Georg André Reichsgraf from and to Kronegg

Stone coat of arms for the burgrave Baron Georg André Reichsgraf von und zu Kronegg on the south side of the Lindwurmbrunnen on Neuer Platz in the statutory city of Klagenfurt

Double coat of arms of Kronegg-Zinzendorff above the portal of Moosburg Castle

Georg André Reichsgraf von und zu Kronegg (* 1602 ; † October 5, 1665 in Klagenfurt ) was an Austrian nobleman , Lord of Moosburg and Governor of Carinthia .

Cornerstones of his life

He was a career man whose private focus was the systematic acquisition of goods. Both wealth and reputation and social advancement were bestowed on him. In 1631 he was raised from the knightly nobility to the status of imperial baron and finally in 1663 to the status of imperial count. His ancestors owned Malta Castle in Upper Carinthia, and his grandfather acquired the Lavanttal Lordship of Himmelau. Georg André Graf von und zu Kronegg owned the dominions Kronegg, Moosburg and Glanegg , Greifenburg and Rottenstein as well as houses in Klagenfurt when he died . The circumstances of the time had undoubtedly played into his hands. He owed his property and his rise to the highest offices in the country to the reformation work of the sovereign. When the Protestant nobility emigrated, their goods were often cheap and top positions had to be filled. Kronegg himself had preferred to return to the Catholic Church over emigration and had done well. So in 1633 he was ordained, in 1637 he got the state finances transferred by making him general collector. In 1640 at the latest he was promoted to state administrator, and in 1649 the sovereign handed the now 47-year-old over to the governor, which he held until his death on October 5, 1665.

Kronegg temporarily lived in the house of the Ernau family in Klagenfurt's Herrengasse, who had to leave the country in 1629 because of the Protestant creed. In 1640 he lived with his family on Wiener Gasse. His wife from his second marriage was Regina Elisabeth, born Freiin von Dietrichstein , who outlived him by 20 years and died in 1685.

In 1651 the daughter Regine Mechtildis married the son of Kronegg's predecessor, Georg Sigmund Freiherr von Paradeiser, Wolf Reimund Graf von Paradeiser, who had inherited the house at Neuer Platz No. 14 from his father. It was soon in the possession of the father-in-law. One of the Kronegg children was a sickly and gout-ridden man who was given special consideration in the will. In addition to an allowance of 600 guilders per year, he had to get free food. He also had two horses at his disposal and three servants to look after his well-being. The governor should not only have been a capable man, but also a man who was interested and educated in many ways. He lived with objets d'art, and his library had over 200 books in various fields of knowledge.

literature

• Anton Kreuzer: Carinthian. Biographical sketches . Kärntner Druck- und Verlagsgesellschaft, Klagenfurt 1995–2001, Volume IV (17th – 20th century, 9 volumes), pp. 17ff., ISBN 3-85391-144-7