Abstract
In 1526, the Habsburg ruler Ferdinand I became king of Bohemia and founded a new royal dynasty in Prague. Spanish, Dutch, and Italian cultural influences spread to Central Europe during his reign and shaped the local traditions of hunting and game breeding.
The new ruler and his successors devoted much effort to building up an appropriate hunting infrastructure. Ferdinand I increased the number and scope of the royal hunting grounds and created an administrative structure for them.
The purpose of his measures was also to protect and cultivate native and exotic game animals, for which so-called animal gardens and other fenced reservations were created. For hunting, but also for travel, war, and court ceremonies, it was also necessary to equip the royal stables in Bohemia with noble horses.
Therefore, the Habsburg rulers (Ferdinand I, Maximilian II, Rudolf II) started to erect new breeding facilities for horses - first corrals, later stud farms - that would became famous later all across Europe. The chapter argues that, connected through the practice of princely hunting, game keeping and horse breeding developed interdependently.
Eager to demonstrate their power through animals, the sixteenth-century Habsburg rulers contributed to new cultural traditions in the Bohemian lands.