Franz Joseph, Prince of Dietrichstein

Franz Joseph, Prince of Dietrichstein. Litograph by Josef Kriehuber, 1836.

Franz Joseph, Prince of Dietrichstein (Franz Seraph Joseph Carl Johann Nepomuc Quirin; 28 April 1767 – 10 July 1854), was a German prince member of the House of Dietrichstein, Major general, 8th Prince (Fürst) of Dietrichstein zu Nikolsburg, Count of Proskau-Leslie, Baron (Freiherr) of Hollenburg, Finkenstein and Thalberg.

Born in Nikolsburg, he was the third child and second (but eldest surviving) son of Karl Johann Baptist, 7th Prince of Dietrichstein, and Maria Christina Josepha, a daughter of Jan Josef František Antonín, Count of Thun-Hohenstein.

Life

As the owner of the wealthy Fideikommiss who belonged to his family after the death of Prince Gundacar (from the Hollenburg line) in 1690 and his own family domains (from the Nikolsburg branch), Franz Joseph also entered in the possession of the hereditary Erbamt, who allowed him to took place in official court ceremonies, like royal and imperial coronations.

As a Imperial-Royal Kämmerer and member of the Privy Council, he served in the Austrian Army as Major general and accorded in 1800 with the French General Jean Victor Marie Moreau the Parsdorf Ceasefire, which was formally signed in the town of Vaterstetten, which later came to an end with the Battle of Hohenlinden. In 1796 he became a Knight of the Military Order of Maria Theresa

In 1809 he was appointed as Obersthofmeister of Archduke Francis Joseph Charles of Austria, later Duke of Modena, and in this function he acted as Hofkommissar in the enemy-occupied part of Galicia until the Congress of Vienna.

As a benefactor of the poor of the city of Vienna, he was made ​​an honorary citizen. In 1815 he was appointed a member of the Academy of Sciences of Erfurt (Akademie gemeinnütziger Wissenschaften zu Erfurt).

As the owner of the district Neu-Ravensburg in the Württemberg Oberamt Wangen he was during 1815-1819 member of the assemblies of estates of the Kingdom of Württemberg and during 1820-1829 member of the Estates of Württemberg. The sale of the direct rule of Neu-Ravensburg to Württemberg was determined in July 1829, but he never resigned in person, but was represented by other members of the chamber.

Franz Joseph's political views can be described as liberal and progressive in his day. The prince led an unconventional, free lifestyle and sired several illegitimate children, including the famous pianist Sigismund Thalberg.

Marriage and Issue

In Pavlovsk, Saint Petersburg on 16 July 1797, Franz Joseph married with Countess Alexandra Andrejevna Shuvalova (19 December 1775 – 10 November 1847), a daughter of the senator and writer Count Andrei Petrovich Shulanov by his wife, Countess Ekaterina Petrovna Saltykova. The union, who proved to be extremely unhappy, only produced a son:

• Joseph Franz (28 March 1798 – 10 July 1858), 9th Prince of Dietrichstein.

References

• Constantin von Wurzbach: Dietrichstein-Proskau-Leslie, Franz Joseph Johann Fürst, in: Biographisches Lexikon des Kaiserthums Oesterreich, 3. Band, Wien 1858.
• Wolfgang von Wurzbach: Josef Kriehuber und die Wiener Gesellschaft seiner Zeit, vol. 2, Walter Krieg ed., 1957, p. 370.
• Dietrichstein zu Nikolsburg Franz Josef Fürst. [In:] Österreichisches Biographisches Lexikon 1815–1950 (ÖBL), vol. 1, Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna 1957, p. 185.
• Karl Otmar von Aretin: [Dietrichstein, Franz Fürst von]. [In:] Neue Deutsche Biographie (NDB), vol. 3, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1957, p. 701 f. ( http://daten.digitale-sammlungen.de/0001/bsb00016319/images/index.html?seite=715 online).
• Frank Raberg: Biographisches Handbuch der württembergischen Landtagsabgeordneten 1815–1933. On behalf of the Commission for Historical Geography in Baden-Württemberg. Kohlhammer, Stuttgart 2001, p. 143.