by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2021

Anton Florian, Prince of Liechtenstein; Credit – Wikipedia

Anton Florian, Prince of Liechtenstein was born on May 28, 1656, at Wilfersdorf Castle in Wilfersdorf, Austria. He was the second of the three sons of Prince Hartmann of Liechtenstein and Countess Sidonie Elisabeth of Salm-Reifferscheidt. Anton Florian was the grandson of Prince Gundakar of Liechtenstein, the brother of Karl I, Prince of Liechtenstein.

Anton Florian had an elder brother and a younger brother:

• Maximilian of Liechtenstein (1641-1709), married (1) Johanna Beatrix of Liechtenstein, his second cousin, daughter of Karl Eusebius, Prince of Liechtenstein, had two children (2) Eleanor of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Wiesenburg, had two children (3) Elisabeth of Liechtenstein, daughter of Hans-Adam I, Prince of Liechtenstein, had four children
• Philippe-Erasmus of Liechtenstein (1664 – 1704), married Countess Christina Theresa of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rochefort, had three sons including Josef Wenzel I, Prince of Liechtenstein

Anton Florian’s wife Countess Eleonore Barbara von Thun-Hohenstein; Credit – Wikipedia

Anton Florian received an excellent education and from a young age, he was prepared for a life of political responsibility. In 1676, at the age of twenty, he began his career at the imperial court of the Holy Roman Empire in Vienna, Austria by being appointed a chamberlain of Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor. On October 15, 1679, Anton Florian married Countess Eleonore Barbara von Thun-Hohenstein (1661 – 1723), a daughter of Count Michael Oswald von Thun and Hohenstein, an imperial chamberlain and advisor, and Countess Elisabeth von Lodron.

Anton Florian and Eleonore Barbara had eleven children:

• Franz Augustin of Liechtenstein (1680 – 1681), died in infancy
• Eleonore of Liechtenstein (1681 -1682), died in infancy
• Antonia Maria Eleonore of Liechtenstein (1683 -1715), married (1) Count Johann Adam von Lamberg, no children (2) Count Maximilian von Kuefstein, had four children
• Karl Josef Florian of Liechtenstein (born and died 1685), died in infancy
• Anton Ignaz Josef of Liechtenstein (1689 – 1690), died in infancy
• Josef Johann Adam, Prince of Liechtenstein (1690 – 1732), The Four Wives of Josef Johann Adam, Prince of Liechtenstein – married (1) Princess Maria Gabriele of Liechtenstein, his first cousin, daughter of Hans-Adam I, Prince of Liechtenstein, had one son who died in childhood (2) Countess Marianne of Thun-Hohenstein, died twenty days after the wedding (3) Countess Maria Anna Katharina of Oettingen-Spielberg, had five children including Johann Nepomuk Karl, Prince of Liechtenstein (4) Countess Maria Anna Kottulinska von Kottulin, had two children who died in childhood
• Innocent Franz Anton of Liechtenstein (1693 – 1707), died in his teens
• Maria Karoline Anna of Liechtenstein (1694 – 1735), married Count Franz Wilhelm von Salm-Reifferscheidt, had one son
• Karl Josef (1697 – 1704), died in childhood
• Anna Maria of Liechtenstein (1699 – 1753), married her first cousin Josef Wenzel I, Prince of Liechtenstein, had five children who all died in childhood
• Maria Eleonore of Liechtenstein (1703 – 1757), married Friedrich August von Harrach-Rohrau, had sixteen children including Maria Josepha von Harrach-Rohrau who married her first cousin Johann Nepomuk Karl, Prince of Liechtenstein

The future Karl VI, Holy Roman Emperor; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1689, Anton Florian became a member of the Imperial Privy Council and in 1691, he became ambassador to the papal court in Rome. Due to his extensive knowledge, in 1693, Anton Florian became responsible for the education of Archduke Karl, son of Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I. In 1711, upon the sudden death of his elder brother Joseph I, Holy Roman Emperor, Archduke Karl was elected to succeed him as Karl VI, Holy Roman Emperor. Anton Florian headed the imperial government as Chairman of the Council of State and served as Karl VI’s Chief Chamberlain for the rest of his life.

On June 16, 1712, Anton Florian’s nephew Hans-Adam I, Prince of Liechtenstein, died without a male heir. Anton Florian was the heir according to primogeniture however he was not very popular with the family, and so Hans-Adam I had named his second cousin once removed Josef Wenzel as his heir. In 1718, after negotiations, Josef Wenzel I, Prince of Liechtenstein swapped the County of Vaduz and the Lordship of Schellenberg in exchange for the Dominion of Rumburk. Anton Florian became Prince of Liechtenstein and Josef Wenzel concentrated on his military career. In 1719, Karl VI, Holy Roman Emperor elevated Liechtenstein to an Imperial Principality, and Liechtenstein became a sovereign member state of the Holy Roman Empire.

Church of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary in Vranov, Czech Republic: Credit – Von Ojin – Eigenes Werk, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=6438939

Anton Florian, Prince of Liechtenstein, aged 65, died in Vienna, Austria, on October 11, 1721, and was buried in the Old Crypt at Chuch of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary in Vranov, Moravia, now in the Czech Republic. His wife Eleonore Barbara survived him by less than two years, dying at the age of 62 on February 10, 1723, in Vienna, Austria. She was buried in a crypt under the Pauline Church in Vienna, Austria. The crypt no longer exists and the tombs were not preserved.

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Works Cited

• Anton Florian, Fürst von und zu Liechtenstein. geni_family_tree. (2018, May 24). Retrieved November 3, 2021, from https://www.geni.com/people/Anton-Florian-F%C3%BCrst-von-und-zu-Liechtenstein/5062381288350042103.
• “Century: 18. Jahrhundert.” Das Fürstenhaus Von Liechtenstein, https://fuerstenhaus.li/die-biographien-aller-fuersten/18-jahrhundert/.
• Wikimedia Foundation. (2021, October 11). Anton Florian (Liechtenstein). Wikipedia. Retrieved November 3, 2021, from https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anton_Florian_(Liechtenstein)
• Wikimedia Foundation. (2021, March 7). Anton Florian, Prince of Liechtenstein. Wikipedia. Retrieved November 3, 2021, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anton_Florian,_Prince_of_Liechtenstein.