Johann Philipp, Graf von Cobenzl (28 May 1741 – 30 August 1810) was a statesman of the

Habsburg monarchy The Habsburg monarchy (german: Habsburgermonarchie, ), also known as the Danubian monarchy (german: Donaumonarchie, ), or Habsburg Empire (german: Habsburgerreich, ), was the collection of empires, kingdoms, duchies, counties and other polities ...

and 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, ...

Life

Cobenzl was born in

Ljubljana Ljubljana (also known by other historical names) is the capital and largest city of Slovenia. It is the country's cultural, educational, economic, political and administrative center. During antiquity, a Roman city called Emona stood in the ar ...

Carniola Carniola ( sl, Kranjska; , german: Krain; it, Carniola; hu, Krajna) is a historical region that comprised parts of present-day Slovenia. Although as a whole it does not exist anymore, Slovenes living within the former borders of the region sti ...

, the son of treasurer Count Guidobald von Cobenzl (1716–1797) and his wife Countess Maria Benigna von Montrichier (1720–1793). The Cobenzl family, of

Carinthian Carinthia (german: Kärnten ; sl, Koroška ) is the southernmost Austrian state, in the Eastern Alps, and is noted for its mountains and lakes. The main language is German. Its regional dialects belong to the Southern Bavarian group. Carint ...

origin, was elevated to ''

Freiherr (; male, abbreviated as ), (; his wife, abbreviated as , literally "free lord" or "free lady") and (, his unmarried daughters and maiden aunts) are designations used as titles of nobility in the German-speaking areas of the Holy Roman Empire ...

en'' noble rank in 1588 and raised to

Imperial Count Imperial Count (german: Reichsgraf) was a title in the Holy Roman Empire. In the medieval era, it was used exclusively to designate the holder of an imperial county, that is, a fief held directly ( immediately) from the emperor, rather than from ...

s in 1722. His uncle

Johann Karl Philipp von Cobenzl Johann Karl Philipp, Graf von Cobenzl (21 July 1712 in Laibach (now Ljubljana) – 27 January 1770 in Brussels) was an 18th-century politician in the Habsburg monarchy. He was minister plenipotentiary of the Austrian Netherlands in Brussels un ...

was the Habsburg

plenipotentiary A ''plenipotentiary'' (from the Latin ''plenus'' "full" and ''potens'' "powerful") is a diplomat who has full powers—authorization to sign a treaty or convention on behalf of his or her sovereign. When used as a noun more generally, the word ...

in the

Austrian Netherlands The Austrian Netherlands nl, Oostenrijkse Nederlanden; french: Pays-Bas Autrichiens; german: Österreichische Niederlande; la, Belgium Austriacum. was the territory of the Burgundian Circle of the Holy Roman Empire between 1714 and 1797. The p ...

and his cousin

Count Ludwig von Cobenzl Johann Ludwig Joseph, Graf von Cobenzl (21 November 1753 – 22 February 1809) was a diplomat and politician of the Habsburg monarchy. Von Cobenzl was born in Brussels in 1753 as one out of ten children to Count Johann Karl Philipp von Cobenzl ...

(1753–1809) served as Foreign Minister of the Habsburg monarchy from 1801 to 1805. His father Guidobald von Cobenzl lived mostly in

Gorizia Gorizia (; sl, Gorica , colloquially 'old Gorizia' to distinguish it from Nova Gorica; fur, label= Standard Friulian, Gurize, fur, label= Southeastern Friulian, Guriza; vec, label= Bisiacco, Gorisia; german: Görz ; obsolete English ''Gorit ...

, where he was a great supporter of culture and arts. Philipp von Cobenzl grew up in Gorizia and at

Predjama Castle 300px, Predjama Castle Predjama Castle ( sl, Predjamski grad or , German: '' Höhlenburg Lueg'', it, Castel Lueghi) is a Renaissance castle built within a cave mouth in south-central Slovenia, in the historical region of Inner Carniola. It is lo ...

(''Burg Lueg'') near

Postojna Postojna (; german: Adelsberg, it, Postumia) is a town in the traditional region of Inner Carniola, from Trieste, in southwestern Slovenia. It is the seat of the Municipality of Postojna.

(''Adelsberg''). He joined the Habsburg diplomatic service. In 1777 he accompanied Emperor

Joseph II Joseph II (German: Josef Benedikt Anton Michael Adam; English: ''Joseph Benedict Anthony Michael Adam''; 13 March 1741 – 20 February 1790) was Holy Roman Emperor from August 1765 and sole ruler of the Habsburg lands from November 29, 1780 unt ...

(in the disguise of a "Count Falkenstein") on his visit to his sister Queen

Marie Antoinette Marie Antoinette Josèphe Jeanne (; ; née Maria Antonia Josepha Johanna; 2 November 1755 – 16 October 1793) was the last queen of France before the French Revolution. She was born an archduchess of Austria, and was the penultimate child a ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. Immediately afterwards, Cobenzl travelled to

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

as a Habsburg envoy, but was not able to prevent the

Prussian Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an e ...

king

Frederic the Great Frederick II (german: Friedrich II.; 24 January 171217 August 1786) was King in Prussia from 1740 until 1772, and King of Prussia from 1772 until his death in 1786. His most significant accomplishments include his military successes in the Sil ...

from entering the

War of the Bavarian Succession The War of the Bavarian Succession (; 3 July 1778 – 13 May 1779) was a dispute between the Austrian Habsburg monarchy and an alliance of Saxony and Prussia over succession to the Electorate of Bavaria after the extinction of the Bavarian bra ...

. In 1779 he concluded the

Peace of Teschen The Treaty of Teschen (german: Frieden von Teschen, i.e., "Peace of Teschen"; french: Traité de Teschen) was signed on 13 May 1779 in Teschen, then in Austrian Silesia, between the Austrian Habsburg monarchy and the Kingdom of Prussia, which off ...

and assumed the office of an Austrian vice-chancellor, eventually succeeding State Chancellor Prince Wenzel Anton of Kaunitz-Rietberg in 1792. However, already in March 1793 upon discords regarding the

Second Partition of Poland The 1793 Second Partition of Poland was the second of three partitions (or partial annexations) that ended the existence of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth by 1795. The second partition occurred in the aftermath of the Polish–Russian War ...

, he had to resign from office in favour of Baron Johann Amadeus Francis de Paula von Thugut. From 1801 Cobenzl worked as Habsburg ambassador in Paris. He retired in 1805, and then lived in his

Döbling Döbling () is the 19th District A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, seve ...

residence north of Vienna. He was a patron of the arts, acquainted with

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition r ...

, and greatly contributed to the education and career of the Slovenian

Neoclassicist Neoclassicism (also spelled Neo-classicism) was a Western cultural movement in the decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that drew inspiration from the art and culture of classical antiquity. Neoclassicism was ...

painter

Franz Caucig Franz Caucig, Franco Caucig or Francesco Caucig, also known in Slovene as Franc Kavčič or Frančišek Caucig (4 December 1755, Gorizia – 17 November, 1828, Vienna) was a Neoclassical painter and drawer of Slovene origin. He is one of the bes ...

. In 1809, he informed

Napoleon Bonaparte Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

about the demographics of the newly established

Illyrian Provinces The Illyrian Provinces sl, Ilirske province hr, Ilirske provincije sr, Илирске провинције it, Province illirichegerman: Illyrische Provinzen, group=note were an Autonomous administrative division, autonomous province of France d ...

. Upon his death, the Cobenzl noble dynasty became extinct. He was buried in the Vienna

St. Marx Cemetery St. Marx Cemetery (Sankt Marxer Friedhof) is a cemetery in the Landstraße district of Vienna, used from 1784 until 1874. It contains the unmarked grave of the famous composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. History The cemetery was named after a nearb ...

. A street in the Döbling district was named after him in 1894.

Life

See also

Notes

References

Further reading