Maxmilián Hošťálek
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Biography
Maxmilián Hošťálek z Javořice (1564 – June 21, 1621 in Prague) was a Czech nobleman, mayor of Žatec, beheaded for his role during the uprising of the Bohemian Estates (1618-1620) in the Thirty Years' War.
Hošťálek was one of the Protestant councilmen of Žatec opposed to the election of Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor. In May 1618 he was elected as one of the ten members of the council of the Burghers. In the aftermath of the Battle of white mountain he was beheaded on 21 June 1621 along with 27 other Czech burghers and noblemen, including Jan Jesenius (1566–1621) rector magnificus of Charles University. His head was hung on one of the Žatec city gates and his estates were confiscated by the crown. His sons from his first marriage, served in the armies of anti-Habsburg coalition and information about their lives or deaths are not known. John Sigismund, his son from his second marriage, later became a colonel of the imperial army, and by an agreement reached in 1637 with Ferdinand III, was able to remove his father's remains from the gate and bury them.