Anton Karl Simon Graf von Wolkenstein-Trostburg (2 August 1832 – 5 December 1913) was an Austro-Hungarian diplomat.

Biography

Count Wolkenstein-Trostburg was born in Brunnersdorf (now Prunéřov, part of

Kadaň Kadaň (; german: Kaaden) is a town in Chomutov District in the Ústí nad Labem Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 18,000 inhabitants. It lies on the banks of the river Ohře. Kadaň is a tourist centre with highlights being the Francisca ...

in the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

). Initially in the military, he entered the diplomatic service in 1858 and became Counselor in London in 1870, in Berlin in 1877 and Envoy Extraordinary in Dresden in 1880. In 1881 he became section chief of the trade policy department in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He was involved in the negotiations on the Danube Crisis and in the conclusion of the trade agreements with the German Reich of 1878 and 1881. Finally, in March 1882, he became Austro-Hungarian Ambassador in St. Petersburg, a post he held for 12 years. In October 1894 he became Austro-Hungarian Ambassador in Paris for the next 9 years. He received the Order of the Golden Fleece in 1889. He married in 1886 with

Marie von Schleinitz Marie ("Mimi") Baroness (from 1879: Countess) von Schleinitz (from 1886: Schleinitz-Wolkenstein) (22 January 1842, Rome – 18 May 1912, Berlin) was an influential salonnière of the early German Reich in Berlin and one of the most important suppo ...

(1842–1912), widow of

Alexander von Schleinitz Alexander Gustav Adolf Graf von Schleinitz (born 29 December 1807 in Blankenburg am Harz; died 19 February 1885 in Berlin) was the Foreign Minister of Prussia from 1858 to 1861 and minister for the royal household from late 1861 to his death. Li ...

, and an influential

salonnière A salon is a gathering of people held by an inspiring host. During the gathering they amuse one another and increase their knowledge through conversation. These gatherings often consciously followed Horace's definition of the aims of poetry, "ei ...

in Berlin and one of the most important supporters of

Richard Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, polemicist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most op ...

. In 1903 he retired from the diplomatic service and from then on lived with his wife in Berlin, where she ran a famous literary salon in the Palast Hotel. The couple spent the warm season at Ivano Castle in

Trentino Trentino ( lld, Trentin), officially the Autonomous Province of Trento, is an autonomous province of Italy, in the country's far north. The Trentino and South Tyrol constitute the region of Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol, an autonomous region ...

, where the Count died in 1913, six months before the outbreak of the First World War.

References

Zeno
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wolkenstein-Trostburg, Anton Graf von 1832 births 1913 deaths People from Kadaň Diplomats from Austria-Hungary Austrian diplomats Habsburg Bohemian nobility Knights of the Golden Fleece of Austria Ambassadors of Austria-Hungary to Russia Ambassadors of Austria-Hungary to France