chotek died in Prague on May 2, 1754, age 80.

References

• Roman Freiherr von Procházka: Genealogisches Handbuch erloschener böhmischer Herrenstandsfamilien, Seite 56, Verlag Degener & Co, Neustadt (Aisch) 1973
• Nachkommerliste des Otto Chotek von Chotkow auf Liblin († nach 1400) Archived October 9, 2002 at the Wayback Machine