Karl I, Prince of Liechtenstein

Karl I
Prince of Liechtenstein
Reign	20 December 1608 – 12 February 1627
Predecessor	None
Successor	Karl Eusebius
Born	30 July 1569
Died	12 February 1627 (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 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, 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 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 Duchy of Troppau on 28 December 1613 and the Silesian Duchy of Jägerndorf on 15 March 1622 and much confiscated "rebel property", and he commissioned the Liechtenstein dukedom.^[1]

Became a Catholic in 1599. 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. He died in Prague.

Marriage and issue

In 1590, Karl married Anna Maria Šemberová, Baroness of Boskovice and Černá Hora and Lady of Aussee (1575–1625).^[2] They had at least four children:

• Princess Anna Maria Franziska (7 December 1597 – 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).^[3]
• Prince Heinrich (died young).
• Karl Eusebius, Prince of Liechtenstein (11 April 1611 – 5 April 1684).^[4]

Ancestry

Ancestors 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

1. Genealogy
2. Princely Family of Liechtenstein
3. Genealogie on line
4. Princely House of Liechtenstein

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