Karl I, Prince of Liechtenstein

Karl I
Prince of Liechtenstein
Reign	20 December 1608 – 12 February 1627
Predecessor	None
Successor	Karl Eusebius
Born	(1569-07-30)30 July 1569
Died	12 February 1627(1627-02-12) (aged 57) Prague
Burial	Church of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary, Brno
Spouse	Baroness Anna Maria Šemberová of Boskovice and Černá Hora
House	Liechtenstein
Father	Baron Hartmann II of Liechtenstein
Mother	Countess Anna Maria of Ortenburg

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

Karl was the elder son of Hartmann II, Baron of Liechtenstein (1544–1585) and his wife Countess Anna Maria of Ortenburg (1547–1601). Emperor Rudolf II of the Holy Roman Empire appointed Karl as Chief Intendant, an important position at his court. Karl held this position until 1607. In a dispute over land between Rudolf II and the heir to the throne, Archduke Mathias, Karl sided with Mathias, who made Karl a hereditary prince in 1608, in thanks for Karl's aid.

In 1614, Karl added 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 he was bestowed with the Order of the Golden Fleece.

He gained the Duchy of Troppau on 28 December 1613 and the Silesian Duchy of Jägerndorf on 15 March 1622, along with much confiscated "rebel property", and he commissioned the Ducal hat of Liechtenstein.

He became a Catholic in 1599. In 1605, Karl established the first branch north of the Alps of the Hospitaller Order of Saint 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. He died in Prague.

Marriage and issue

In 1600, Karl married Anna Maria Šemberová, Baroness of Boskovice and Černá Hora and Lady of Aussee (1575–1625). They had at least four children:

• Princess Anna Maria Franziska (7 December 1601 – 26 April 1640), married Prince Maximilian of Dietrichstein-Nikolsburg (1596 – 1655).
• Princess Franziska Barbara (1604–1655), married Wenzel Werner of T'Serclaes, Count of Tilly (1599 – 1653).
• Prince Heinrich (died young).
• Karl Eusebius, Prince of Liechtenstein (11 April 1611 – 5 April 1684).

Ancestry

Family of Karl I, Prince of Liechtenstein

16. Baron Georg V of Liechtenstein 8. Baron Hartmann of Liechtenstein, Lord of Valtice 17. Baroness Agnes of Eckartsau 4. Baron Georg Hartmann of Liechtenstein, Lord of Valtice 18. Bernard, Lord of Mainburg 9. Johanna, Lady of Mainburg 19. Cunigunde, Lady of Pottendorff 2. Baron Hartmann II of Liechtenstein, Lord of Valtice, Lednice and Steyregg 20. Baron Heinrich VII of Liechtenstein 10. Baron Georg VI of Liechtenstein, Lord of Steyregg 21. Countess Agnes of Starhemberg 5. Baroness Susanna of Liechtenstein 22. Wolfgang IV, Baron of Polheim 11. Baroness Magdalena of Polheim 23. Baroness Johanna of Borsselen 1. Karl I, Prince of Liechtenstein 24. Sebastian I, Count of Ortenburg 12. Ulrich II, Count of Ortenburg 25. Baroness Maria of Rohrbach-Neuburg 6. Karl I, Count of Ortenburg 26. Baron Hans of Aichberg-Laberweinting-Söldenau-Reichsdorf 13. Baroness Veronika of Aichberg 27. Baroness Siguna of Kraigk 3. Countess Anna Maria of Ortenburg 28. Count Siegmund of Fraunberg-Haag 14. Leonhard II of Fraunberg, Count of Haag 29. Baroness Margareta of Aichberg 7. Countess Maximiliana of Fraunberg-Haag 30. Friedrich V, Landgrave of Leuchtenberg 15. Landgravine Amalie of Leuchtenberg 31. Countess Dorothea of Rieneck

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