Stavební řemeslníci na schwarzenberských panstvích v Čechách 1660–1848 : příspěvek ke slovníku umělců

The landed property of the Schwarzenberg family in Bohemia developed through a steady process of acquisitions in the second half of the 17th and the first half of the 18th century. The family's landed property in Bohemia was one of the largest possessions in the Habsburg Monarchy and comprised a collection of estates and land in central, southern, and eastern Bohemia. This article seeks to map the figures and the careers of the construction tradesmen (masons and carpenters) who worked on the countless construction projects for the Schwarzenberg's in 1660–1848. It contributes to an understanding of the mobility and education of baroque tradesmen and discovers a number of previously unknown figures. The sources used for the information include parish registers and the Schwarzenberg family's own records of building projects and construction tradesmen. The parish registers provide information on the age, profession, and social ties of the tradesmen. The records on the building projects indicate what work individal tradesmen did on the project. The nobility's records on hired labour provide an outline of the careers of individual tradesmen and especially information on when a given tradesman entered the service of the state, received an increase in wages, was discharged, or was replaced in the case of death. The materials collected in this research reveal that the nobility were consistently interested in hiring tradesmen from the ranks of the inhabitants of heir estates. The ideal master mason or carpenter on a Schwarzenberg estate tended to have been trained with the support of the nobility, was able to speak both of the languages used in the land (Czech and German), knew how to draw, and was able to maintain a precise budget and accounts during the course of the construction work.