Aloys I (Aloys Josef Johannes Nepomuk Melchior; 14 May 1759 – 24 March 1805) was the

Prince of Liechtenstein The monarchy of Liechtenstein is the constitutional form of government by which a hereditary sovereign reigns as the head of state of Liechtenstein. The current monarch is Prince Hans-Adam II. The House of Liechtenstein, after which the sove ...

from 18 August 1781 until his death in 1805. He was born in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

, the third son of Franz Josef I, Prince of Liechtenstein. Aloys was enlisted in the military as a youth but withdrew due to poor health. His great interest was

forestry Forestry is the science and craft of creating, managing, planting, using, conserving and repairing forests and woodlands for associated resources for human and Natural environment, environmental benefits. Forestry is practiced in plantations and ...

and gardening and had many

tree In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, e.g., including only woody plants with secondary growth, only ...

s from overseas planted around his manors for both economic and aesthetic reasons. He also decorated Eisgrub Park with ornamental buildings. Aloys I supported

mining Mining is the Resource extraction, extraction of valuable geological materials and minerals from the surface of the Earth. Mining is required to obtain most materials that cannot be grown through agriculture, agricultural processes, or feasib ...

operations within his lands in

Moravia Moravia ( ; ) is a historical region in the eastern Czech Republic, roughly encompassing its territory within the Danube River's drainage basin. It is one of three historical Czech lands, with Bohemia and Czech Silesia. The medieval and early ...

in order to raise money. This included the construction of an ironworks at

Olomouc Olomouc (; ) is a city in the Czech Republic. It has about 103,000 inhabitants, making it the Statutory city (Czech Republic), sixth largest city in the country. It is the administrative centre of the Olomouc Region. Located on the Morava (rive ...

. Aloys I also expanded the Liechtenstein library through the purchase of complete collections of books. Aloys I had the architect Joseph Hardtmuth design a new palace in Herrengasse,

. He hired a seasonal theater group and a permanent music group. During his reign, Liechtenstein carried out the last execution in its history when

Barbara Erni Barbara Erni (15 February 1743 – 26 February 1785) was a Liechtenstein woman known for Theft, stealing from Public house#Inns, inns throughout western Europe using a confidence trick. Known in Liechtenstein legend as Golden Boos, Erni was the las ...

was beheaded in

Eschen Eschen (; High Alemannic: ''Escha'') is a municipality in the north of Liechtenstein. It covers an area of , and is one of the five communes in the Unterland electoral district. As of 2024, it has a population of 4,629 inhabitants. Etymolog ...

for theft. He was the 836th

Knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

of the

Order of the Golden Fleece The Distinguished Order of the Golden Fleece (, ) is a Catholic order of chivalry founded in 1430 in Brugge by Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, to celebrate his marriage to Isabella of Portugal, Duchess of Burgundy, Isabella of Portugal. T ...

in Austria. Aloys married Karoline Gräfin von Manderscheid-Blankenheim (14 November 1768, in

Köln Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...

– 11 June 1831, in

) in

Feldsberg Valtice (; ) is a town in Břeclav District in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 3,600 inhabitants. It is known as part of Lednice–Valtice Cultural Landscape, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The historic town centre is ...

on 15 November/16 November 1783. The couple were childless. Following Aloys' death in Vienna, Liechtenstein went to his brother

Johann I Johann I may refer to: * Johann I Josef, Prince of Liechtenstein (1760–1836) * Johann I, Duke of Opava-Ratibor * Johann I, Count Palatine of Simmern * Johann I, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken *John, Elector of Saxony (1468–1532), John the Stea ...

References

External links

Princely House of Liechtenstein
{{Authority control 1759 births 1805 deaths 18th-century princes of Liechtenstein 19th-century princes of Liechtenstein Knights of the Golden Fleece of Austria Liechtenstein princes Princes of Liechtenstein