Hans von Khevenhüller-Frankenburg

Johann or Hans Khevenhüller , from 1593 Count von Frankenburg (born April 16, 1538 in Spittal / Drau , † May 4, 1606 in Madrid ) comes from the Carinthian noble family Khevenhüller , was imperial envoy and ambassador to the Spanish court.

Hans was a son of Christoph Khevenhüller , who had become a Protestant. Christoph's wife was the wealthy Spittal citizen daughter Elisabeth Mansdorfer ( Manndorff ). This marriage enabled the father to acquire numerous properties in Upper Carinthia , including Sommeregg Castle , the Ortenburg , iron mines in Eisentratten near Gmünd , and other goods and properties, including the Aichelberg and Landskron castles .

In 1558 Hans Khevenhüller entered the service of Archduke Maximilian . In 1560 he was sent to Spain by Maximilian (from 1564 Emperor Maximilian II.) And held several offices there (1562 precutter; 1563 chamberlain, privy councilor and 1566 imperial envoy in Madrid). After Adam von Dietrichstein's resignation in 1572, he was the imperial envoy in Spain until his death, for a total of 26 years.

In 1581 Rudolf II gave him the dominions of Frankenburg (with Schloss Frankenburg and Schloss Frein ), as well as the dominions of Burg Kogl (where the Khevenhüller built Schloss Kogl in 1750 ) and Schloss Kammer , which in 1593 united to form the "Grafschaft Frankenburg" were.

In 1587 he received the golden fleece from Philip II. Rudolf II. Awarded him the chamberlain key (1592), the title “Privy Councilor” “Count of Frankenburg” (1593) and thus elevated him to the rank of imperial count.

Extensive correspondence as well as various travel diaries ( Italy , Spain , Holland , Palestine ) have been preserved from his hand .

In his Madrid apartment, Khevenhüller has amassed an important collection of treasures (pictures, silver objects, carpets, etc.). During his work as an ambassador for Rudolf, he brokered a large number of luxury items, art chamber pieces , paintings and exotic objects for the imperial collections in Prague as well as horses.

Khevenhüller remained unmarried and had no children. Heir was his brother Bartolomäus Khevenhüller, Count of Frankenburg (1539-1613), the spokesman for the Carinthian estates, and then his son Franz Christoph von Khevenhüller , who became a Catholic in 1609 and also represented the Viennese court as envoy in Spain for many years.

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  Frankenburg Castle

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  Frein Castle (by Georg Matthäus Vischer , 1674)

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  Kogl Castle (1674)

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  Kammer Castle and the Attersee (1674)

literature

• Constantin von Wurzbach : Khevenhüller, Johann (VII.) Graf . In: Biographisches Lexikon des Kaiserthums Oesterreich . 11th part. Imperial and Royal Court and State Printing Office, Vienna 1864, p. 220 ( digital copy ).
• Maria Stieglecker: "What I have bought and bought, I want to hand over at the first opportunity.": For the transfer of goods from Spain to the imperial court. In: Friedrich Edelmeier (ed.): Hispania - Austria II: the epoch of Philip II (1556–1598). Vienna 1999, ISBN 3-7028-0366-1 , pp. 225–245.
• Karl Rudolf: "Why should your Majesty not spend a few thousand guilders a year on things that give you pleasure?": Corregio and Parmigianino on their way to Prague at the time of Philip II and Philip III. from Spain. In: Studia Rudolphina: bulletin Centra pro Výzkum Umění a Kultury Doby Rudolfa II 02 (2002), pp. 3–15 ( memento of March 24, 2004 in the Internet Archive ) (PDF; 942 kB).
• Annemarie Jordan Gschwend: Hans Khevenhüller, Imperial Ambassador, Diplomat and Art Dealer. In L + Arte, Lisbon, January 20, 2006, pp. 58-60 ( online, Portuguese ).
• Annemarie Jordan Gschwend: Hans Khevenhüller. Agent, Diplomat and Cultural Transfer. Dresden - Prague around 1600. On the transfer of art, culture and knowledge ( conference program March 17-20, 2015 ).

Web links

• Literature by and about Hans von Khevenhüller-Frankenburg in the catalog of the German National Library
• Testimonials in German-speaking countries , project of the Free University of Berlin, Department of History