Kinský Family: Horses, Chlumec nad Cidlinou and trace in Czech cinema
They have a love for horses as well as art in their blood. Yet, the life of some ancestors was definitely not a walk in a rose garden. They are not afraid of work, and the legacy of their ancestors still resounds strongly for them. They obtained the count's title in 1628 and since then have left a strong imprint in history and politics.
The Kinsky family comes from the village of Vchynice, sometimes at the beginning of history they were also called "Vchynices" and their history dates back to the 13th century.
Vilém Kinský was then the first significant representative of the family, he was the highest gamekeeper of the Czech kingdom, an active politician and diplomat. Karel Kinský was then an Austrian general.
After political upheavals, part of the family moved abroad, for example, Karel Maxmilian Filip Kinský still lives in London with his family today, although he worked in Prague in the financial sector for three years.
František Count Kinský
He belonged to the Kostelec branch of the Kinský family and left a strong legacy behind him. In 2011 he filmed a documentary with his son looking into their lives.
He was born in Kostelec nad Orlicí and also returned there towards the end of his life. In the meantime, he managed a family zinc processing business in Košece near Ilava.
The company generated a profit of 24 million crowns two years after the Second World War, which was a remarkable result.
The business was of course nationalized after 1948 and František Kinský spent two years in prison, part of it in the uranium mines in Jáchymov. After the Velvet Revolution, he regained the Empire Castle in Kostelec nad Orlicí and adjoining lands. He continued to work as an entrepreneur and improved the castle.
A lottery that went bankrupt
He also contributed to the creation of a foundation that ran a lottery, which was supposed to bring profit for the renovation of the castle, but also other historical monuments in the Czech Republic. However, the project went bankrupt.
František Kinský had two sons. Frantisek, who was born in Hradec Kralove, worked in television, advertising and after the revolution in tourism. And Antonin, who among other things worked in a zoo and starred in the movie Forgotten Light.
Francesco Kinský came from Italy to Chlumec
An interesting descendant is also Francesco Kinský, an Italian, who grew up in the Tuscan countryside. In Chlumec nad Cidlinou he now takes care of a castle and even got married here. His first impressions of the Czech Republic, however, were not very rosy, as written by dotyk.cz.
He first came to Chlumec, which is about 80 kilometers from Prague, with his parents as a six-year-old boy, 26 years ago. It was Christmas time, they stayed here for a week.
From the first visit, he remembers everything being grey. Not just the houses, but also the gloomy atmosphere, the stinky air, because everyone was heating with coal.
"Then I came here twice a year and saw how the country was changing. It took a huge step forward."
he finally put down roots here. Good food and beautiful countryside is here too... and horses...
...Kinští horses!
Did you know that the first horse race that was here before the Velka Pardubicka was called the Great Chlumecka? Even though my family has a equestrian center in Tuscany and doesn't lose their love for horses, the restoration of the Great Chlumecka history is still in the stars.
These palomino warmbloods are firmly associated with the history of the Kinsky clan. They were bred as military and parade sports horses, they have a good temperament, nature, elegance.
First and foremost, they have shiny golden coloring of fur and a light mane. Behind them stands Count Octavian Kinsky (1813-1896), who deliberately imported quality horses and mated them with the best local mares. The genetic line has been preserved even through wars and the communist regime. The breed was recognized as an official breed not until 2005.
Today, for example, these horses are bred in Houston and are used as luxury recreational horses, or for sport, show jumping, eventing, dressage...
The most famous horse was Norma
Blond Norma was the most famous representative of this breed. In 1937, she won the Grand Pardubice together with the only winner of the female sex to date, Lata Brandisova.
But descendants also got into the saddle. Zdenko Kinský was fourth on a horse Magyarád in Velká in 1901.
Source: kone-hradistko.cz, historickaslechta.cz, dotyk.cz, schkk.cz
