Karl I, Prince of Liechtenstein

Karl I, Prince of Liechtenstein

Karl I, Prince of Liechtenstein (30 July 1569 – 12 February 1627) was the first Liechtenstein to become the Prince of Liechtenstein, thus he was the founder of the Princely Family of Liechtenstein.

Karl was the elder son of Hartmann II, Prince of Liechtenstein (1544–1585) and his wife Anna Maria of Ortenburg (1547–1601). Emperor Rudolf II of the Holy Roman Empire appointed Karl to Chief Intendant, an important position at his court. Karl held this position until 1607. In a dispute over land between the Emperor and heir to the throne, Archduke Mathias, Karl sided with Mathias who made Karl a hereditary prince in thanks for Karl's aid, in 1608. In 1614 Karl joined the regency of the Duchy of Troppau to his possessions. In thanks for further aid at the Battle of White Mountain, Karl was appointed to the positions of proconsul and vice-regent of Bohemia in 1622 and was bestowed with the Order of the Golden Fleece.

He also gained the Silesian Duchy of Jägerndorf and much confiscated "rebel property", and he commissioned the Liechtenstein dukedom.

In 1605 Karl established the first branch North of the Alps of the Hospitaller Order of St John of God, at Feldsberg in Lower Austria (now Valtice, Czech Republic).

He was the 352nd Knight of the Order of the Golden Fleece in Austria.

Marriage and issue

In 1592, Karl married Anna Maria Schembera Freiin von Czernahora von Boskowicz und Schwarzenberg (1577–1625). They had at least four children:

• Princess Anna Maria (7 December 1597 – 26 April 1640)
• Princess Franziska Barbara (1604–1655)
• Prince Heinrich (died young)
• Karl Eusebius, Prince of Liechtenstein (12 September 1611 – 5 April 1684)

References

• "Karl I, Prince of Liechtenstein", Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (in German), vol. 18, Leipzig: Duncker & Humblot, 1883, p. 614
• Article in the ABD
• Official biography