The Rosenbergs - First after the King

No other ancient Czech noble family has left a mark on our history quite like the Rosenbergs (and their predecessors, the Vítkovci). Despite the fact that their male line died out more than four hundred years ago, it is as if they are still among us. We owe them the charming landscape of South Bohemia, interwoven with ponds, Gothic and Renaissance jewels, and also a reputation that once extended far beyond the borders of the Czech lands. After all, we find two Czech queens in their family tree – and who else could threaten the king himself or aspire to the Polish crown but one of the rulers of the House of Rosenberg?

The downside of this timelessness, however, is the collection of mistakes, half-truths, and outright lies that have been heaped upon the Lords of the Rose over the subsequent centuries. Not that the fate of each of them wouldn't make for at least one novel – and the famous writer and publicist Jan Bauer, who, as a South Bohemian patriot, is exceptionally close to this subject, convinces us of this in a very readable way. However, it is necessary to set the record straight not only regarding the caricatured image of the last two Rosenberg rulers in particular, as presented by recent literature and cinematography, but also many errors passed down even in serious historiography.

The five-petalled Rosenberg rose (just like its sister, the rose of the Lords of Hradec) blossomed in the Czech Middle Ages and the early modern period into a beauty and fragrance that enchanted all of Central Europe. And although it was cut down in 1611, its shoots still bloom in the “land of reverie”… and in our hearts.

Let the XI volume of the Český ČAS Edition be a compelling reminder of those who planted it and cared for its flourishing for many centuries – a reminder of the dramatic fates of the Lords of the Rose!