He was the second-born son of Mayor Antonín Hlávka and his wife, Anna née Stachová, from a noble family.

Over the next few years, he was awarded over 140 commissions for private works, as well as several public projects, including the Vienna State Opera.

In 1864, he began construction on the "Residence of Bukovinian and Dalmatian Metropolitans" in Czernowitz, which has since been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Antonín Dvořák was a close friend, and composed his Mass in D Major to celebrate the inauguration of a new chateau in Lužany.

As a result of this, and some substantial donations he made, the Royal Bohemian Emperor Franz Joseph Academy for Science, Literature and Art [de] was established in 1890, and opened its doors in 1891.

It survived the Communist régime, the only pre-Communist foundation to do so, and is still devoted to promoting the intellectual culture of the Czech people.