Franz Ludwig Johann Baptist Count von Meran, Baron von Brandhofen (11 March 1839 – 27 March 1891) was an Austrian nobleman and courtier.

Family

Born 11 March 1839, in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

, Franz was the only child of the

morganatic marriage Morganatic marriage, sometimes called a left-handed marriage, is a marriage between people of unequal social rank, which in the context of royalty or other inherited title prevents the principal's position or privileges being passed to the spou ...

between

Archduke John of Austria Archduke John of Austria (, ; (or simply ''Nadvojvoda Janez''); 20 January 1782 – 11 May 1859), a member of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine, was an Austrian field marshal and imperial regent (''Reichsverweser'') of the short-lived German Emp ...

and

Anna Plochl Anna Maria Josephine Plochl (6 January 1804 – 4 August 1885) was the morganatic marriage, morganatic wife of Archduke John of Austria. She was given the title Baroness von Brandhofen and then Countess von Meran. She and her husband were the p ...

, and a grandson of the Holy Roman Emperor Leopold II. On 8 July 1862, at

Ottenstein Ottenstein is a municipality in the district of Holzminden, in Lower Saxony, Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and th ...

, he married Countess Theresia von

Lamberg The House of Lamberg is the name of an ancient Austrian noble family, whose members occupied significant positions within the Holy Roman Empire and later in the Austro-Hungarian Empire. History The family name first appeared during the 14th ce ...

(1836–1913), the second child and only daughter of Franz Philipp, Count von Lamberg and his wife, Countess Caroline Hoyos zu Stichsenstein. All members of the House of Meran descended from him.

Life and career

His father having eloped with his mother (the daughter of a postmaster at

Bad Aussee Bad Aussee (; Central Bavarian: ''Bod Ossee'') is a town in the Austrian state of Styria, located at the confluence of the three sources of the Traun River in the Ausseerland region. Bad Aussee serves as the economic and cultural center of the St ...

) in defiance of Archduke Johann's brother, Emperor Francis, Franz was entitled to inherit none of his father's positions or

entailed In English common law, fee tail or entail is a form of trust law, trust, established by deed or settlement, that restricts the sale or inheritance of an estate (law), estate in real property and prevents that property from being sold, devised by ...

possessions. However, the esteem in which his father was held by both emperor and nation as a general and patron of the arts shielded Franz from some of the scandal and consequences of the circumstances of his birth. He was born legitimate but a commoner, and thus he was not permitted to bear the

Habsburg-Lorraine The House of Habsburg-Lorraine () originated from the marriage in 1736 of Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor, Francis III, Duke of Lorraine and Bar, and Maria Theresa of Habsburg monarchy, Austria, later successively List of Bohemian monarchs, Queen ...

surname of his father's dynasty. His mother had been ennobled by the emperor five years after her marriage to the archduke, becoming Baroness ('' Freifrau'') von Brandhofen on 4 July 1834, and Franz shared in her title after his birth. He was raised to

comital Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...

rank as Count (''

Graf (; feminine: ) is a historical title of the German nobility and later also of the Russian nobility, usually translated as "count". Considered to be intermediate among noble ranks, the title is often treated as equivalent to the British title ...

'') von

Meran Merano (, ; ) or Meran () is a (municipality) in South Tyrol, Northern Italy. Generally best known for its spa resorts, it is located within a basin, surrounded by mountains standing up to above sea level, at the entrance to the Passeier Va ...

on 29 April 1844 (

letters patent Letters patent (plurale tantum, plural form for singular and plural) are a type of legal instrument in the form of a published written order issued by a monarch, President (government title), president or other head of state, generally granti ...

issuing 30 December 1845, Vienna). While still a child, he had been designated a ''Landmann'' in Styria, Carinthia, Carniola, Tyrol and Austria, and was accorded a seat in the Austrian House of Lords on 24 November 1842. After his father's death in 1859 at Palais Meran in

Graz Graz () is the capital of the Austrian Federal states of Austria, federal state of Styria and the List of cities and towns in Austria, second-largest city in Austria, after Vienna. On 1 January 2025, Graz had a population of 306,068 (343,461 inc ...

, the manors of

Schenna Schenna (; ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) and a village in South Tyrol in northern Italy, located in the Passeier Valley, about northwest of the city of Bolzano. Geography As of 30 November 2010, it had a population of 2,841 and an area of .Al ...

Stainz Stainz () is a municipality in the district of Deutschlandsberg in the Austrian state of Styria. A notable building there is Schloss Stainz, a former monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters a ...

and Gut Brandhof (near

Mariazell Mariazell (; Central Bavarian: ''Mariazöö'') is an Austrian city in the southeastern state of Styria. Well known for being a hub of winter sports and a pilgrimage destination, it is located north of Graz. It is picturesquely situated in the v ...

) were combined into a ''

fideicommis A is a type of bequest in which the beneficiary is encumbered to convey parts of the decedent's estate to someone else. For example, if a father leaves the family house to his firstborn, on condition that they will bequeath it to their first child ...

'' for him and his future descendants. He served the Habsburg emperors as

Imperial and Royal The phrase Imperial and Royal (, ) refers to the court/government of the Habsburgs in a broader historical perspective. Some modern authors restrict its use to the Dual Monarchy of Austria-Hungary from 1867 to 1918. During that period, it in ...

Chamberlain, member of the

Aulic Council The Aulic Council (; ; literally "Court Council of the Empire", sometimes abbreviated in academic writing as "RHR") was one of the two supreme courts of the Holy Roman Empire, the other being the ''Reichskammergericht'' (Imperial Chamber Court). ...

and as a general in the Imperial army, becoming in 1868 a knight of 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 ...

. He died at

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, on 27 March 1891, aged 52.

Descendants

Seven children were born from his marriage to Countess Theresia von

(1836–1913), and they bore the titles ''Count/Countess von Meran, Baron/Baroness von Brandhofen'' and inter-married with prominent families of the Austro-Hungarian nobility: * Countess Anna Maria (1864–1935) * Countess Maria Johanna (1865–1935) * Johann Stephan, Count von Meran (1867–1947), who wed in 1891 his cousin, Countess Ladislaja von

with whom he had nine children; including Ladislaja Johanna Franziska; their grandchildren include

conductor Conductor or conduction may refer to: Biology and medicine * Bone conduction, the conduction of sound to the inner ear * Conduction aphasia, a language disorder Mathematics * Conductor (ring theory) * Conductor of an abelian variety * Cond ...

Count Nikolaus de la Fontaine und d'Harnoncourt-Unverzagt and politician Karl-Theodor, Baron von und zu Guttenberg * Franz Peter (1868–1949), who in 1902 wed Princess Marie Johanna Franziska Sophie of

Liechtenstein Liechtenstein (, ; ; ), officially the Principality of Liechtenstein ( ), is a Landlocked country#Doubly landlocked, doubly landlocked Swiss Standard German, German-speaking microstate in the Central European Alps, between Austria in the east ...

, daughter of Prince Louis and Princess Mary of Liechtenstein * Countess Karoline Johanna (1870–1944) * Count Rudolf Johann (1872–1959), who in 1917 wed Princess Johanna von Auersperg, granddaughter of

Prince Adolf of Auersperg Adolf Wilhelm Carl Daniel, Hereditary Prince of Auersperg (; 21 July 1821 in Schloss Vlašim, Bohemia – 5 January 1885 in Schloss Goldegg, Neidling) was a Bohemian and an Austrian nobleman and statesman. He served as eighth prime minister of th ...

* Count Albrecht Johann (1874–1928)

Family

Life and career

Descendants

Arms

Ancestry

References

Further reading