Prince Franz Karl of Auersperg (born 22 November 1660 in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

; died: 6 November 1713 in

Pischelsdorf am Engelbach Pischelsdorf am Engelbach is a municipality in the district of Braunau am Inn in the Austrian state of Upper Austria. Geography Pischelsdorf lies in the Innviertel The Innviertel (literally German for "Inn Quarter"; officially called the ''Inn ...

), was the third Prince of Auersperg and an

Imperial Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor, or imperialism. Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to: Places United States * Imperial, California * Imperial, Missouri * Imperial, Nebraska * Imperial, Pennsylvania * Imperial, Texa ...

General and from 1705 until his death

Duke of Münsterberg Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ran ...

Life

His parents were Johann Weikhard of Auersperg, Duke of Münsterberg, and Countess Maria Catherine of Losenstein (1635–1691). His brother was Johann Ferdinand, the second Prince of Auersperg. Karl Franz of Auersperg became

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

in the Imperial Army at the age of 20. After the Second Siege of Vienna, he brought the news that the capital had been relieved to Emperor Leopold I. At the

Siege of Bihać The siege of Bihać was a three-year-long siege of the northwestern Bosnian town of Bihać by the Army of the Republika Srpska, the Army of the Republic of Serbian Krajina and Bosniak dissenters led by the Bosniak politician Fikret Abdić du ...

, he had a dispute with Croatian ban (viceroy)

Batthyány The House of Batthyány () is the name of an ancient and distinguished Hungarian Magnate family. Members of this family bear the title Count/Countess ( Graf/Gräfin) Batthyány von Német-Ujvar respectively, while the title of Prince (Fürst) vo ...

, which caused the unsuccessful withdrawal of the troops by Prince Eugene. He caused another failure by disregarding the orders of Prince Eugene during the

Battle of Luzzara The Battle of Luzzara took place in Lombardy on 15 August 1702 during the War of the Spanish Succession, between a combined French and Savoyard army under Louis Joseph, duc de Vendôme, and an Imperial force under Prince Eugene. Conflict in ...

in the Campaign in Italy in 1702. Later in his career, he was at various times

Treasurer A treasurer is the person responsible for running the treasury of an organization. The significant core functions of a corporate treasurer include cash and liquidity management, risk management, and corporate finance. Government The treasury o ...

Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

of the Imperial Army, Governor of

Karlovac Karlovac () is a city in central Croatia. According to the 2011 census, its population was 55,705. Karlovac is the administrative centre of Karlovac County. The city is located on the Zagreb- Rijeka highway and railway line, south-west of Zagre ...

and

Feldzeugmeister ''Feldzeugmeister'' was a historical military rank in some German and the Austro-Hungarian armies, especially in use for the artillery. It was commonly used in the 16th or 17th century, but could even be found at the beginning of the 20th century ...

. In 1705 he succeeded his brother Prince Johann Ferdinand as Duke of Münsterberg, a year later he represented the Emperor at the Silesian Congress of Princes. His son, Prince Heinrich Joseph Johann, succeeded him at the age of sixteen and was one of the longest reigning monarchs in history.

Marriage and issue

Karl Franz of Auersperg married in 1685 Countess Maria Theresa of Rappach (1660–1741). They had six children: * Princess Maria Eleanore of Auersperg (1686–1686) * Prince Franz Anton of Auersperg (1688–1688) * Princess Maria Anna of Auersperg (1690–1725) * Princess Maria Franziska of Auersperg (1691–1725), married to Count Johann Joseph of Breuner * Prince Leopold of Auersperg (1694–1704) *

Heinrich Joseph Johann of Auersperg Heinrich may refer to: People * Heinrich (given name), a given name (including a list of people with the name) * Heinrich (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) *Hetty (given name), a given name (including a list of peo ...

(1697–1783), 4th Prince of Auersperg, married first to Princess Marie Dominka von und zu

Liechtenstein Liechtenstein (), officially the Principality of Liechtenstein (german: link=no, Fürstentum Liechtenstein), is a German-speaking microstate located in the Alps between Austria and Switzerland. Liechtenstein is a semi-constitutional monarchy ...

(1698–1724); married second to Countess Marie Franziska Trautson von Falkenstein (1708–1761)

Footnotes

Franz Karl Dukes of Münsterberg Princes 1660 births 1713 deaths 17th-century German people 18th-century German people {{Germany-noble-stub