Franz Josef I (Liechtenstein)

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Franz Josef I of Liechtenstein

Franz Josef I (born November 19, 1726 in Milan , † August 18, 1781 in Metz ) was the 8th Prince of Liechtenstein and general from 1772 to 1781 .

biography

He was the older son of Emanuel von Liechtenstein (1700–1771) and Maria Anna (née Countess Dietrichstein) (1707–1777). His younger brother Karl Borromeo (1730–1789) was the founder of the Liechtenstein family's own princes of the family.

Franz Josef accompanied his uncle Josef Wenzel on his campaigns in Italy. Among other things, he successfully fought alongside him in the Battle of Piacenza . He followed him to Parma in 1760 , but in 1761 he had to fulfill his duties as Chamberlain and drove with Prince Karl Alexander of Lorraine to Mergentheim , where he was to be elected Grand Master of the Teutonic Order .

Franz Josef undertook a rather less important diplomatic mission in 1763 when he had to travel to Spain to deliver the portrait of Archduke Leopold's bride, who later became Emperor Leopold II . From the bride María Ludovika , who was the daughter of King Charles III. from Spain, the prince was warmly received. From 1767 he again held a more demanding position, namely that of a secret council . In 1771 he was awarded the Order of the Golden Fleece .

Elevation to head of the house

In 1772 he surprisingly became Prince of Liechtenstein because his uncle, Prince Josef Wenzel, had remained childless. He received his last political-public function at the Habsburg court in 1778 when he was appointed President of the Lower Austrian gentry.

But like a typical prince at the time, Franz Josef I was more concerned with the administration of his Liechtenstein property than with his imperial duties. These increased enormously in 1772 when the prince received the estate of a relative. This relative was the Duchess Maria Therese of Savoy , the daughter of Viktor Amadeus III. Maria , King of Sardinia-Piedmont and Duke of Savoy . Maria Therese married the Dauphin Charles, who as Comte d'Artois in 1824 as the last Bourbon French throne as Charles X ascended. Now that she went to France , her possessions were divided in and around Savoy. Prince Franz Josef I von Liechtenstein died in 1781. His grave is in the crypt of the House of Liechtenstein in Vranov (Moravia).

Marriage and offspring

Franz Josef I married Leopoldine von Sternberg on July 6, 1750 , with whom he had eight children, including

literature

Web links

Commons : Franz Josef I. (Liechtenstein)  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files
predecessor Office successor
Josef Wenzel Prince of Liechtenstein
1772–1781 		Alois I.
personal data
SURNAME Franz Josef I.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Franz Josef I of Liechtenstein
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Prince of Liechtenstein
DATE OF BIRTH November 19, 1726
PLACE OF BIRTH Milan
DATE OF DEATH August 18, 1781
Place of death Metz