Johann Ferdinand of Porcia
M. Johann Ferdinand von Porcia (last name also written Porzia or Portia ), Count, later Prince of Porcia , Count of Mitterburg and Brugnara, Count of Ortenburg (* 1605 in Venice , † 19 February 1665 in Vienna ), was the emperor's confidante Leopold I and first minister as chief steward.
biography
He came from an old noble family originally from Friuli . Since the 16th century, various members of the family were in the service of the Habsburgs in a prominent way . The father Johann Graf von Porcia was in the service of Archduke Ferdinand (later Emperor Ferdinand II) resident in Venice , Florence and Madrid . Later he served as field bishop and city governor of Gorizia . He was married to the baroness Anna Maria von Raunach. At times the son was together with the later Emperor Ferdinand III. behaved.
Johann Ferdinand also entered the service of the Habsburgs after a period abroad. From 1634 he was a government councilor in Inner Austria . Five years later he became provincial administrator in Carniola . He held this position until 1647. He was then until 1652 imperial envoy in Venice . He then became chief steward of Archduke Leopold (later Emperor Leopold I), who was twelve years old at the time. Porcia played a key role in Leopold's education. This earned him Leopold's trust.
Porcia played an important role in the complicated election of the emperor in 1658. He also advocated an alliance with Brandenburg against Sweden in the Second Northern War . After Leopold's accession to the throne, he became the Imperial Colonel and Chairman of the Privy Council . He was the emperor's first minister.
His position was challenged by the intellectually superior Prince Johann Weikhard von Auersperg . Against this, Porcia joined forces with Johann Adolf von Schwarzenberg and Prince Wenzel Eusebius von Lobkowicz .
The Spanish King Philip IV accepted him into the Order of the Golden Fleece in 1657, although he was involved in the disagreement between Madrid and Vienna.
In 1660 the Emperor gave Porcia 200,000 guilders and awarded him the Mitterburg County in Istria . Two years later he was given the personal prince status. However, he did not succeed in persuading the emperor to elevate the county into a hereditary imperial principality. A few years before his death, he bought Porcia Castle in Upper Carinthia, where his descendants lived many generations later.
He was married to Anna Elisabeth (née Countess von Auersperg ). His grave is in the Schottenkirche (Vienna) .
literature
- Franz von Krones : Porzia, M. Johann Ferdinand Fürst von . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 26, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1888, pp. 450-452.
| predecessor | Office | successor |
|---|---|---|
| Barbo from Waxenstein |
Habsburg envoy in Venice 1647–1652 |
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Porcia, Johann Ferdinand von |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Johann Ferdinand of Portia |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Austrian statesman |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 1605 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Venice |
| DATE OF DEATH | February 19, 1665 |
| Place of death | Vienna |