Vratislav von Pernstein

Wratislaw II von Pernstein (9 July 1530 – 27 October 1582) was a Czech nobleman. From 1567 until his death in 1582, he held the office of High Chancellor of Bohemia. He was also a member of the Privy Council, and a Knight in the Order of the Golden Fleece.

Biography Vratislav was born on 9 July 1530 in Velké Meziříčí. He came from the Bohemian-Moravian noble Pernštejn family. His parents were Jan IV of Pernštejn, Governor of Moravia and Count of Kladsko, and his second wife Hedwig of Schellenberg (Hedvika z Šelmberka).

Little is known about Vratislav's childhood. At the age of thirteen, his father sent him to the Viennese court of Emperor Ferdinand I, where he was raised together with the later Emperor Maximilian II, who was three years older than him. Together, they took part in the Schmalkaldic War in 1546–1547. Through court service and joint trips, including to Spain and Brussels, Vratislav maintained a close relationship of trust with Maximilian II.

Vratislav, who was one of the most distinguished and educated nobles of his time, also had a strong interest in Renaissance humanism art. In the castle of Tovačov he set up an extensive library, which he equipped with contemporary literature.

The marriage produced twenty children, of whom only seven survived to adulthood: Johanna (1556–1631), married 1584 Fernando de Aragón y Borja (1546–1592), 5th Duke of Villahermosa Elisabeth (1557–1609), married 1578 Albrecht von Fürstenberg (1557–1599) Johann (1561–1597), married 1587 Anna Maria Manrique de Lara y Mendoza, killed in battle Franziska (1565–1630/35), married Andrea Matteo Acquaviva d’Aragona Principe di Caserta († 1647) Polyxena (1566–1642), married 1. 1587 Wilhelm von Rosenberg; 2. 1603 Zdeněk Vojtěch Popel of Lobkowicz Maximilian (1575–1593), canon in Olomouc Bibiana (1578/84–1616), married 1598 Francesco Gonzaga di Castiglione (1577–1616), Knight in the Order of the Golden Fleece and brother of Saint Aloysius Gonzaga.