Rudolf von Colloredo

Rudolf Hieronymus Eusebius von Colloredo-Waldsee, born 2 November 1585 in České Budějovice, Kingdom of Bohemia, 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, especially at the Battles of Mantua and Lützen (1632)|Lützen]. Emperor Ferdinand III, [Holy Roman Emperor|Ferdinand III] appointed him to the Imperial Privy Council and named him a List of [Field Marshals of the Holy Roman Empire|Field Marshal]. Although unable to prevent Prague Castle from falling to Sweden's Hans Christoff von Königsmarck, Colloredo-Waldsee's bold defense of Prague's old town halted the Swedish invasion of Bohemia on 26 July 1648 and saved the Habsburg's ancestral lands in Austria. After the war he built Schönborn [Palace (Prague)|the Schönborn Palace in Prague], now home to the U.S. [Embassy, Prague|United States Embassy to the Czech Republic]. He died in Prague on 24 February 1657.