Philipp Ludwig Wenzel von Sinzendorf

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Philipp Ludwig Wenzel von Sinzendorf. Painting by Hyacinthe Rigaud from 1728

Philipp Ludwig Wenzel Graf von Sinzendorf (born December 26, 1671 in Vienna , † February 8, 1742 ibid) was an Austrian diplomat and statesman. In the time of the Emperors Joseph I and Charles VI. as well as at the beginning of the reign of Maria Theresa he was the upper court chancellor and a major designer, especially of foreign policy.

origin

He came from the Fridau-Neuburg line of the Sinzendorf family . The father was Georg Ludwig Graf von Sinzendorf , the mother was Dorothea Elisabeth Duchess of Holstein-Wisenburg. The father was under Emperor I. Leopold Hofkammerpräsident . However, the emperor felt compelled to have Georg Ludwig investigate financial irregularities. He was sentenced to life imprisonment. When his wife stepped in, the sentence was converted to house arrest in one of the family's castles. Philipp Ludwig was a later son from this marriage. He was destined for the clergy at an early age and obtained a canon position in Cologne .

Ascent

After the death of his brother, he returned to worldly life. Philipp Ludwig von Sinzendorf initially entered military service. But the emperor soon became aware of him and appointed him chamberlain in 1694. As a result, he was entrusted with various diplomatic missions. As early as 1695 von Sinzendorf was appointed a member of the Reichshofrat . In 1696 he married Countess Rosina Katharina von Waldstein . With this he had four children, including the later Cardinal Philipp Ludwig von Sinzendorf . The fact that he appointed the barely 28-year-old envoy to the court of Versailles in 1699 speaks for the imperial favor .

After the beginning of the Spanish War of Succession , he had to leave France. In 1701 he was appointed a secret council and was used for various tasks. Together with the future Emperor Joseph I, he took part in the siege of Landau. Then he was a commissioner in Liège . After the previous sovereign Joseph Clemens of Bavaria was deposed , he introduced the new government there. In 1704 he concluded an evacuation contract with the Electorate of Bavaria on the imperial mandate .

Obersthofkanzler

After the death of Emperor Leopold, von Sinzendorf also gained the favor of Emperor Joseph I. In 1705 he appointed him court chancellor and later chief court chancellor. He was also protector of the imperial academy of the arts . For four decades he was a central figure, particularly in the foreign policy of the Habsburg Empire. In 1706 he negotiated in The Hague with John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough and the Dutch representatives. He succeeded in preventing an early peace for Austria. In addition to Eugene of Savoy, he was also negotiator in 1709 in the negotiations for a preliminary peace , which failed due to excessive demands on the part of Sinzendorf. Surprised by the death of the emperor in The Hague, he immediately left for Frankfurt am Main to meet the electors for the election of Charles VI. to move. From there he drove to Milan , where he received the new ruler. This has confirmed Sinzendorf in his offices. After he had accompanied him to the imperial coronation in Frankfurt am Main, Charles VI appointed him. to the knight of the golden fleece .

Seelowitz Castle , Moravia, built 1722–28

The emperor rewarded von Sinzendorf for his services by awarding the rulers of Hals and Schärding in Bavaria. In 1714 Sinzendorf bought the Moravian dominion of Seelowitz from his wife Rosina Katharina Isabella, née Countess von Waldstein, and her sister Maria Anna Franziska von Paar for 660,000 Rhenish guilders. Between 1722 and 1728 he had the baroque castle Seelowitz built by Joseph Emanuel Fischer von Erlach ; his three sons sold it in 1743.

During the negotiations for the Peace of Utrecht , von Sinzendorf and Prince Eugene tried in vain to persuade the previous allies to continue the war. Back in Vienna, he was appointed secret conference minister. Since then he has been responsible not only for foreign but also for domestic policy. From 1721 he was also director of the Austrian Oriental Trading Company . At the Soisson Congress to end the Anglo-Spanish War , he opened negotiations. He came into contact with the French cardinal and statesman André-Hercule de Fleury . His efforts were unsuccessful and he returned to Vienna. In 1734 he was the only layperson present at the negotiations with the Protestants of Hungary. He was an avid supporter of Maria Theresa's marriage to Franz Stephan von Lothringen . He did this, however, because he hoped it would gain personal material advantages. After the war for the succession to the Polish throne , von Sinzendorf led the peace negotiations for Austria up to the Treaty of Vienna of June 28, 1740. The defeat of the imperial troops in the Russo-Austrian Turkish War prompted the emperor to urge him to conclude peace soon.

After the emperor's death, he supported Maria Theresa in asserting her inheritance claims. Even in the first years of the War of the Austrian Succession he remained in the service of the Empress.

literature

Web links

Commons : Philipp Ludwig Wenzel von Sinzendorf  - Album with pictures, videos and audio files