''Aloys Wenzel, Prince von Kaunitz-Rietberg (19 June 1774 - 15 November 1848) was a German nobleman and a diplomat of the

Austrian Empire The Austrian Empire (german: link=no, Kaiserthum Oesterreich, modern spelling , ) was a Central-Eastern European multinational great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the realms of the Habsburgs. During its existence, ...

. From the Kaunitz-Rietberg-Questenberg branch of his family, he was the last count of Rietberg, since the county was retained by the

Kingdom of Westphalia The Kingdom of Westphalia was a kingdom in Germany, with a population of 2.6 million, that existed from 1807 to 1813. It included territory in Hesse and other parts of present-day Germany. While formally independent, it was a vassal state of the ...

after the

Congress of Vienna The Congress of Vienna (, ) of 1814–1815 was a series of international diplomatic meetings to discuss and agree upon a possible new layout of the European political and constitutional order after the downfall of the French Emperor Napoleon B ...

. His sister Maria Eleonore (1775-1825) was the first wife of

Klemens von Metternich Klemens Wenzel Nepomuk Lothar, Prince of Metternich-Winneburg zu Beilstein ; german: Klemens Wenzel Nepomuk Lothar Fürst von Metternich-Winneburg zu Beilstein (15 May 1773 – 11 June 1859), known as Klemens von Metternich or Prince Metternic ...

. Born in Vienna, he died in Paris. He served as a diplomat in

Dresden Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label=Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth larg ...

, Copenhagen (1801-1804), Naples (1805-1807), Madrid (1815-1817) and the Holy See (1817-1820). In July 1822 Kaunitz was arrested at his Palace in Vienna and tried after being charged with multiple rapes and pimping. He allegedly had intercourse with hundreds of underage girls mostly members of Vienna Children Ballet. Thanks to his powerful relations he was given just house arrest for a while and then exiled in his estate in Moravia.Susanne Feigl, Christian Lunzer: ''Das Mädchenballett des Fürsten Kaunitz.'' Verlag der Österreichischen Staatsdruckerei, Wien 1988.

Bibliography

* Constantin von Wurzbach: Kaunitz, Alois Wenzel Fürst. In: Biographisches Lexikon des Kaiserthums Oesterreich. 11. Theil. Kaiserlich-königliche Hof- und Staatsdruckerei, Wien 1864, S. 63 * Erwin Matsch: Der Auswärtige Dienst von Österreich(-Ungarn) 1720–1920. Böhlau, Wien/Graz 1986, .

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kaunitz-Rietberg Diplomats from Vienna 1774 births 1848 deaths Ambassadors of Austria to the Holy See Ambassadors of Austria to Spain Austrian people convicted of child sexual abuse Grand Crosses of the Order of Saint Stephen of Hungary Nobility from Vienna