Karl Maximilian von Dietrichstein

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Karel Maxmilian Dietrichstein - Josef Hickel (1773)
Family coat of arms of those of Dietrichstein

Karl Maximilian von Dietrichstein (born April 28, 1702 in Brno ; † October 24, 1784 there ) was the 6th Prince of Dietrichstein zu Nikolsburg , Prince Count of Tarasp , Baron of Hollenburg, Finkenstein and Thalberg, an Austrian nobleman from 1738 to 1784 , Statesman, owner of numerous lordships, holder of important court offices , imperial secret council and high court marshal , knight of the Order of the Golden Fleece and took over the title of Count of Proskau, the coat of arms and ownership of the expired Count of Proskau from his maternal grandfather in 1769.

origin

Dietrichstein Castle , Carinthia

Karl Maximilian came from the Austrian Uradelsgeschlecht of Dietrichsteinplatz namely the line to Nikolsburg (today Milulov in the Czech Republic), which in the 1514 Empire baron and 1600 or 1612 in the imperial counts had been raised. As early as 1622, Count Franz Seraph von Dietrichstein (* 1570, † 1636), cardinal and Prince-Bishop of Olomouc from 1599, acquired the imperial princehood from his line , which was passed on to his nephew in Primogenutur inheritance. The father of Karl Maximilian was Walther Franz Xaver 5th Reichsfürst von Dietrichstein, Count von Trasp (1708–1738) (born September 18, 1664 - † November 3, 1738) Knight of the Order of the Golden Fleece. Through his mother, Countess Maria Elisabeth von Eggenberg (born September 26, 1640; † May 19, 1715), Karl Maximilian was not only related to the powerful Prince of Eggenberg , but also through their mother, Anna Maria Margravine von Brandenburg-Bayreuth (* 1609 ; † 1680) a descendant of the first families of the Holy Roman Empire - including Emperor Ferdinand I and Johanna "the Mad" Queen of Castile († 1555). He was related to the Habsburgs ruling at the time. The mother of Karl Maximilian, Karolina Maximiliana Countess von Proskau (* September 2, 1674 - September 9, 1734) who was married to his father since August 30, 1693 - as his second wife. On her father's side she came from the Silesian nobility of the Proskowski family - who had close connections to families of the Bohemian gentry - and had numerous Italian ancestors through her mother, Maria Rosalia Countess of Thurn-Valsassina-Como-Vercelli , such as the Gonzaga family , the Estonians , the Colonna and the Orsini , who found their way into the ancestral tables of many Austrian noble families through Maria Rosalia. Most of his nine siblings died young or unmarried. Two sisters had offspring:

  • Maria Josepha Antonia Countess von Dietrichstein (born September 26, 1694; †?) Was with Stephan Wilhelm Graf, later first Imperial Prince Kinsky von Wchinitz and Tettau, kk real Privy Councilor, supreme land marshal and governor in Bohemia, knight from February 25, 1717 of the Order of the Golden Fleece (* 1679, † 1749).
  • Maria Aloisia Franziska Countess of Dietrichstein (* April 21, 1700; † Brno 13/17, 1783) was with Michael Wenzel Graf von Althann (* July 29, 1668; † July 25, 1738), kk real secret councilor and treasurer (scene of the Lower Austrian nobility, Volume II, p. 252)

Life

Nikolsburg Castle , Moravia

Karl Maximilian was born as the eighth child and third son of the 5th Imperial Prince of Dietrichstein, therefore had no prospect of a successor in view of the primogeneity applicable in his house with regard to the title of prince, and therefore saw himself already in a church career as a younger son. He enjoyed a good upbringing from private tutors and went on the usual cavalier tour of Europe.

Thanks to the high child mortality rate, he was ultimately the only son of the 5th Prince of Dietrichstein, who lived long enough to inherit from his father in 1738. In addition to the title of imperial prince and count of Trasp, this inheritance consisted of extensive holdings of lordships and estates. In addition to the rulership of his line - Nikolsburg in Mährern, this included the rulers of Hollenburg, Finkenstein, Thalberg, as well as Kanitz, Leipnik, Weißenkirchen, Groß-Selowitz in Moravia and Libochowitz, Budin, Polna, Pomeißl and Wällischbrücken in Bohemia. In addition, the Lordship of Proskau and Klein Strehlitz in Silesia came as heir to his maternal grandfather, the Count of Proskau.

Tarasp Castle , Graubünden

At the same time, Karl Maximilian held a number of court offices. He was the imperial treasurer, Oberst-Erblandmundschenk in the Duchy of Carinthia, and after the death of Count Dismas von Dietrichstein in 1783 became a senior of his house and thus Colonel-Hofmeister and Obersterbland-Jägermeister in the Duchy of Styria.

As Reichshofrat and later as a member of the Privy Council, he had a not inconsiderable influence on the affairs of government in the hereditary countries, as in the empire during the difficult times in which Emperor Charles VI. In the absence of sons, he tried to secure the female succession of his daughter Maria Theresa Archduchess of Austria through the " Pragmatic Sanction ". Later he stood by the young Maria Theresa, who was also Queen of Bohemia and Queen of Hungary as an advisor during the first years of her independent rule. From 1745 he served Maria Theresa's husband, Emperor Franz I Stephan (1745–1765) from the House of Lorraine, as Imperial Colonel-Court Marshal for ten years . In 1749 he was named with the number 733 together with, among others, Alexander Ferdinand Prince of Thurn and Taxis († 1773), Johann Wilhelm 2nd Prince of Trautson († 1775), Wenzel Anton Graf (from 1764 Imperial Prince) of Kaunitz-Rietberg († 1794) and Ferdinand Bonaventura II. Count von Harrach († 1778) Knight of the Order of the Golden Fleece . Prince Karl Maximilian resigned from his position as Colonel Court Marshal in 1754 to devote himself to the administration of his extensive estate. Based on the will of his maternal grandfather, Count Georg Christoph von Proskau, he inherited the title, coat of arms and property of the expired Count of Proskau after the death of his cousin, the last of his house to die on July 29, 1769 the Silesian lordships of Proskau and Klein Strehlitz also consisted of a significant money entail. In the following year 1770, however, he ceded these assets to his eldest son - subject to the title of Count of Proskau and the coat of arms. During his 44-year reign as a prince, he had made very successful efforts to expand his property, for example he had acquired the dominions of Groß-Selowitz, Groß-Niemtschitz and Urspitz. Karl Maximilian died on October 24, 1784 in Nikolsburg Castle (today Mikulov in South Moravia). at a very old age of 83 for those times and was buried in the family crypt there. Shortly before his death, he had to watch a large part of the city of Nikolsburg being cremated in a major fire.

Marriage and offspring

Prince Johann Joseph von Khevenhüller-Metsch, brother-in-law of Prince Karl Maximilian von Dietrichstein

At the age of 23, Karl Maximilian married Maria Anna Imperial Countess Khevenhüller , Lady of the Star Cross (born March 25, 1705 in Klagenfurt ; † October 4, 1764 in Vienna). She was a daughter of Count Sigmund Friedrich von Khevenhüller from 1698 to 1712 Governor of Carinthia, from 1725 Imperial Count of Hohenosterwitz and Annapichl (* 1666, † 1742) and his wife Ernestine Countess of Orsini and Rosenberg . His wife was a sister of Johann Joseph von Khevenhüller-Metsch (* 1706; † 1776), imperial state and conference minister and chief steward, and since 1764 first imperial prince of Khevenhüller-Metsch.

Few of his eleven children survived childhood

  • Karl Johann Baptist Walter 7th Reichsfürst von Dietrichstein zu Nikolsburg (1784–1808) (* June 27, 1728 in Nikolsburg; † May 25, 1808 in Vienna) ⚭ 1st) on January 30, 1764 in Vienna Maria Christina Countess of Thun Hohenstein (April 25, 1738 - March 4, 1788); ⚭ 2.) on July 23, 1802 Maria Anna von Baldauff (* February 6, 1757; † February 25, 1815)
  • Franz de Paula Carl Joseph Reichsgraf von Dietrichstein-Nikolsburg (* December 13, 1731 in Vienna; † November 29, 1813 in Vienna) ⚭ April 25, 1770 in Vienna Maria Karoline Freiin von Reischach (* October 8, 1740 in Nancy; † 11 October 1782 in Vienna)
  • Maria Josepha Anna Barbara Imperial Countess of Dietrichstein-Nikolsburg, Lady of the Star Circle Order, (* November 2, 1736 - December 21, 1799 in Vienna)) on May 20, 1754 in Vienna Ernst Guido Imperial Count of Harrach zu Rohrau and Thannhausen (* September 8, 1723 ; † March 23, 1783)

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b family tree in genealogy.euweb.cz
  2. ^ Franz Karl Wißgrill: scene of the rural Lower Austrian nobility. Volume 2, page 253. http://wiki-de.genealogy.net/Schauplatz_des_lands%C3%A4ssigen_Nieder-Oesterreichischen_Adels_vom_Herren-_und_Ritterstande_(Wi%C3%9Fgrill)
  3. ^ Roman Baron von Procházka: Bohemian noble families. Verlag Degener & Co, Neustadt ad Aisch, 1969, p. 246
  4. ↑ He was a knight of the "Austrian branch" of the order, which had existed since the beginning of the 18th century
  5. ^ Constant von Wurzbach : Biographical Lexicon of the Kaiserthums Oesterreich . Third part, (1858) page 297 [1]
  6. ^ Franz Karl Wißgrill: scene of the rural Lower Austrian nobility. Volume 2, page 253, http://wiki-de.genealogy.net/Schauplatz_des_lands%C3%A4ssigen_Nieder-Oesterreichischen_Adels_vom_Herren-_und_Ritterstande_(Wi%C3%9Fgrill)
  7. ^ Roman Baron von Procházka: Bohemian noble families. Verlag Degener & Co, Neustadt ad Aisch, 1969, p. 246
personal data
SURNAME Dietrichstein, Karl Maximilian von
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Dietrichstein zu Nikolsburg, Karl Maximilian 6th Imperial Prince of
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Austrian statesman and imperial prince
DATE OF BIRTH April 28, 1702
PLACE OF BIRTH Brno
DATE OF DEATH October 24, 1784
Place of death Brno