by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2023

Arms of the Counts of Harrach zu Rohrau und Thannhausen; Credit – Wikipedia

Countess Maria Josefa von Harrach-Rohrau was the wife of her first cousin Johann Nepomuk Karl, Prince of Liechtenstein. Born on November 20, 1727, in Vienna, then in the Archduchy of Austria, Maria Josefa was the seventh of the sixteen children and the fourth of six daughters of Count Friedrich August von Harrach zu Rohrau und Thannhausen and Maria Eleonore of Liechtenstein.

Maria Josefa’s father Count Friedrich August von Harrach zu Rohrau und Thannhausen; Credit – Wikipedia

The House of Harrach was an old and influential Austro-German noble family which was also part of Bohemian nobility. The Counts of Harrach (the German Graf/Gräfin = Count(ess) were among the most prominent families in the Holy Roman Empire.  A confidant of Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I, Maria Josefa’s father served the House of Habsburg as Plenipotentiary Minister of the Habsburg Netherlands (1732 – 1741), Governor-General of the Habsburg Netherlands (1741 – 1744), and High Chancellor of Bohemia (1745 until his death in 1749). Maria Josefa’s paternal grandparents were Count Aloys von Harrach and his second wife Anna Cäcilia von Thannhausen. Her maternal grandparents were Anton Florian, Prince of Liechtenstein and Countess Eleonore Barbara von Thun-Hohenstein.

Maria Josefa had fifteen siblings:

• Franz Anton von Harrach-Rohrau (1720 – 1724), died in childhood
• Maria Rosa von Harrach-Rohrau (1721 – 1785), married her paternal uncle Ferdinand
• Bonaventura II, Count of Harrach, had one daughter
• Johann Josef von Harrach-Rohrau (1722 – 1746), unmarried
• Ernst Guido, Count von Harrach, zu Rohrau and Thannhausen (link in German) (1723 – 1783), married Maria Josefa von Dietrichstein-Proskau, had four children
• Maria Anna von Harrach-Rohrau (1725 – 1780), married Nikolaus Sebastian Graf von Lodron-Laterano und Castelromano, had ten children
• Anna Viktoria von Harrach-Rohrau (1726 – 1746), died unmarried at age 19
• Maximilian Josef von Harrach-Rohrau (1729 – 1730), died in infancy
• Bonaventura Maria von Harrach-Rohrau (1731 – 1794), unmarried
• Ignaz Ludwig von Harrach-Rohrau (1732 – 1753), died unmarried at age 20
• Franz Xaver von Harrach-Rohrau (1732 – 1781), married Maria Rebecca von Hohenems, had one daughter
• Johann Leopold von Harrach-Rohrau (1733 – 1734), died in infancy
• Maria Elisabeth von Harrach-Rohrau (born and died 1735)
• Ferdinand von Harrach-Rohrau (1737 – 1748), died in childhood
• Johann Nepomuk Ernst von Harrach-Rohrau (1738 – 1739), died in infancy
• Maria Christina von Harrach-Rohrau (1740 – 1791), unmarried

Johann Nepomuk Karl, Prince of Liechtenstein; Credit – https://fuerstenhaus.li/en/die-biographien-aller-fuersten/18-century/

On March 19, 1744, in Vienna, Austria, seventeen-year-old Maria Josefa married her first cousin, twenty-year-old Johann Nepomuk Karl, Prince of Liechtenstein, the son of her maternal uncle Josef Johann Adam, Prince of Liechtenstein and his third wife Maria Anna Katharina of Oettingen-Spielberg.

Maria Josefa and Johann Nepomuk Karl had three children:

• Princess Maria Anna of Liechtenstein (1745 – 1752), died in childhood
• Prince Joseph Johannes Nepomuk of Liechtenstein (born and died 1747), died in infancy
• Princess Maria Antonia of Liechtenstein (1749 – 1813), born after her father’s death, married Prince Wenzel Chrisostumus von Paar, had ten children

Four years after his marriage to Maria Josefa, Johann Nepomuk Karl, Prince of Liechtenstein died at the age of 24, on December 22, 1748, in Wischau, Kingdom of Bohemia, now in the Czech Republic. He was buried in the Old Crypt at Chuch of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary in Vranov, Moravia, now in the Czech Republic.

On November 28, 1752, Maria Josefa made a second marriage to Prince Joseph Maria von Lobkowicz (1724 – 1802), a Field Marshal in the Imperial Austrian Army. The von Lobkowicz family is one of the oldest Bohemian noble families and dates back to the 14th century.

Maria Josefa and her second husband had four children:

• Joseph Bernard von Lobkowicz (1754 – 1768), died in his early teens
• Marie Eleonore von Lobkowicz (1753 – 1802), unmarried, a nun in Vienna
• Maria Josepha von Lobkowicz (1756 – 1823)
• Ferdinand von Lobkowicz (1759 – 1761), died in early childhood

The Capuchin Church of St. Wenceslas in Roudnice nad Laberm where Maria Josefa was buried; Credit – Wikipedia

Maria Josefa predeceased her second husband and survived her first husband by forty years,  dying at the age of 61 on February 15, 1788, in Roudnice nad Laberm, then in the Kingdom of Bohemia, now in the Czech Republic, which was owned by the Lobkowicz family and remained under their control until 1945. She was buried in the Lobkowicz family crypt (link in Czech) at the Capuchin Church of St. Wenceslas (link in Czech) in Roudnice nad Laberm, but her tomb has not survived.

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Works Cited

• Flantzer, Susan. (2021) Johann Nepomuk Karl, Prince of Liechtenstein, Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/johann-nepomuk-karl-prince-of-liechtenstein/ (Accessed: 05 July 2023).
• Friedrich August, Graf von Harrach zu Rohrau (2023) geni_family_tree. Available at: https://www.geni.com/people/Friedrich-August-Graf-von-Harrach-zu-Rohrau/6000000015491455371 (Accessed: 05 July 2023).
• Friedrich August von Harrach-Rohrau (2023) Wikipedia (German). Available at: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friedrich_August_von_Harrach-Rohrau (Accessed: 05 July 2023).
• Harrach (2023) Wikipedia. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harrach (Accessed: 05 July 2023).
• Kostel Svatého Václava (Roudnice nad Labem) (2023) Wikipedia (Czech). Available at: https://cs.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kostel_svat%C3%A9ho_V%C3%A1clava_(Roudnice_nad_Labem) (Accessed: 05 July 2023).
• Lobkovická hrobka (Roudnice nad Labem) (2023) Wikipedia (Czech). Available at: https://cs.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lobkovick%C3%A1_hrobka_(Roudnice_nad_Labem) (Accessed: 05 July 2023).
• Lobkowicz Family (2023) Wikipedia. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lobkowicz_family (Accessed: 05 July 2023).
• Maria Josefa von Harrach (2023) Wikipedia (German). Available at: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Josefa_von_Harrach (Accessed: 05 July 2023).

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2023

Josef Johann Adam, Prince of Liechtenstein; Credit – Wikipedia

Josef Johann Adam, Prince of Liechtenstein, who reigned 1721-1732, had four wives.

• Princess Maria Gabriele of Liechtenstein (1692 – 1713) – third cousin and 1st wife of Josef Johann Adam, had one son who died in childhood
• Countess Marianne of Thun-Hohenstein (1698 – 1716) – 2nd wife of Josef Johann Adam, died twenty days after the wedding
• Countess Maria Anna Katharina of Oettingen-Spielberg (1693 – 1729) – 3rd wife of Josef Johann Adam, had five children but only two survived childhood including Johann Nepomuk Karl, Prince of Liechtenstein, Josef Johann Adam’s successor
• Countess Maria Anna Kottulinska von Kottulin (1707 – 1788) – 4th wife of Josef Johann Adam, had two children who died in childhood

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Princess Maria Gabriele of Liechtenstein was the third cousin of Josef Johann Adam, Prince of Liechtenstein. Born on July 12, 1692, in Vienna, Archduchy of Austria, now in Austria, she was the seventh of the eleven children and the fourth of the seven daughters of Hans-Adam I, the sovereign Prince of Liechtenstein who reigned 1684 – 1712 and his first cousin Princess Erdmuthe Maria Theresia of Dietrichstein-Nikolsburg. Maria Gabriele’s paternal grandparents were Karl Eusebius, Prince of Liechtenstein and Johanna Beatrix of Dietrichstein. Her maternal grandparents were Ferdinand Joseph, 3rd Prince of Dietrichstein and Princess Marie Elisabeth of Eggenberg.

Maria Gabriele had ten siblings:

• A son (born and died 1682)
• Princess Maria Elisabeth of Liechtenstein (1683 – 1744), Leopold, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Wiesenburg, had five children
• Karl Josef Wenzel, Hereditary Prince of Liechtenstein (1684 – 1704), died at age 20
• Princess Maria Antonia of Liechtenstein (1687 – 1750), married (1) Markus Anton Adam, Count Czobor de Czoborszentmihály, had two children (2) Karl, Count Hrzán of Harras
• Princess Maria Anna of Liechtenstein (1687 – 1750)
• Franz Dominik, Hereditary Prince of Liechtenstein (1689 – 1711), died at age 22
• Princess Maria Theresia of Liechtenstein (1694 – 1772), married Emmanuele Tomasso of Savoy-Carignano, Count of Soissons, had one son
• Princess Maria Margaretha of Liechtenstein (1697 – 1702), died in childhood
• Princess Maria Dominika of Liechtenstein (1698 – 1724), married Heinrich Joseph Johann, Prince of Auersperg, had three children
• Prince Johann Baptist of Liechtenstein (born and died 1700)

On December 1, 1712, in Vienna, twenty-year-old Maria Gabriele married twenty-two-year-old Josef Johann Adam, who became the sovereign Prince of Liechtenstein in 1721, after Maria Gabriele’s death. Sadly, after only eleven months of marriage, Maria Gabriele, aged twenty-one, died due to childbirth complications on November 7, 1713, while giving birth to her only child Prince Karl Anton of Liechtenstein who died in 1715. She was buried in the Old Crypt at the Church of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary in Vranov, Moravia, now in the Czech Republic.

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Born on November 27, 1698, Countess Marianne von Thun-Hohenstein was the only child of Johann Maximilian, Count von Thun-Hohenstein and Countess Maria Theresia Countess of Sternberg. On February 3, 1716, seventeen-year-old Marianne married the widowed Prince Josef Johann Adam. The marriage did not even last a month. Three weeks after the marriage, on February 23, 1716, Marianne died in Vienna and was buried in the Old Crypt at the Church of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary in Vranov, Moravia, now in the Czech Republic.

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Maria Anna Katharina of Oettingen-Spielberg; Credit – Wikipedia

Countess Maria Anna Katharina of Oettingen-Spielberg was born on September 21, 1693 in Vienna. She was the eldest of seven children and the eldest of the five daughters of Count Franz Albrecht zu Oettingen-Spielberg and Johanna Margaretha von Schwendt.

Maria Anna had six younger siblings:

• Maria Josepha von Oettingen-Spielberg (1694 – 1738), married Herman Frederik, Count von Hohenzollern-Hechingen, had twelve children
• Marie Friederike von Oettingen-Spielberg (1699 – 1759), married Karl Seyfried, Count von Königsegg-Aulendorf, had three children
• Maria Franziska Luise von Oettingen-Spielberg (1703 – ?), married Joseph Franz von Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, had one son
• Johann Aloys von Oettingen-Spielberg (1707 – 1780), married Theresia Maria Anna von Holstein-Sonderburg, had three children
• Anton Ernst von Oettingen-Spielberg (1712 – 1768), married Maria Theresia von Waldburg zu Trauchburg, had eleven children
• Maria Gertrud von Oettingen-Spielberg (1714 – 1777), married Joseph Maria Wilczek, Baron von Hultschin und Gutenland, had eleven children

On August 3, 1716, in Vienna, Maria Anna married Josef Johann Adam. During his marriage to Maria Anna, on October 11, 1721,  Josef Johann Adam became the reigning Prince of Liechtenstein.

Josef Johann Adam and Maria Anna had five children:

• Princess Maria Eleonore (1717 – 1718), died in infancy
  Prince Joseph Anton of Liechtenstein (1720 – 1723), died in childhood
• Princess Maria Theresia of Liechtenstein (1721 – 1753), married Joseph I Adam, 4th Prince of Schwarzenberg, had nine children
• Johann Nepomuk Karl, Prince of Liechtenstein (1724 – 1748), married Maria Josepha, Countess of Harrach-Rohrau, had three children
• Princess Maria Elisabeth Eleonore (born and died 1728), died on the day of her birth

Maria Anna died on April 15, 1729, at the age of 35, and was buried at the Parish Church of St. Nicholas at Glogów, in Silesia, now in Poland. The church was destroyed in 1945 and the tomb was not preserved.

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Born on May 12, 1707, Countess Maria Anna Kottulinska von Kottulin was the second of the six children and the second of the four daughters of Franz Karl Kottulinsky, Baron von Kottulin and Krzizkowitz and Countess Maria Antonia von Rottal.

Maria Anna had older siblings:

• Maria Josepha Kottulinsky von Kottulin (1709 – 1752), a Carmelite nun in Prague, Kingdom of Bohemia, now in the Czech Republic
• Anna Maria Theresie Kottulinsky von Kottulin (1711 – 1798), married (1) Johann Carl von Chotek, had one son (2) Joseph de Broune, Count von Hautois, no children
• Count Franz Karl Kottulinsky von Kottulin und Kržizkowitz, Baron auf Krzischkowitz (1712 – 1772), married (1) Maria Theresia von und zu Trauttmansdorff-Weinsberg, had one son (2) Marie Eleonore von Mansfeld, had two children
• Maria Angelica Kottulinsky von Kottulin (1714 – 1786), married Johann Joseph David Graf von Lodron zu Fürth, no children
• Maria Antonia Constance Kottulinsky von Kotulina (1715 -1787), married Johann Maria Graf von Wilczek, had three children
• Johann Christoph Kottulinsky von Kotulin und Kržizkowitz (1718 – ?)

Maria Anna and Josef Johann Adam were married on August 22, 1729, in Vaduz, Liechtenstein. They had two children who died in infancy:

• Prince Anton Thomas of Liechtenstein (1730 – 1731)
• Princess Maria Anna of Liechtenstein (1733 – 1734), born after her father’s death, died in infancy

Josef Johann Adam died, aged 42, on December 17, 1732, in Valtice, Kingdom of Bohemia, now in the Czech Republic, and was buried in the Old Crypt at Chuch of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary in Vranov, Moravia, now in the Czech Republic. After Josef Johann Adam died in 1732, Maria Anna married Count Ludwig Ferdinand von Schulenburg-Oeynhausen. Maria Anna, aged 80, died on February 6, 1788, in Vienna, Austria. She was buried at the Mariabrunn Pilgrimage Church (link in German) in Vienna, Austria but her tomb has not been preserved.

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This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Works Cited

• Anna Katharina Reichsgräfin zu Oettingen-Spielberg, Fürstin V. U. Z. Liechtenstein (2018) geni_family_tree. Available at: https://www.geni.com/people/Anna-Katharina-Reichsgr%C3%A4fin-zu-Oettingen-Spielberg-F%C3%BCrstin-v-u-z-Liechtenstein/6000000017244058524 (Accessed: 28 June 2023).
• Century: 18th century. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://fuerstenhaus.li/en/die-biographien-aller-fuersten/18-century/
• Flantzer, S. (2021) Josef Johann Adam, Prince of Liechtenstein, Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/josef-johann-adam-prince-of-liechtenstein/ (Accessed: 28 June 2023).
• Flantzer, Susan. (2021) Karl Eusebius, Prince of Liechtenstein, Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/karl-eusebius-prince-of-liechtenstein/ (Accessed: 28 June 2023).
• Gabriele von Liechtenstein (2021) Wikipedia (German). Available at: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gabriele_von_Liechtenstein (Accessed: 28 June 2023).
• Gabriela Z lichtenštejna (2022) Wikipedia (Czech). Available at: https://cs.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gabriela_z_Lichten%C5%A1tejna (Accessed: 28 June 2023).
• Maria Anna (Marianna*) Gräfin von Schulenburg-Oeynhausen (2018) geni_family_tree. Available at: https://www.geni.com/people/Maria-Anna-Marianna-Gr%C3%A4fin-von-Schulenburg-Oeynhausen/6000000016223167180 (Accessed: 28 June 2023).
• Maria Anna von Kottulinsky (2021) Wikipedia (German). Available at: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Anna_von_Kottulinsky (Accessed: 28 June 2023).
• Maria Anna von Oettingen-Spielberg (2023) Wikipedia (German). Available at: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Anna_von_Oettingen-Spielberg (Accessed: 28 June 2023).
• Maria Anna von Thun und Hohenstein (2022) Wikipedia (German). Available at: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Anna_von_Thun_und_Hohenstein (Accessed: 28 June 2023).
• Marie Anna Z Thun-Hohensteinu (2022) Wikipedia (Czech). Available at: https://cs.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marie_Anna_z_Thun-Hohensteinu (Accessed: 28 June 2023).

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2023

Eleonore Barbara Catharina von Thun-Hohenstein, Princess of Liechtestein; Credit – Wikipedia

Countess Eleonore Barbara Catharina von Thun-Hohenstein was the wife of Anton Florian, Prince of Liechtenstein. Born on May 4, 1661, in Prague, Kingdom of Bohemia, now in the Czech Republic, she was the elder of the two children, both daughters, of Count Michael Oswald von Thun-Hohenstein, a chamberlain and advisor at the imperial court of the Holy Roman Empire, and Countess Elisabeth von Lodron. Eleonore Barbara’s paternal grandparents were Count Johann Sigmund von Thun-Hohenstein and Anna Margaretha von Wolkenstein. Her maternal grandparents were Christoph von Lodron and Katharina von Spaur-Flavon.

Eleonore Barbara had one sister:

• Maria Magdalena von Thun-Hohenstein (? – 1708), married Ferenc Joszef Serényi de Kisserény, no children

Anton Florian, Prince of Liechtenstein; Credit – Wikipedia

On October 15, 1679, Eleonore Barbara married Anton Florian, the future sovereign Prince of Liechtenstein, 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, the first Prince of Liechtenstein. In 1676, at the age of twenty, Anton Florian 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.

Eleonore Barbara and Anton Florian 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 Antonie 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 ten children

Eleonore Barbara accompanied her husband Anton Florian on his diplomatic and political missions throughout the Holy Roman Empire and Western Europe. 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 but he was not very popular with the family, 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 reigning Prince of Liechtenstein making Eleonore Barbara the Princess Consort.

The Pauline Church in Vienna, where Eleonore Barbara was buried; Credit – Di Ricardalovesmonuments – Opera propria, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=69117322

After a reign of only three years, Eleonore Barbara’s husband 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. 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 (link in German) in Vienna, Austria where her daughter Anna Maria who married her first cousin Josef Wenzel I, Prince of Liechtenstein, would later be buried. The crypt no longer exists and the tombs were not preserved.

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Works Cited

• “Century: 18. Jahrhundert.” Das Fürstenhaus Von Liechtenstein, https://fuerstenhaus.li/die-biographien-aller-fuersten/18-jahrhundert/.
• Eleonore Barbara von Thun und Hohenstein (2023) Wikipedia. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eleonore_Barbara_von_Thun_und_Hohenstein (Accessed: 26 June 2023).
• Flantzer, Susan. (2021) Anton Florian, Prince of Liechtenstein, Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/anton-florian-prince-of-liechtenstein/ (Accessed: 26 June 2023).
• Michael Oswald, Graf von Thun und Hohenstein (2016) geni_family_tree. Available at: https://www.geni.com/people/Michael-Oswald-Graf-von-Thun-und-Hohenstein/6000000015494997120 (Accessed: 26 June 2023).
• Wikimedia Foundation. (2023). Anton Florian (Liechtenstein). Wikipedia. Retrieved from https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anton_Florian_(Liechtenstein)
• Wikimedia Foundation. (2023). Anton Florian, Prince of Liechtenstein. Wikipedia. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anton_Florian,_Prince_of_Liechtenstein.

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2023

Anna Maria of Liechtenstein, Princess of Liechtenstein; Credit – Wikipedia

Princess Anna Maria Antonie of Liechtenstein was the first cousin and wife of Josef Wenzel I, Prince of Liechtenstein. Born on September 11, 1699, in Vienna, then in the Archduchy of Austria, Anna Maria was the tenth of the eleven children and the fifth of the six daughters of the future Anton Florian, Prince of Liechtenstein (reigned 1718 – 1721) and Countess Eleonore von Thun-Hohenstein. Her paternal grandparents were Prince Hartmann of Liechtenstein and Countess Sidonie Elisabeth of Salm-Reifferscheidt. Anna Maria’s maternal grandparents were Count Michael Oswald von Thun and Hohenstein, an imperial chamberlain and advisor, and Countess Elisabeth von Lodron.

Anna Maria had ten siblings but only four survived childhood:

• 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
• Maria Eleonore of Liechtenstein (1703 – 1757), married Friedrich August von Harrach-Rohrau, had ten children

Two days before her seventeenth birthday, on September 9, 1716, Anna Maria married her cousin Count Johann Ernst of Thun-Hohenstein, from her mother’s family, the House of Thun-Hohenstein, a family from the Austrian and Bohemian nobility. Six months later, on March 20, 1717, Johann Ernst died at the age of twenty-three.

On June 16, 1712, Hans-Adam I, Prince of Liechtenstein died. Hans-Adam I had no sons and so the actual heir was his uncle Anton Florian, Anna Maria’s father, but he was not very popular with the family. Instead, Hans-Adam I had chosen his distant cousin Prince Josef Wenzel, the son of Prince Philip Erasmus of Liechtenstein and the great-grandnephew of Karl I, Prince of Liechtenstein, as his successor.

Anna Maria’s second husband Josef Wenzel, Prince of Liechtenstein; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1718, after negotiations with his uncle Anton Florian, Josef Wenzel decided to hand over the Principality of Liechtenstein in exchange for the Dominion of Rumburk. Anton Florian became Prince of Liechtenstein and Josef Wenzel concentrated on his military career. As part of the negotiations with Anton Florian, Josef Wenzel married Princess Anna Maria of Liechtenstein, his first cousin and Anton Florian’s daughter, on April 19, 1718.

Anna Maria and Josef Wenzel had five children who all died in childhood:

• Prince Philipp Anton of Liechtenstein (1719 – 1723)
• Prince Philipp Anton of Liechtenstein (born and died 1720)
• Prince Philipp Ernst of Liechtenstein (1722 – 1723)
• Princess Maria Elisabeth of Liechtenstein (born and died 1724)
• Princess Marie Alexandra of Liechtenstein (born and died 1727)

Anna Maria’s husband, Josef Wenzel had a successful military career in the Imperial Army of the Holy Roman Empire. He also served as a diplomat for Holy Roman Emperor Karl VI from 1735 – 1740, as envoy to the Prussian court in Berlin and the French court in Paris.

After a three-year reign, Anna Maria’s father Anton Florian, Prince of Liechtenstein died in 1721 and was succeeded by his son and Anna Maria’s brother Josef Johann Adam, Prince of Liechtenstein. In 1732, Josef Johann Adam died and was succeeded by his eight-year-old son Johann Nepomuk Karl. Anna Maria’s husband Josef Wenzel served as regent and guardian of Johann Nepomuk Karl until he reached his majority in 1745. However, Johann Nepomuk Karl died without an heir three years later, and Josef Wenzel and Maria Anna once again became Prince and Princess of Liechtenstein.

The Pauline Church in Vienna, where Anna Maria was buried; Credit – Di Ricardalovesmonuments – Opera propria, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=69117322

Anna Maria predeceased her husband dying on January 20, 1753, in Vienna, Austria, aged 53, and was buried in a crypt at the Pauline Church (link in German) in Vienna, Austria, where her mother had been buried. The crypt no longer exists and the tombs were not preserved. Anna Maria’s husband Josef Wenzel, Prince of Liechtenstein survived her by nineteen years, dying on February 10, 1772, aged 75, in Vienna Austria. He was buried in the Old Crypt at Chuch of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary in Vranov, Moravia, now in the Czech Republic. With no surviving sons, Josef Wenzel was succeeded by his nephew, the son of his brother Prince Emmanuel, as Franz Josef I, Prince of Liechtenstein.

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Works Cited

• Anna Maria von Liechtenstein (2023) Wikipedia (German). Available at: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anna_Maria_von_Liechtenstein (Accessed: 22 June 2023).
• Flantzer, Susan. (2021) Anton Florian, Prince of Liechtenstein, Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/anton-florian-prince-of-liechtenstein/ (Accessed: 22 June 2023).
• Flantzer, Susan, (2021) Josef Wenzel I, Prince of Liechtenstein, Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/josef-wenzel-i-prince-of-liechtenstein/ (Accessed: 22 June 2023).

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2023

Erdmuthe of Dietrichstein, Princess of Liechtenstein; Credit – Wikipedia

Princess Erdmuthe Maria Theresia of Dietrichstein was the wife of her first cousin Hans-Adam I, Prince of Liechtenstein. She was born on April 17, 1662, probably either in Vienna, then in the Duchy of Austria, or in Nikolsburg, then in the Principality of Dietrichstein-Nikolsburg, now the city of Mikulov in the Czech Republic. Erdmuthe was the fifth of the twenty children and the third but the eldest surviving of the ten daughters of Ferdinand Joseph, 3rd Prince of Dietrichstein-Nikolsburg and Princess Marie Elisabeth of Eggenberg. Like all his ancestors, Erdmuthe’s father Ferdinand Joseph was in the service of the House of Habsburg. He was appointed Chamberlain of Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor and a member of the Privy Council. Erdmuthe’s paternal grandparents were Maximilian, 2nd Prince of Dietrichstein and his first wife Princess Anna Maria Franziska of Liechtenstein, a daughter of Karl I, Prince of Liechtenstein. Her maternal grandparents were Johann Anton I, Prince of Eggenberg and Anna Maria of Brandenburg-Bayreuth (link in German).

Erdmuthe had nineteen siblings but only four survived childhood:

• Anna Maria of Dietrichstein (1657 – 1659), died in early childhood
• Sigmund Franz of Dietrichstein (1658 – 1667), died in early childhood
• Sophia Barbara of Dietrichstein (born and died 1659), died in infancy
• Leopold Ignaz Joseph, 4th Prince of Dietrichstein (1660 – 1708), married Maria Godofreda Dorothea of Salm, had two daughters
• Karl Joseph of Dietrichstein (1663 – 1693), married Countess Elisabeth Helena of Herberstein, no children
• Walther Franz Xaver Anton, 5th Prince of Dietrichstein (1664 – 1738), married (1) Zuzana Liborie Katerina Praksická ze Zástri, no children (2) Countess Karolina Maximiliana of Proskau, had ten children but only five survive childhood
• Franziska of Dietrichstein (born and died 1665)
• Maximilian of Dietrichstein (born and died 1666)
• Margarete of Dietrichstein (1667 – 1682), died in her teens
• Maria Aloysia of Dietrichstein (1668 – 1673), died in childhood
• Wenzel Dominik Lucas of Dietrichstein (1670 – 1673), died in early childhood
• Christian of Dietrichstein (born and died 1672)
• Claudia Felizitas Josepha of Dietrichstein (1674 – 1682), died in childhood
• Maria Josepha Antonia Cajetana Rosa of Dietrichstein (born and died 1675)
• Ferdinand of Dietrichstein (born and died 1676)
• Maria Charlotte Anna of Dietrichstein (1677 – 1682), died in childhood
• Jakob Anton of Dietrichstein (1678 – 1721), married (1) Countess Maria Carolina of Wolfsthal, died in childbirth had two children (2) Countess Maria Francisca Sophia of Starhemberg, had five children
• Raimund Joseph of Dietrichstein (1679 – 1682), died in early childhood
• Dominica Maria Anna of Dietrichstein (1685 – 1694), died in childhood

At the age of fourteen, Erdmuthe began to serve as a lady-in-waiting to Eleonor Magdalene of Neuburg, Holy Roman Empress, the third wife of Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor. Erdmuthe always held a higher rank than other ladies-in-waiting. After she married, as was customary, Erdmuthe retired from her position as lady-in-waiting. However, she continued to have full access to the imperial court and also retained the privilege of being able to enter the bedroom of the empress.

Erdmunthe’s husband Hans-Adam; Credit – Wikipedia

On February 16, 1681, in Vienna, Austria, nineteen-year-old Erdmuthe married her nineteen-year-old first cousin Hans-Adam, heir to the Principality of Liechtenstein, the son of Karl Eusebius, Prince of Liechtenstein and Edrmuthe’s paternal aunt Johanna Beatrix of Dietrichstein.

Erdmuthe and Hans-Adam had eleven children but all their sons predeceased Hans-Adam:

• A son (born and died 1682)
• Princess Maria Elisabeth of Liechtenstein (1683 – 1744), Leopold, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Wiesenburg, had five children
• Karl Josef Wenzel, Hereditary Prince of Liechtenstein (1684 – 1704), died at age 20
• Princess Maria Antonia of Liechtenstein (1687 – 1750), married (1) Markus Anton Adam, Count Czobor de Czoborszentmihály, had two children (2) Karl, Count Hrzán of Harras
• Princess Maria Anna of Liechtenstein (1687 – 1750)
• Franz Dominik, Hereditary Prince of Liechtenstein (1689 – 1711), died at age 22
• Princess Maria Gabriele of Liechtenstein (1692 – 1713), married Joseph Johann Adam, Prince of Liechtenstein, had one son who died in early childhood
• Princess Maria Theresia of Liechtenstein (1694 – 1772), married Emmanuele Tomasso of Savoy-Carignano, Count of Soissons, had one son
• Princess Maria Margaretha of Liechtenstein (1697 – 1702), died in childhood
• Princess Maria Dominika of Liechtenstein (1698 – 1724), married Heinrich Joseph Johann, Prince of Auersperg, had three children
• Prince Johann Baptist of Liechtenstein (born and died 1700)

Twenty-two-year-old Hans-Adam became Prince of Liechtenstein upon the death of his father Karl Eusebius, Prince of Liechtenstein on April 5, 1684. During his twenty-eight-year reign, Hans-Adam I acquired the Lordship of Schellenberg in 1699, and the County of Vaduz in 1712 which would later become part of the present Principality of Liechtenstein (not formally established until 1719). Unlike his predecessors, Hans-Adam did not accept any position with the Imperial Court. He reorganized the administration of his principality and the personal finances of the princely family.

Like his father, Hans-Adam I had a great interest in art. He increased the size of the family art collection started by his father Karl Eusebius by purchasing works by Peter Paul Rubens and Anthony van Dyck and other artists. Hans-Adam also had a reputation as a master builder. Among his buildings were two grand palaces in Vienna, Liechtenstein City Palace, still used as a residence by the princely family, and the Liechtenstein Garden Palace. which is now a museum, the home to part of the private art collection of the Princely House of Liechtenstein, one of the largest private collections in the world.

Erdmuthe’s husband Hans-Adam I, Prince of Liechtenstein died in Vienna, Austria on June 16, 1712, at the age of 49. He was buried in the Old Crypt at Chuch of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary in Brno, Moravia, now Vranov, Czech Republic. Because Hans-Adam had no surviving sons, he had chosen his distant cousin Prince Joseph Wenzel, the great-grandnephew of Karl I, Prince of Liechtenstein, even though he was not next in line. The actual heir was his uncle Anton Florian but he was not very popular with the family. Anton Florian later did become Prince of Liechtenstein.

According to the marriage contract, as the widow of Hans-Adam I, Erdmuthe received the estate in Plumlov, originally in Moravia, now in the Czech Republic. The estate was acquired in 1590 by the House of Liechtenstein which owned it until 1931. Erdmuthe also received a lump sum of 25,000 guilders, and rooms in the Liechtenstein Palace (link in German) in Vienna which was demolished in 1913. Erdmuthe spent most of her time in Vienna and in Judenau-Baumgarten, which was owned by the House of Liechtenstein and where Erdmuthe founded a hospital. She devoted herself to philanthropic activities, including providing shelters for the poor.

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

Erdmuthe survived her husband by twenty-five years, dying on March 16, 1737, in Vienna, Austria at the age of 84. She was buried with her husband in the Old Crypt at Chuch of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary in Brno, Moravia, now Vranov, Czech Republic.

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Works Cited

• Erdmuthe di Dietrichstein-Nikolsburg (2023) Wikipedia (Italian). Available at: https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erdmuthe_di_Dietrichstein-Nikolsburg (Accessed: 20 June 2023).
• Erdmunda Tereza Z Ditrichštejna (no date) Wikipedia (Czech). Available at: https://cs.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erdmunda_Tereza_z_Ditrich%C5%A1tejna#Extern%C3%AD_odkazy (Accessed: 20 June 2023).
• Erdmuthe Maria Theresia of Dietrichstein (2023) Wikipedia. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erdmuthe_Maria_Theresia_of_Dietrichstein (Accessed: 20 June 2023).
• Ferdinand Joseph, Prince of Dietrichstein (2023) Wikipedia. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferdinand_Joseph,_Prince_of_Dietrichstein (Accessed: 20 June 2023).
• Flantzer, Susan. (2021) Hans-Adam I, Prince of Liechtenstein, Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/hans-adam-i-prince-of-liechtenstein/ (Accessed: 20 June 2023).
• Louda, Jiri and MacLagan, Michael, 2002. Lines of Succession. New York: Barnes and Noble.
• Princely House of Liechtenstein. 2023. Biographies of all Reigning Princes – 17th century. [online] Available at: <https://fuerstenhaus.li/en/die-biographien-aller-fuersten/17-century/> [Accessed 20 June 2023].

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2023

Coat of Arms of the Princes of Dietrichstein; Credit – Wikipedia

Princess Johanna Beatrix of Dietrichstein was the wife of her maternal uncle Karl Eusebius, Prince of Liechtenstein. Born circa 1625 in Vienna, Archduchy of Austria, now in Austria, she was the fifth of the eleven children and the fourth of the seven daughters of Maximilian, 2nd Prince of Dietrichstein, Baron of Hollenburg, Finkenstein, and Thalberg and his first wife Princess Anna Maria of Liechtenstein. Johanna Beatrix’s paternal grandparents were Siegmund II, Count of Dietrichstein, Baron of Hollenburg, Finkenstein and Thalberg and his second wife Johanna von der Leiter Baroness von der Leytter zu Behrn und Vicenz auf Amerang. Her maternal grandparents were Karl I, Prince of Liechtenstein and Baroness Anna Maria von Boskowitz and Černahora.

Johanna Beatrix had ten siblings:

• Marianna Cäcilia of Dietrichstein (born and died 1619), died in infancy
• Anna Franziska von Dietrichstein (1621 – 1685), married Imperial Field Marshal Count Walter Leslie, no children
• Franz Anton of Dietrichstein (born and died 1622), died in infancy
• Marie Eleonore of Dietrichstein (1623 – 1687), married (1) Count Lév Vilém Kaunitz, had one son (2) Count Frederick Leopold of Oppersdorf, no children
• Maria Klara of Dietrichstein (1626 – 1667), married Count Johann Friedrich of Trauttmansdorff, Baron of Gleichenberg, had six children
• Ferdinand Joseph 3rd Prince of Dietrichstein (1636 – 1698), married Princess Maria Elisabeth of Eggenberg, had twenty children but only five survived childhood
• Maria Margareta Josefa of Dietrichstein (1637 – 1676), married Prince Raimondo Montecuccoli, Duke of Melfi, had four children
• Maximilian Andreas of Dietrichstein (1638 – 1692), married Countess Maria Justina of Schwarzenberg, had twelve children but only five survived childhood
• Maria Theresia of Dietrichstein (1639 – 1658), married Karl Adam, Count of Mansfeld-Vorderort-Bornstädt, no children
• Karl of Dietrichstein (born and died 1639), died in infancy

Johanna Beatrix had six half-siblings from her father’s second marriage to Countess Sophie Agnes Mansfeld-Vorderort-Bornstädt:

• Maria Josepha of Dietrichstein (1641 – 1676)
• Franz Anton of Dietrichstein (1643 – 1721), unmarried, a Jesuit priest
• Joseph Ignaz of Dietrichstein (born and died 1644), died in infancy
• Philipp Sigmund of Dietrichstein (1651 – 1716), married (1) Baroness Marie Elisabeth Hofmann of Grünbühel-Strechau (2) Baroness Dorothea Josepha Jankovský z Vlašimi, no children
• Maria Rosina Sophia of Dietrichstein (1652 – 1711), married (1) Count Franz Eusebius of Pötting, had three children, all died in infancy (2) Count Václav Ferdinand of Lobkowicz, had five children
• Maria Charlotte of Dietrichstein (1655 – 1682)

Like his ancestors, Johanna Beatrix’s father Maximilian, 2nd Prince of Dietrichstein was in the service of the House of Habsburg. He served as a diplomat, Lord Chamberlain, Conference Minister, and a Privy Councillor for Holy Roman Emperors Ferdinand II and Ferdinand III. Because of this, Johanna Beatrix and her siblings grew up mostly in Vienna.

Johanna Beatrix’s husband Karl Eusebius, Prince of Liechtenstein; Credit – Wikipedia

On August 6, 1644, nineteen-year-old Johanna Beatrix married her thirty-three-year-old maternal uncle Karl Eusebius, Prince of Liechtenstein, son of Karl I, the first Prince of Liechtenstein and Baroness Anna Maria von Boskowitz and Černahora.

Johanna Beatrix and Karl Eusebius had nine children:

• Princess Eleonora Maria of Liechtenstein (1647 – 1704), married Prince Johann Seyfried von Eggenberg, had seven children
• Princess Anna Maria of Liechtenstein (1648 – 1654), died in childhood
• Princess Maria Theresia of Liechtenstein (1649 – 1716), married James Leslie, 2nd Count Leslie of the Holy Roman Empire (his father was a Scottish lord, Alexander Leslie, 14th Baron of Balquhain, 1st Count of the Holy Roman Empire), had one son
• Princess Johanna Beatrix of Liechtenstein (1650 – 1672), married her second cousin Prince Maximilian of Liechtenstein, had two children
• Prince Franz Dominik Eusebius of Liechtenstein (born and died 1652), died in infancy
• Prince Karl Joseph of Liechtenstein (born and died 1652), died in infancy
• Prince Franz Eusebius Wenzel of Liechtenstein (1654 – 1655), died in infancy
• Princess Cäcilie of Liechtenstein (born and died 1655), died in infancy
• Hans-Adam I, Prince of Liechtenstein (1657–1712), married his first cousin Princess Edmunda Maria Theresia of Dietrichstein, had seven children

Johanna Beatrix’s husband Karl Eusebius, Prince of Liechtenstein began to invest in a personal art collection and he became one of the preeminent Central European art collectors of his time. He laid the foundation for the Liechtenstein Museum, formerly a private art museum in Vienna, Austria. It has not been run as a museum since 2012 and is now called Palais Liechtenstein. The Palais Liechtenstein remains home to part of the private art collection of the Princely House of Liechtenstein, one of the largest private collections in the world, started by Karl Eusebius and is available for visit by booked guided tours.

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

Johanna Beatrix predeceased Karl Eusebius, dying at the age of fifty, on March 26, 1676, in Brno, Moravia, now in the Czech Republic. She was buried in the Old Crypt at Chuch of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary in Vranov, Moravia, now in the Czech Republic. Karl Eusebius survived his wife by eight years, dying at the age of 72, on April 5, 1684. He was also buried in the Old Crypt at Chuch of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary. Karl Eusebius left his son and successor Hans-Adam I, Prince of Liechtenstein a rich inheritance and an extensive collection of artworks that were multiplied by his son and other descendants.

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Works Cited

• Flantzer, Susan. (2021) Karl Eusebius, Prince of Liechtenstein, Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/karl-eusebius-prince-of-liechtenstein/ (Accessed: 17 June 2023).
• Johanna Beatrix von Dietrichstein-Nikolsburg (2023) Wikipedia. Available at: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johanna_Beatrix_von_Dietrichstein-Nikolsburg (Accessed: 17 June 2023).
• Johanna Beatrix of Dietrichstein (2023) Wikipedia. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johanna_Beatrix_of_Dietrichstein (Accessed: 17 June 2023).
• Maximilian, Prince of Dietrichstein (2022) Wikipedia. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maximilian,_Prince_of_Dietrichstein (Accessed: 17 June 2023).
• Maximilian von Dietrichstein (2023) Wikipedia (German). Available at: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maximilian_von_Dietrichstein (Accessed: 17 June 2023).
• Princely House of Liechtenstein. 2023. Biographies of all Reigning Princes – 17th century. [online] Available at: <https://fuerstenhaus.li/en/die-biographien-aller-fuersten/17-century/> [Accessed 17 June 2023].

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2023

Anna Maria von Boskowitz and Černahora, Princess of Liechtenstein; Credit – Wikipedia

Baroness Anna Maria von Boskowitz and Černahora was the wife of Karl I, the first Prince of Liechtenstein and the founder of the Princely Family of Liechtenstein. Born in 1575 in Vienna, then in the Archduchy of Austria, she was the elder of the two daughters of Baron Johann von Boskowitz and Černahora and Baroness Anna von Kraigk, both members of Moravian noble families.

Boskovic Castle, inherited by Anna Maria and her sister Katharina upon their father’s death; Credit – By Mardoko – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=35303874

Anna Maria had one sister. When their father died in 1597, Anna Maria and her sister Katharina inherited their father’s lands, including Boskovic Castle, because he had no male heirs.

• Katharina von Boskowitz and Černahora (1579 – 1637), married Maximilian of Liechtenstein, brother of Anna Maria’s husband, Karl I, Prince of Liechtenstein, no children

Anna Maria’s husband Karl I, Prince of Liechtenstein; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1590, Anna Maria married Baron Karl von Liechtenstein, a Moravian nobleman and the son of Hartmann II, Baron of Liechtenstein and Countess Anna Maria of Ortenburg, and the future first Sovereign Prince of Liechtenstein

Anna Maria and Karl had four children:

• Princess Anna Maria Franziska of Liechtenstein (1601 – 1640), married Maximilian, 2nd Prince of Dietrichstein, had eight children
• Princess Franziska Barbara of Liechtenstein (1604 – 1655), married Wenzel Werner of T’Serclaes, Count of Tilly, had nine children
• Prince Heinrich of Liechtenstein (died young)
• Karl Eusebius, Prince of Liechtenstein, (1611 – 1684), married his niece Princess Johanna Beatrix of Dietrichstein, had nine children

Through his relationship with the brothers, the childless Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf II and Archduke Matthias of Austria (the future Holy Roman Emperor Matthias), Anna Maria’s husband Karl gained political positions and land, and ultimately became the first Sovereign Prince of Liechtenstein. In 1592, Karl became the treasurer of Archduke Matthias. Karl and his younger brothers, Maximilian, the husband of Anna Maria’s sister,  and Gundakar, had been raised in the Evangelical Lutheran faith, but they all converted to Catholicism in 1599. In 1599, Karl became the chief judge in Moravia. In 1600, Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf II appointed Karl Chief Steward at the Imperial Court in Vienna, Austria. Four years later, Karl was appointed Governor of Moravia.

Besides being the elected Holy Roman Emperor, Rudolf II also held the traditional Habsburg territories as King of Bohemia, King of Hungary, King of Croatia, Archduke of Austria, and Margrave of Moravia. A power struggle developed between the childless Rudolf and his heir and brother Matthias. In April 1608, Matthias besieged the city of Prague and forced his brother Rudolf to negotiate and sign a peace treaty. This resulted in the redistribution of power. Rudolf kept Bohemia, Silesia, and Lusatia while Matthias received Hungary, Austria, and Moravia. Karl of Liechtenstein had supported Matthias in the power struggle. On December 20, 1608, Matthias raised Karl from Baron of Liechtenstein to Fürst of Liechtenstein (Prince), a reigning sovereign ruler or monarch. (Non-reigning descendants of a Fürst are referred to in German as Prinz (prince) or Prinzessin (princess.)

Matthias was elected Holy Roman Emperor upon Rudolf’s death in 1612 and reigned until he died in 1619. In 1614, Holy Roman Emperor Matthias gave Karl another reward, the Duchy of Troppau in Silesia. In November 1620, Karl and his brother Maximilian took lead roles in the imperial victory at the Battle of White Mountain near Prague during the Thirty Years War. In 1622, Karl was appointed governor and then Viceroy of the Kingdom of Bohemia.

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

Karl’s younger brother Maximilian and his wife Katharina, Anna Maria’s sister, founded a Pauline monastery and had the Church of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary built on the monastery grounds in the village of Vranov, then in Moravia, now in the Czech Republic. A crypt in the church served as the burial site for members of the House of Liechtenstein. When more room was needed for burials another crypt was built and the church then had the Old Crypt and the New Crypt.

Anna Maria died at the age of 50, on June 6, 1625, in Plumov, Moravia, now in the Czech Republic. She was buried in the Old Crypt at the Church of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary. Karl survived his wife by nearly two years, dying on February 12, 1627, aged 57, at the Liechtenstein Palace (link in German) on Lesser Town Square in Prague, Kingdom of Bohemia, now in the Czech Republic. He was also buried in the Old Crypt at the Church of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary.

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Works Cited

• Anna Maria Semberová of Boskovice and Cerná Hora (2023) Wikipedia. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anna_Maria_%C5%A0emberov%C3%A1_of_Boskovice_and_%C4%8Cern%C3%A1_Hora (Accessed: 15 June 2023).
• Flantzer, Susan, 2021. Karl I, Prince of Liechtenstein. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/karl-i-prince-of-liechtenstein/> [Accessed 15 June 2023].
• Johann Schembera von Czerna-Hora Freiherr von Boskowitz (2022) geni_family_tree. Available at: https://www.geni.com/people/Johann-Schembera-von-Czerna-Hora-Freiherr-von-Boskowitz/6000000015270648137 (Accessed: 15 June 2023).
• Princely House of Liechtenstein. 2023. Biographies of all Reigning Princes – 17th century. [online] Available at: <https://fuerstenhaus.li/en/die-biographien-aller-fuersten/17-century/> [Accessed 15 June 2023].