(1566-1642)
Polyxena of Pernstein and Lobkowitz, a noblewoman, first the wife of Wilhelm von Rosenberg, the highest officer of the Czech Kingdom, and then Zdeněk Vojtěch Popel of Lobkowitz, a man of a similar high standing. Her mother came from the highest Spanish aristocracy. Although not married to a monarch, she occupied an extremely important position in the Czech society and in fact fulfilled the task of the first lady. It was during the reign of Emperor Rudolph II, who refused to marry. During the rebellion of Czech Protestant nobles, she resolutely defended her Catholic beliefs. In 1618, she saved two royal governors, thrown from the windows of Prague Castle. Ten years later, she donated a statuette of child Jesus that she inherited from her Spanish mother to the monastery of the Barefoot Carmelites. Displayed in the Carmelites’ church, the legendary Infant Jesus of Prague attracts thousands of tourists every year.