Francis Ferdinand, Count Of Kinsky
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Franz Ferdinand, Count Kinsky of Wchinitz and Tettau (, ; 1 January 1678,
Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...
– 12 September 1741, Prague) was a Bohemian diplomat and statesman and High Chancellor of Bohemia.


Biography

Franz Ferdinand Kinsky comes from the Bohemian aristocratic family of
Kinsky The House of Kinsky (formerly Vchynští, sg. ''Vchynský'' in Czech; later (in modern Czech) Kinští, sg. ''Kinský''; ) is a prominent Bohemian noble family originating in the Kingdom of Bohemia. During the Thirty Years' War, the Kinsky fam ...
, which has been documented since the 13th century. He was the third son of Count Wenceslaus Norbert, Count of Kinsky and his first wife Anna Maria Franziska Countess Martinitz (1652–1694). Franz Ferdinand studied at the original University of Leuven in Flanders. After completing his studies, he entered the civil service at the age of 27 in 1705, following his father's example, and was appointed Vice-Chancellor of Bohemia. Kinsky quickly climbed the hierarchical ladder, being appointed 'Court Chancellor' in 1715 and High Chancellor of Bohemia on 24 June 1723. Kinsky served as a loyal diplomat two emperors:
Joseph I Joseph I or Josef I may refer to: *Joseph I of Constantinople, Ecumenical Patriarch in 1266–1275 and 1282–1283 *Joseph I, Holy Roman Emperor (1678–1711) * Joseph I (Chaldean Patriarch) (reigned 1681–1696) *Joseph I of Portugal (1750–1777) ...
and Charles VI. In 1708 he was sent by Emperor Joseph I as a "Churbohemian comitial envoy" to the "Churfürsten Council" in Frankfurt am Main. Three years later he worked in the same capacity very successfully in the preparation of the election of Charles VI as Emperor. He was able to dispel the misgivings about the election of another Habsburg and made it possible for the Elector Charles VI to be elected
Roman-German Emperor The Holy Roman Emperor, originally and officially the Emperor of the Romans (; ) during the Middle Ages, and also known as the Roman-German Emperor since the early modern period (; ), was the ruler and head of state of the Holy Roman Empire. ...
on 12 October 1711. He also attended the coronation of Charles VI in Frankfurt. In 1721, he was Imperial envoy in the 1721 papal conclave of the election of
Pope Innocent XIII Pope Innocent XIII (; ; 13 May 1655 – 7 March 1724), born as Michelangelo dei Conti, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 8 May 1721 to his death in March 1724. He remains the most recent pope to take the ...
in Rome. In 1722 the Emperor sent him to the
Diet of Hungary The Diet of Hungary or originally: Parlamentum Publicum / Parlamentum Generale () was the most important political assembly in Hungary since the 12th century, which emerged to the position of the supreme legislative institution in the Kingdom ...
in
Pressburg Bratislava (German: ''Pressburg'', Hungarian: ''Pozsony'') is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the Slovakia, Slovak Republic and the fourth largest of all List of cities and towns on the river Danube, cities on the river Danube. ...
. At this Diet, the Hungarians should accept the
Pragmatic Sanction A pragmatic sanction is a sovereign's solemn decree on a matter of primary importance and has the force of fundamental law. In the late history of the Holy Roman Empire, it referred more specifically to an edict issued by the Emperor. When used ...
of Emperor Charles VI. Also negotiated was a restricted practice of the Protestant faith in the Kingdom of Hungary, for which Kinsky campaigned. However, this request was rejected by the Diet. In 1729, he returned to Pressburg as 'Royal Commissioner' to clarify the religious situation of the Protestants in Hungary. However, this attempt was also unsuccessful. On 27 November 1731, he was accepted into the
Order of the Golden Fleece The Distinguished Order of the Golden Fleece (, ) is a Catholic order of chivalry founded in 1430 in Brugge by Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, to celebrate his marriage to Isabella of Portugal, Duchess of Burgundy, Isabella of Portugal. T ...
. On 3 January 1736, Franz Ferdinand resigned and retired to private life. As early as 1720, he had acquired Eckartsau Castle in
Lower Austria Lower Austria ( , , abbreviated LA or NÖ) is one of the nine states of Austria, located in the northeastern corner of the country. Major cities are Amstetten, Lower Austria, Amstetten, Krems an der Donau, Wiener Neustadt and Sankt Pölten, which ...
, which he had remodeled into a magnificent baroque palace based on plans by
Joseph Emanuel Fischer von Erlach Joseph Emanuel Fischer von Erlach, also ''Fischer von Erlach the Younger'' (13 September 1693 in Vienna – 29 June 1742 in Vienna) was an Austrian architect of the Baroque, Rococo, and Baroque- Neoclassical. Biography Joseph Emanuel was the son ...
, under the direction of the imperial architect Christian Alexander Oedtl. Here he spent part of the last years of his life. Franz Ferdinand Kinsky died on 12 September 1741 in his Prague Palace and was buried in the crypt of Prague's St. Salvator Church.


Marriage and children

Franz Ferdinand Kinsky was married twice and had a total of 16 children. His first wife was Countess Marie Therese Eleonore von Fünfkirchen (1675–1729), and his second wife Countess Maria Augustina Countess Pálffy von Erdőd (1714–1759). He had: * Joseph, Count Kinsky (1731–1804), a Field Marshal in Imperial service *
Franz Joseph, Count Kinsky Franz Joseph, Count Kinsky of Wchinitz and Tettau (6 December 1739 – 9 June 1805) was a Habsburg Austrian general in the War of the Bavarian Succession and the French Revolutionary Wars. A nobleman from the House of Kinsky, he began his militar ...
(1739–1805), an Imperial General in the
French Revolutionary Wars The French Revolutionary Wars () were a series of sweeping military conflicts resulting from the French Revolution that lasted from 1792 until 1802. They pitted French First Republic, France against Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain, Habsb ...


Notes


Sources


Deutsche BiographieBLKÖ
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kinsky, Franz Ferdinand 1678 births 1741 deaths Nobility from Prague Diplomats of the Habsburg monarchy Knights of the Golden Fleece House of Kinsky