Franz Xaver of Montfort

Count Franz Xaver von Montfort depicted as an alchemist

Count Franz Xaver von Montfort on a portrait by Angelika Kauffmann

Count Franz Xaver von Montfort (* 1722 , † 1780 ) was the last ruling count from the house of Montfort before Austria took over the county .

Live and act

Count Franz Xaver von Montfort was the son of Count Ernst von Montfort (* January 20, 1700 - March 17, 1759) and grandson of Count Anton III. von Montfort (1670–1733). He took over the rule when his father died in 1759. Four years later, in 1763, he had the Langenargen mint closed. However, he kept the mint and all accessories in the hope of minting coins there again at a later date. A contemporary painting depicts him as an alchemist and gold maker, presumably as a reference to his ancestors, who had minted inferior coins in the Langenargen mint since the days of the dump truck if the sales opportunities outside of his own country were good, regardless of whether in gold, silver or copper.

He succeeded in resuming his grandfather's construction work at Tettnang Castle , which had stalled after the fire in 1753 . He hired the best artists in the Lake Constance area and had the interior decorated in a precious way. He commissioned painters such as Franz Martin Kuen , Andreas Brugger and Joseph Johann Kauffmann with his daughter Angelika Kauffmann, as well as plasterers such as Joseph Anton Feuchtmayer , Johann Georg Dirr , Andreas Moosbrugger , Caspar David Gigl , some of whom, as in the case of Jakob Emele, worked on theirs until 1771 Had to wait for payment.

In 1764 he sold the high court and the forestry authorities of the Liebenau lordship for 36,000 guilders to Weingarten Monastery . He tried to prevent the county's impending insolvency by selling the Argen rule to Bavaria for 800,000 guilders, but this was prevented in 1769 by an objection from the House of Habsburg . Franz Xaver could no longer save the rule and in 1779 had to sell his entire domain to Austria in exchange for debt relief and an annual pension of 6,000 guilders .

He died in 1780 as the last ruling count from the House of Montfort before Austria took over the county on August 22, 1780. He was buried in the Mariabrunn pilgrimage chapel.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Worldhistory: Ernst von Montfort-Tettnang, Graf.
2. ↑ ^{a b c} Förderkreis Heimatkunde Tettnang: Counts of Montfort.  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
3. ↑ ^{a b} Joachim Stollhoff: The Counts of Montfort and their coinage.
4. ^ Georg Schwedt: Chemical experiments in castles, monasteries and museums: From witch kitchen and magic laboratory John Wiley & Sons, April 18, 2012. Page 144 of 276 pages.
5. ^ Old German coins and medals: Montfort, Grafschaft. Ulrich, 1564-1574.
6. ^ Tettnang Castle: Famous People
7. ↑ Brief history of the New Palace in Tettnang. (PDF; 79 kB)

predecessor	Office	successor
Ernst von Montfort	Mr. zu Tettnang and Argen 1755–1779	House of Habsburg