Rudolf Hieronymus Eusebius von Colloredo-Waldsee, born November 2 1585 in České Budějovice

Ceské Budejovice

České Budějovice is a city in the Czech Republic. It is the largest city in the South Bohemian Region and is the political and commercial capital of the region and centre of the Roman Catholic Diocese of České Budějovice and of the University of South Bohemia and the Academy of Sciences...

, Kingdom of Bohemia

Bohemia

Bohemia is a historical region in central Europe, occupying the western two-thirds of the traditional Czech Lands. It is located in the contemporary Czech Republic with its capital in Prague...

 (now in the Czech Republic

Czech Republic

The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....

), was a Bohemian nobleman and the brother of Hieronymus von Colloredo-Waldsee. A member of the Colloredo family, he distinguished himself in the Thirty Years' War

Thirty Years' War

The Thirty Years' War was fought primarily in what is now Germany, and at various points involved most countries in Europe. It was one of the most destructive conflicts in European history....

, especially at the Battles of Mantua and Lützen

Battle of Lützen (1632)

The Battle of Lützen was one of the most decisive battles of the Thirty Years' War. It was a Protestant victory, but cost the life of one of the most important leaders of the Protestant alliance, Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden, which caused the Protestant campaign to lose direction.- Prelude to the...

. Emperor Ferdinand III

Ferdinand III, Holy Roman Emperor

Ferdinand III was Holy Roman Emperor from 15 February 1637 until his death, as well as King of Hungary and Croatia, King of Bohemia and Archduke of Austria.-Life:...

 appointed him to the Imperial Privy Council and named him a Field Marshal. Although unable to prevent Prague Castle

Prague Castle

Prague Castle is a castle in Prague where the Kings of Bohemia, Holy Roman Emperors and presidents of Czechoslovakia and the Czech Republic have had their offices. The Czech Crown Jewels are kept here...

 from falling to Sweden's Hans Christoff von Königsmarck

Hans Christoff von Königsmarck

Count Hans Christoff von Königsmarck, of Tjust , son of Conrad von Königsmarck and Beatrix von Blumenthal, was a Swedish-German soldier who commanded Sweden's legendary flying column, a force which played a key role in Gustavus Adolphus' strategy...

, Colloredo-Waldsee's bold defense of Prague's

Battle of Prague (1648)

The Battle of Prague between 25 June and 1 November 1648 was the last action of the Thirty Years' War. General Hans Christoff von Königsmarck, commanding Sweden's flying column, entered the city and captured Prague Castle on the western bank of the Vltava river. The Swedes attempted to enter the...

 old town halted the Swedish invasion of Bohemia on July 26, 1648 and saved the Habsburg

Habsburg

The House of Habsburg , also found as Hapsburg, and also known as House of Austria is one of the most important royal houses of Europe and is best known for being an origin of all of the formally elected Holy Roman Emperors between 1438 and 1740, as well as rulers of the Austrian Empire and...

's ancestral lands in Austria. After the war, he built the Schönborn Palace in Prague

Schönborn Palace (Prague)

The Schoenborn Palace in the Mala Strana district of Prague is the current home of the United States Embassy to the Czech Republic. The first United States Minister to Czechoslovakia was Richard Crane, a Chicago plumbing millionaire...

 home to the United States Embassy to the Czech Republic.He died in Prague on February 24, 1657.