by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2022
Countess Franziska Kinsky of Wchinitz and Tettau was the wife of Alois II, Prince of Liectenstein who reigned from 1836 – 1858. Born Franziska de Paula Barbara Romana Bernharda on August 8, 1813, in Vienna, Austria, she was the second of the two daugters and the third of the five children of Count Franz de Paula Kinsky of Wchinitz und Tettau (1784 – 1823) and Countess Therese of Wrbna and Freudenthal (1789 – 1874).
Franziska had four siblings:
- Countess Maria Anna Kinsky of Wchinitz and Tettau (1809 – 1892), married Friedrich Wilhelm of Solms-Braunfels, had seven children
- Count Dominik Kinsky of Wchinitz und Tettau (1810 – 1875), unmarried
- Count Rudolf Kinsky of Wchinitz und Tettau, (1815 – 1889), unmarried
- Count Eugene Kinsky of Wchinitz und Tettau, married Maria Zauner (1818 – 1885), had eight children
The Kinsky von Wchinitz und Tettau family was a prominent noble family from the Kingdom of Bohemia, then part of the Austria Empire, now part of the Czech Republic. The family served the Habsburgs during the Holy Roman Empire and the Austrian Empire. Like many of the aristocratic families, the Kinskys were great landowners and patrons of the arts. They resided in the Palais Kinsky in Vienna, Austria, the Kinsky Palace in Prague, Kingdom of Bohemia, the Karlova Koruna Chateau in the Kingdom of Bohemia, and the Burg Heidenreichstein in Lower Austria, Austrian Empire. Franziska’s paternal uncle Ferdinand, 5th Prince Kinsky of Wchinitz and Tettau was an important patron of composer Ludwig van Beethoven and provided him with an annual salary until Beethoven’s death.
On August 8, 1831, in Vienna, Austria, 18-year-old Franziska married 35-year-old Alois, Hereditary Prince of Liechtenstein. Upon the death of his father Johann I Josef, Prince of Liechtenstein on April 20, 1836, Alois became the reigning Prince of Liechtenstein and Franziska became the Princess Consort.
Franziska and Alois had eleven children:
- Princess Marie Franziska de Paula of Liechtenstein (1834 – 1909), married Count Ferdinand von Trauttmansdorff-Weinsberg, had six children
- Princess Carolina Maria of Liechtenstein (1836 – 1885), married Prince Alexander von Schönburg-Hartenstein, had six children
- Princess Sophie of Liechtenstein (1837 – 1899), married as his second wife Karl, 6th Prince of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg, had eight children
- Princess Aloysia of Liechtenstein (1838 – 1920), married Count Heinrich von Fünfkirchen, no children
- Princess Ida Maria of Liechtenstein (1839 – 1921), married Adolf Joseph 8th Prince of Schwarzenberg, had nine children
- Johann II, Prince of Liechtenstein (1840 – 1929), unmarried
- Princess Franziska of Liechtenstein (1841 – 1858), died in her teens
- Princess Henriette of Liechtenstein (1843 – 1931), married her first cousin Prince Alfred of Liechtenstein, had ten children, their son Prince Alois renounced his rights to the succession in favor of his son Franz Joseph II, Prince of Liechtenstein
- Princess Anna Maria of Liechtenstein (1846 – 1924), married Prince Georg Christian of Lobkowicz, had twelve children
- Princess Theresa of Liechtenstein (1850 – 1938), married Prince Arnulf of Bavaria, had one son
- Franz I, Prince of Liechtenstein (1853 – 1938), married Elisabeth von Gutmann (Princess Elsa), no children
Alois II, Prince of Liechtenstein, aged 62, died on November 12, 1858, and was succeeded by his 18-year-old son Johann II, Prince of Liechtenstein. From 1859 – 1860, Johann’s mother Franziska served as regent while her son traveled through Europe, expanding the Liechtenstein art collection and learning about botany, archeology, and geography. Johann, Prince II of Liechtenstein is one of the world’s longest-reigning monarchs – he reigned for 70 years, 91 days. He never married and was succeeded by his brother Franz I, Prince of Liechtenstein.
Franziska founded the first charitable fund for orphans in Liechtenstein and also founded a secondary school for girls, the Haus Gutenberg (link in German) in Balzers, Liechtenstein, which is still in existence. In 1870, she bought the Wartenstein Castle in Raach am Hochgebirge, Austria, and renovated it in the Romantic style. The castle remained in the family until 1957.
Franziska survived her husband by twenty-three years, dying on February 5, 1881, aged 67, in Vienna, Austria. She was buried with her husband in the New Crypt at Chuch of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary in Vranov, Moravia, now in the Czech Republic.
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Works Cited
- De.wikipedia.org. 2021. Franziska Kinsky von Wchinitz und Tettau – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franziska_Kinsky_von_Wchinitz_und_Tettau> [Accessed 17 December 2021].
- En.wikipedia.org. 2021. Countess Franziska Kinsky of Wchinitz and Tettau – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Countess_Franziska_Kinsky_of_Wchinitz_and_Tettau> [Accessed 17 December 2021].
- En.wikipedia.org. 2021. Kinsky – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kinsky> [Accessed 17 December 2021].
- Flantzer, Susan, 2022. Countess Franziska Kinsky of Wchinitz and Tettau, Princess of Liechtenstein. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/alois-ii-prince-of-liechtenstein/> [Accessed 17 December 2021].
- geni_family_tree. 2021. Franz de Paula Joseph Kinsky von Wchinitz und Tettau. [online] Available at: <https://www.geni.com/people/Franz-de-Paula-Joseph-Kinsky-von-Wchinitz-und-Tettau/6000000013492930469> [Accessed 17 December 2021].