Countess Karoline von Manderscheid-Blankenheim, Princess of Liechtenstein

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2022

Karoline von Manderscheid-Blankenheim, Princess of Liechtenstein, as Iris, Greek goddess of the rainbow by Élisabeth Vigée-Lebrun,1793; Credit – Wikipedia

Countess Karoline von Manderscheid-Blankenheim was the wife of Alois I, Prince of Liechtenstein. Karoline Felicitas Engelberte was born on November 13, 1768, in Cologne, a Free Imperial City, a self-ruling state within the Holy Roman Empire, now in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. She was the second of the three daughters of Count Johann Wilhelm von Manderscheid-Blankenheim (1708 – 1772) and his third wife Countess Johanna Maximiliana Franziska von Limburg-Stirum (1744 – 1772). During this era, there were many men who were given the title Reichsgraf (Imperial Count) from the Holy Roman Emperor whether or not they reigned over a county. They were commonly styled Graf (Count). Their wives were styled Gräfin (Countess) and their children were styled Graf (Count) and Gräfin (Countess).

Karoline had one elder sister and one younger sister:

  • Countess Maria Christina von Manderscheid-Blankenheim (1767 – 1811), married Count Johann Ernst von Königsegg-Aulendorf, had one son
  • Countess Franziska Wilhelmina von Manderscheid-Blankenheim (1770 – 1789), married Prince Ludwig Aloys III of Hohenlohe-Bartenstein, had one son

Karoline’s father first married Countess Maria Franziska von Manderscheid-Kail (1723 – 1739) who died childless at the age of sixteen. Karoline had two half-sisters from her father’s second marriage to Princess Luise of Salm-Salm (1725 – 1764):

  • Countess Auguste von Manderscheid-Blankenheim (1744 – 1811), married Count Philipp Christian von Sternberg, had ten children
  • Countess Johanna Felicitas von Manderscheid-Blankenheim (1753 – 1828), married Johann Franz Joseph von Nesselrode (1755 – 1824), had eight children

Alois I, Prince of Liechtenstein; Credit – Wikipedia

On November 16, 1783, Karoline married Alois I, Prince of Liechtenstein. Their marriage was childless.

Karoline had a long-term relationship with Franz von Langendonck, a captain in the Imperial Austrian Army. Karoline and Franz had two children:

  • Daughter, no information
  • Vicomte Charles Louis de Fribert (1793 – 1874), married Almeira Maria Esterházy de Galántha; it appears they had no children but Almeira had children from a previous marriage to Sir Albert Joseph Ghislain Murray, 4th Baronet

Karoline’s husband Alois I, Prince of Liechtenstein died on March 24, 1805, aged 45, in Vienna, Austria. Because he had no male heir, Alois was succeeded by his brother Johann I Josef, Prince of Liechtenstein. Karoline spent the rest of her life mainly in Vienna, Austria. She survived her husband by twenty-six years, dying on March 1, 1831, at the age of 62 in Vienna, Austria. She was buried in the Hietzing Cemetery (link in German) in Vienna.

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

  • De.wikipedia.org. 2021. Karoline von Manderscheid-Blankenheim – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karoline_von_Manderscheid-Blankenheim> [Accessed 6 December 2021].
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2021. Karoline von Manderscheid-Blankenheim – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karoline_von_Manderscheid-Blankenheim> [Accessed 6 December 2021].
  • Flantzer, Susan, 2022. Alois I, Prince of Liechtenstein. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/alois-i-prince-of-liechtenstein/> [Accessed 6 December 2021].
  • geni_family_tree. 2021. Graf Johann Wilhelm von Manderscheid-Blankenheim, Graf. [online] Available at: <https://www.geni.com/people/Graf-Johann-Wilhelm-von-Manderscheid-Blankenheim-Graf/6000000002188461979> [Accessed 6 December 2021].
  • Ru.wikipedia.org. 2021. Мандершейд-Бланкенхайм, Каролина — Википедия. [online] Available at: <https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9C%D0%B0%D0%BD%D0%B4%D0%B5%D1%80%D1%88%D0%B5%D0%B9%D0%B4-%D0%91%D0%BB%D0%B0%D0%BD%D0%BA%D0%B5%D0%BD%D1%85%D0%B0%D0%B9%D0%BC,_%D0%9A%D0%B0%D1%80%D0%BE%D0%BB%D0%B8%D0%BD%D0%B0> [Accessed 6 December 2021].