Josef Wenzel I, Prince of Liechtenstein

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2021

Josef Wenzel I, Prince of Liechtenstein; Credit – Wikipedia

The great-grandnephew of Karl I, Prince of Liechtenstein, Josef Wenzel I, Prince of Liechtenstein reigned from 1712 – 1718, was the Regent of Liechtenstein from 1732 – 1745 and reigned again from 1748 – 1772. Josef Wenzel Lorenz was born in Prague, Kingdom of Bohemia, now in the Czech Republic on August 9, 1696. He was the eldest son of Prince Philipp Erasmus of Liechtenstein (1664 – 1704) and Countess Christina Theresa of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rochefort (1665 – 1730). Josef Wenzel was a great-grandson of Gundakar of Liechtenstein, the brother of Karl I, Prince of Liechtenstein. Josef Wenzel’s father Philipp Erasmus was a Field Marshal in the Imperial Army of the Holy Roman Empire. He was killed during a skirmish with French troops at Castelnuovo in Lombardy, now in Italy, on January 9, 1704, when Josef Wenzel was seven years old.

Josef Wenzel had two younger brothers:

On June 16, 1712, Josef Wenzel’s second cousin once removed, Hans-Adam I, Prince of Liechtenstein, died without a male heir. The heir according to primogeniture was Hans-Adam’s paternal uncle Anton Florian but he was not very popular with the family, and so Hans-Adam I had named Josef Wenzel as his heir. In 1718, after negotiations, Josef Wenzel 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.

Anna Maria Antonie of Liechtenstein, Josef Wenzel’s wife; Credit – Wikipedia

As part of the negotiations with Anton Florian, Josef Wenzel married Princess Anna Maria Antonie of Liechtenstein, his first cousin and Anton Florian’s daughter, on April 19, 1718. She predeceased her husband dying on January 20, 1753, in Vienna, Austria, aged 53, and was buried in a crypt under the Pauline Church in Vienna, Austria. The crypt no longer exists and the tombs were not preserved.

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

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

Josef Wenzel had a successful military career in the Imperial Army of the Holy Roman Empire. With the rank of Lieutenant Colonel, he fought against the Ottoman Turks in the Austro-Turkish War (1716 – 1718). During the War of Polish Succession (1733 – 1735), he was promoted to Lieutenant Field Marshal. In 1745, he was promoted to Field Marshal and given the high command of the Imperial Army in Italy. Eight years later, he was made General Chief Commander in Hungary. Josef Wenzel reorganized the Imperial Army’s artillery, partially financed with his own funds.

Josef Wenzel in the Regalia of the Order of the Golden Fleece which he received in1739; Credit – Wikipedia

Josef Wenzel 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. In 1760, Empress Maria Theresa gave him the honor of escorting Isabella of Bourbon-Parma, the bride of her son the future Holy Roman Emperor Joseph II, from her homeland to Vienna, Austria. His last major political position was in 1764 when he was the principal commissioner for the election and coronation of Holy Roman Emperor Joseph II.

While Josef Wenzel was serving as a diplomat and a military leader, Anton Florian, Prince of Liechtenstein had died in 1721 after only a three-year reign. He was succeeded by his son Josef Johann Adam as Prince of Liechtenstein. In 1732, Josef Johann Adam died and was succeeded by his eight-year-old son Johann Nepomuk Karl. 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 once again became Prince of Liechtenstein.

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

Josef Wenzel, Prince of Liechtenstein died 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.

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Works Cited

  • “Century: 18. Jahrhundert.” Das Fürstenhaus Von Liechtenstein, https://fuerstenhaus.li/die-biographien-aller-fuersten/18-jahrhundert/.
  • “Josef Wenzel (Liechtenstein).” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 3 Oct. 2021, https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josef_Wenzel_(Liechtenstein).
  • “Joseph Wenzel I, Prince of Liechtenstein.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 18 Oct. 2021, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Wenzel_I,_Prince_of_Liechtenstein.
  • “Philipp Erasmus, Prince of Liechtenstein.” geni_family_tree, 24 Aug. 2021, https://www.geni.com/people/Philipp-Erasmus-Prince-of-Liechtenstein/5062362628960061280.
  • “Philippe-Érasme De Liechtenstein.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 10 Sept. 2021, https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philippe-%C3%89rasme_de_Liechtenstein.