Coat of arms of the Protasi family in Posavje Museum Brežice
BREžICE, POSAVJE MUSEUM
Location of the coat of arms: utilitarian object
The Posavje Museum in Brežice displays the head of a wine barrel with a carved coat of arms depicting a stork and a lion. The coat of arms belonged to the noble Protasi family, which owned the seigniory of Planina pri Sevnici at the turn of the nineteenth century. The family was founded by Franz Anton Protasi (1717–1794), a native of the village of Šentvid near Vipava (modern Podnanos), who is believed to have initially borne the family name of Bratož. In the mid-eighteenth century, he performed official duties in seigniories across Styria, for example, as the granger in Muretinci or the steward of the Counts Attems in Podčetrtek. His career earned him a considerable fortune and the status of a landowner. He received the Planina seigniory in lease in 1762 and became its owner in 1770. That same year, Maria Theresa granted him the title of nobility.
Protasi left a significant (albeit not always positive) mark on Planina. Frequently at loggerheads with his subjects, he was faced with a veritable uprising in the final days of his life. After his death, his main heir, Joseph Kasimier, led the seigniory to bankruptcy. A lottery was organized for the entire estate, presenting the seigniory, the office of Planina, and the ironworks as the chief prize and Protasi Mansion in Celje as the second prize. In the draw, which took place on June 7th, 1823, the chief prize was collected by a Hungarian official by the name Emerick von Machik. Although dispossessed of his estate, Protasi raised a decent amount of money. He continued to live in Celje for a little over a decade until his death in 1836. His descendants moved to Graz. All having died childless, the family became extinct in 1890, with the death of Joseph Kasimier’s youngest daughter, Barbara, married Baroness von Khuen-Belasi.
In Slovenia, the only remaining vestige of the family is the coat of arms carved in the head of the barrel from their vineyard in Sromlje.
Sources:
Preinfalk, Miha: Plemiške rodbine na Slovenskem, 18. stoletje, 2. del: Od Del-Negrov do Škerpinov. Ljubljana: Viharnik, 2022, pp. ***