Vilém Slavata z Chlumu a Košumberka - Chateau gate / Zámecká brána - Jindrichuv Hradec (South Bohemia) - Coats of Arms on Waymarking.com

Depicted stone tablet with CoA of Vilém Slavata of Chlum and Košumberk, owner of the Jindrichuv Hradec demesne in 1602-1652, decorates northern main entrance gate into vast complex of the Jindrichuv Hradec Chateau.

Vilém Slavata z Chlumu a Košumberka (Wilhelm Slawata von Chlum und Koschumberk / Vilém Slavata of Chlum and Košumberk) (December 1, 1572 – January 19, 1652) was a Czech nobleman from old Bohemian family. As viceregent (místodržící) of Emperor Ferdinand II of Habsburg (from 1617) he became famous as co-victim, along with Jaroslav Borzita of Martinice, of the 1618 Defenestration of Prague. Though Vilém was raised in the spirit of the Unity of the Brethren, he converted to Catholicism in 1597 and became a fierce advocate of the older faith. Vilém supported the coronation of the devout Catholic Ferdinand of Inner Austria as Bohemian king against the resistance of the Protestant estates. In return Ferdinand vested him with the office of his representative at Prague, where he had to face the violent uprising of the nobles led by Jindrich Matyáš Thurn on May 23, 1618. A leading figure in restoring Catholicism, he received the title of a Reichsgraf ("Count of the Empire") and in 1628 was appointed chancellor of Bohemia. He died at Jindrichuv Hradec.

The Castle and Chateau Jindrichuv Hradec stands in the town of the same name. It was founded on a cliff above the Nežárka river and the lake Vajgar. The area of the Castle and Chateau Jindrichuv Hradec is, after the Prague Castle and Ceský Krumlov Chateau, the third largest in the Czech Republic. It has over 320 rooms for which opening one needs 500 keys. Throughout the halls and chambers are 10 000 objects of art.

[excerpted from wiki]