REMAINS OF JOACHIM ANDREAS VON SCHLIK
Introduction
Jáchym Ondřej Šlik was among the most prominent figures of the Bohemian uprising against the Habsburgs. As one of its political leaders, he was arrested after the defeat of the Estates, condemned, and executed on 21 June 1621 at Staroměstské náměstí in Prague. He was also the last member of the Schlik family to be born in Ostrov (Schlackenwerth), symbolically marking the end of an era for this West Bohemian noble house.
Execution and Public Display
According to the original sentence, he was to be beheaded and quartered. In the end, in addition to the execution itself, his right hand was severed as punishment for “treason against the sovereign.” His head, displayed together with the severed hand placed across the mouth, was exhibited on the Staroměstská mostecká věž as a warning to others.
In 1622, the Countess of Schlik, supported by Bohemian nobles, obtained permission to remove the remains and arrange a dignified burial. The skull and right hand were placed in the family crypt at St Salvator in Prague’s Old Town. Joachim Andreas had been the builder of this church and even participated in its design in 1613, which gave this first burial place a deeply personal significance.
The Journey of the Remains
During the Saxon invasion of Prague in 1631–1632, the crypt was opened and the remains were transferred to the castle chapel in Kopidlno. From there they were moved to a new family crypt near Veliš in the Jičín region. The mausoleum stands north of the village by the road to Podhradí.
Originally, only the skull and right hand were buried in Veliš, as the location of the body was unknown. In 1767, the dean of Jáchymov, Antonín Jäckel, recorded in the parish chronicle that during the construction of a new sacristy at the Church of St Joachim, workers discovered a body clothed in red velvet lacking a head and right hand. According to this record, the body was transported to Veliš and buried there as that of Joachim Andreas von Schlik. Although no direct proof of identity existed, the absence of the head and right hand was considered compelling evidence.
A Disputed Final Resting Place
The Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary in Planá is sometimes mentioned as his possible resting place. However, the burial chapel there belonged to a different (Hauenstein) branch of the Schlik family, making this hypothesis unlikely. Moreover, when the crypt was opened in 1828, no remains corresponding to Joachim Andreas were found.
Conclusion
The fate of Joachim Andreas von Schlik’s remains mirrors the turbulent history of post-White Mountain Bohemia. From public execution and display to repeated transfers and eventual burial in the family mausoleum, his posthumous journey intertwines politics, family memory, and the effort to preserve honour. Like his life, his final resting place remains closely connected with the history of West Bohemia and the legacy of the Schlik family.
