Heinrich Franz von Mansfeld, Prince of

Fondi Fondi ( la, Fundi; Southern Laziale: ''Fùnn'') is a city and ''comune'' in the province of Latina, Lazio, central Italy, halfway between Rome and Naples. As of 2017, the city had a population of 39,800. The city has experienced steady population ...

( Bornstedt, November 21, 1640, Vienna, June 18, 1715) was an Austrian diplomat, Field marshal and President of the

Hofkriegsrat The ''Hofkriegsrat'' (or Aulic War Council, sometimes Imperial War Council) established in 1556 was the central military administrative authority of the Habsburg monarchy until 1848 and the predecessor of the Austro-Hungarian Ministry of War. Th ...

Early life

Heinrich Franz came from the powerful

House of Mansfeld The House of Mansfeld was a princely German house, which took its name from the town of Mansfeld in the present-day state of Saxony-Anhalt. Mansfelds were archbishops, generals, supporters as well as opponents of Martin Luther, and Habsburg admini ...

, and was the second son of Count Bruno von Mansfeld (1576-1644) and his second wife, Baroness Maria Magdalena von Törring (1616-1668). Imperial Field marshal Count

Philipp von Mansfeld image:Philipp von Mansfeld.jpg, 250px, Philipp von Mansfeld Philipp von Mansfeld (1589 - 8 April 1657), was Graf von (Count of) Mansfeld, List of castles in Saxony-Anhalt#Mansfeld-S.C3.BCdharz District, Vorderort and Bornstedt, Mansfeld-Südharz, Bo ...

was his uncle.

Biography

He entered the Habsburg service at a young age. After a short military service, he was almost always in court or on diplomatic service. From 1680 to 1682 he was Envoy to the French court and from 1683 to 1690 to the Spanish court. Despite his very limited military experience, he was continuously promoted to higher military ranks and even became a Field marshal in 1689. From 1684 to 1701 he was Obersthofmarschall at the Imperial court in Vienna and in 1701 he was appointed President of the

(Court War Council). In this position he repeatedly clashed with Prince

Eugene of Savoy Prince Eugene Francis of Savoy–Carignano, (18 October 1663 – 21 April 1736) better known as Prince Eugene, was a field marshal in the army of the Holy Roman Empire and of the Austrian Habsburg dynasty during the 17th and 18th centuries. He ...

. In 1703 Mansfeld, who was unpopular with most Army generals, was relieved of this post and replaced by Eugene of Savoy. Until his death he remained as Chief Chamberlain at the Viennese court. In 1690, he accompanied Princess Maria Anna of Pfalz-Neuburg as bride of King

Charles II of Spain Charles II of Spain (''Spanish: Carlos II,'' 6 November 1661 – 1 November 1700), known as the Bewitched (''Spanish: El Hechizado''), was the last Habsburg ruler of the Spanish Empire. Best remembered for his physical disabilities and the War o ...

to her wedding in Valladolid. For this, the Spanish King awarded him the Neapolitan principality of

, the title of Spanish

Grandee Grandee (; es, Grande de España, ) is an official royal and noble ranks, aristocratic title conferred on some Spanish nobility. Holders of this dignity enjoyed similar privileges to those of the peerage of France during the , though in neith ...

and the Spanish

Order of the Golden Fleece The Distinguished Order of the Golden Fleece ( es, Insigne Orden del Toisón de Oro, german: Orden vom Goldenen Vlies) is a Catholic order of chivalry founded in Bruges by Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, in 1430, to celebrate his marriage ...

. The dignity of Imperial Prince granted to him, was confirmed in 1696 and 1709 and made public by Emperor Joseph I in 1711. From 1697, he had

Johann Lukas von Hildebrandt Johann Lukas von Hildebrandt (14 November 1668 – 16 November 1745) was an Austrian baroque architect and military engineer who designed stately buildings and churches and whose work had a profound influence on the architecture of the Habsburg E ...

build a pleasure palace with a garden, which still unfinished, the

Schwarzenberg family The House of Schwarzenberg is a German (Franconian) and Czech ( Bohemian) aristocratic family, and it was one of the most prominent European noble houses. The Schwarzenbergs are members of the German nobility and Czech nobility and they held the ...

acquired after his death. This palace, now known as the

Schwarzenberg Palace Palais Schwarzenberg is a Baroque palace in front of Schwarzenbergplatz, Landstraße, the 3rd district of Vienna, Austria. It is owned by the princely Schwarzenberg family. Construction started in 1697 under the architect Johann Lucas von Hild ...

, became an important Viennese architectural monument.

Marriage and children

In 1679, he married Countess Marie Louise of Aspremont-Lynden, widow of

Charles IV, Duke of Lorraine Charles IV (5 April 1604, Nancy – 18 September 1675, Allenbach) was Duke of Lorraine from 1624 until his death in 1675, with a brief interruption in 1634, when he abdicated under French pressure in favor of his younger brother, Nicholas Franc ...

. They had 2 daughters: * Countess Maria Anna Eleonora von Mansfeld, Princess von Fondi (1680-1724), married firstly to Wilhelm Florentin, Wild und Rheingraf zu

Salm Salm may refer to People * Constance de Salm (1767–1845), poet and miscellaneous writer; through her second marriage, she became Princess of Salm-Dyck * Salm ibn Ziyad, an Umayyad governor of Khurasan and Sijistan * House of Salm, a European ...

(1670-1707); had issue, married secondly to Karl, Count of Colonna von Fels (d. 1713); no issue, married thirdly to Adam Anton Siegfried, Count of Auersperg (1676-1739); had issue. * Countess Maria Eleonore von Mansfeld (1682-1747), married Prince Carl Franz Anton of Mansfeld-Bornstedt (1678-1717); had issue

Sources

Genealogie OnlineADBBLKÖ
*
Säbi
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mansfeld, Heinrich Franz von 1640 births 1715 deaths Heinrich Franz Field marshals of the Holy Roman Empire Austrian diplomats Austrian princes