Count Károly József Franz Xaver Kasimir Johann von Nepomuk Zichy de Zich et Vásonkeő (4 March 1753 – 28 September 1826) was a Hungarian aristocrat, who served as Austrian war minister in 1809 and minister of the interior from 1813 to 1814.

Early life

Count Zichy was born 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. ...

on 4 March 1753. He was the son of Count István Zichy de Zich et Vásonkeő (1715–1769), and Countess Marie Cecilie von Stubenberg (1725–1763). His paternal grandparents were Count János Zichy and Maria Anna von Thalheim. His great-grandfather, Count István Zichy de Zich et Vásonkeő, obtained the title of

Imperial Count Imperial Count (, ) was a title in the Holy Roman Empire. During 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 a prince wh ...

for the

Zichy family The House of Zichy (of Zich and Vázsonykő) is the name of an ancient Magyar family of the Hungarian nobility, conspicuous in Hungarian history from the latter part of the 13th century onwards. History The first authentic ancestor of the Zic ...

. Count Zichy was educated at the

Theresianum Theresianum (or Theresian Academy; ) is a private Boarding school, boarding and day school governed by the laws for public schools in Vienna, Austria. It was founded in 1746 by Empress Maria Theresa of Austria. History Early history (1614–1 ...

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. ...

Career

Count Zichy became an

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, and held various offices. In 1782,

Joseph II Joseph II (13 March 1741 – 20 February 1790) was Holy Roman Emperor from 18 August 1765 and sole ruler of the Habsburg monarchy from 29 November 1780 until his death. He was the eldest son of Empress Maria Theresa and her husband, Emperor F ...

appointed him as the Chief Governor of

Békés County Békés (, , ) is an administrative division (county or ''vármegye'') in south-eastern Hungary, on the border with Romania. It shares borders with the Hungarian counties Csongrád-Csanád, Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok, and Hajdú-Bihar. The capital ...

as a Court Councilor and referendarius. In 1785, he became a treasurer and president of the chamber, then in 1788, a regional judge and president of the Council of Governors. A member of the

House of Magnates The House of Magnates (; ; ; ) was the upper chamber of the Diet of Hungary. This chamber was operational from 1867 to 1918 and subsequently from 1927 to 1945. The house was, like the current House of Lords in the United Kingdom, composed of ...

from 1790 until his death, he was one of the supporters of the constitutional compromise at the 1790

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 1792, he received the Grand Cross of the

Order of Saint Stephen The Order of Saint Stephen (officially ''Sacro Militare Ordine di Santo Stefano Papa e Martire'', 'Holy Military Order of St. Stephen Pope and Martyr') is a Roman Catholic Tuscan dynastic military order founded in 1561. The order was created ...

. From 1802, he was president of the Court Chamber, in 1808, president of the Ministry of State, in 1808, 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 ...

, in 1809, Imperial Minister of War, and from 1813 to 1814, Imperial Minister of the Interior. In 1821, on the occasion of the half-century jubilee of his official position, he received the diamonds of the Order of Saint Stephen. He translated two works by

René Rapin René Rapin (1621–1687) was a French Jesuit and writer. He was born at Tours and entered the Society of Jesus in 1639. He taught rhetoric, and wrote extensively both in verse and prose. Works His first production, ''Eclogæ Sacræ'' (Paris, ...

into German.

Personal life

On 12 February 1776 in Vienna, Zichy married Countess Anna Maria Khevenhüller-Metsch (1759–1809), a daughter of Johann Sigismund Friedrich von Khevenhüller-Metsch, 2nd Prince von Khevenhüller-Metsch, and Princess Maria Amalia Susanna of Liechtenstein (daughter of Prince Emanuel of Liechtenstein). Together, they were the parents of eleven children, including: * Count Ferenc Zichy (1777–1839), who married Countess Mária Wilhelmine de Ferraris, a daughter of Count

Joseph de Ferraris Joseph Jean François, count de Ferraris (April 20, 1726, in Lunéville – April 1, 1814, in Vienna) was an Austrian general and cartographer. He was married to the daughter of Charles, 2nd Duke d'Ursel. Biography Between 1771 and 1778, Ferr ...

, in 1799. * Count Károly Antal Zichy (1779–1834), who was Governor of Moson County; he married Countess Franciska Eszterházy de Galántha in 1800. After her death in 1804, he married Countess Júlia Festetics de Tolna in 1806. After her death in 1816, he married Countess Crescence Seilern in 1819. * Countess Amália Zichy (1782–1819), who married Ferenc Viczay de Loós et Hédervár, in 1800. * Count Ferdinánd Zichy (1783–1862), a

Field-marshal Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army (in countries without the rank of Generalissimo), and as such, few persons ...

who was condemned to ten years' imprisonment for surrendering

Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...

to the insurgents in 1848; he married Countess Zsófia Széchenyi, a daughter of Count

Ferenc Széchényi Count Ferenc Széchényi de Sárvár-Felsővidék (28 April 1754 – 13 December 1820) was a Hungarian nobleman and statesman, known for founding the Hungarian National Library and the Hungarian National Museum, National Museum in Budapest. Ear ...

and Countess Julianna Festetics de Tolna in 1807. * Countess Maria Adelheid Zichy (1788–1839), who married Count János Keglevich von Buzin, a son of Count Károly Keglevich von Buzin and Countess Julia Katalin Maria Josefa Zichy. * Countess Krisztina Zichy (1792–1830), who married, as his third wife, her uncle

Franz, 4th Prince of Khevenhüller-Metsch Franz Maria Johann Joseph Hermann, 4th Prince of Khevenhüller-Metsch (7 April 1762 – 3 July 1837), was an Austrian aristocrat who was a member of the Austrian House of Lords. Early life Franz was born on 7 April 1762 at Vienna. He was a young ...

, in 1812. * Countess Eleonora Zichy (1795–1873), who married Eduárd

Lichnowsky The House of Lichnowsky or House of Lichnovský is the name of an influential Czech aristocratic family of Silesian and Moravian origin, documented since the 14th century. History The noble family first appeared in the Duchy of Pless (Pszczyna) ...

, son of

Karl Alois, Prince Lichnowsky Karl Alois, Prince Lichnowsky of Woschütz (, also known as ''Carl Alois, Fürst von Lichnowsky-Woschütz''; 21 June 1761 – 15 April 1814) was the second Prince Lichnowsky and a chamberlain at the Imperial Austrian court. He is remembered for ...

and Countess Maria Christiane von

Thun und Hohenstein The House of Thun und Hohenstein, also known as Thun-Hohenstein, belonged to the historical Austrian nobility, Austrian and Bohemian nobility. There is one princely and several count, comital branches of the family. The princely branch of the fami ...

, in 1813. * Count Miklós Zichy (1796–1856), who married Baroness Julianna von Loë, a daughter of Edmund von Loë-Imstenraedt and Marie Alexandrine von Merveldt, in 1820. * Countess Karoline Zichy (1802–1885), who died unmarried. Count Zichy died in

on 28 September 1826 and was buried in

Oroszvár Rusovce (, ) is a borough in southern Bratislava on the right bank of the Danube river, close to the Austrian border. History In the 1st century, there was a Roman settlement named Gerulata in today's Rusovce area. The first preserved written ...

Descendants

Through his son Ferenc, he was a grandfather of Countess Emilia Zichy-Ferraris (1803–1866), who was the second wife of Count

Pál Széchényi Pál is a Hungarian masculine given name, the Hungarian version of Paul. It may refer to: * Pál Almásy (1818–1882), Hungarian lawyer and politician * Pál Bedák (born 1985), Hungarian boxer * Pál Benkő (1928–2019), Hungarian-American ch ...

, and Countess Melanie Zichy-Ferraris (1805–1854), who was the third wife of Prince

Klemens von Metternich Klemens Wenzel Nepomuk Lothar, Prince of Metternich-Winneburg zu Beilstein ( ; 15 May 1773 – 11 June 1859), known as Klemens von Metternich () or Prince Metternich, was a German statesman and diplomat in the service of the Austrian Empire. ...

(parents of Princess

Melanie Metternich-Zichy Princess Melanie Marie Pauline Alexandrine von Metternich-Zichy (27 February 1832 in Vienna – 16 November 1919 in Vienna) was an Austrians, Austrian Aristocracy (class), aristocrat. Biography A member of the House of Metternich, she was the daug ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zichy, Károly 1753 births 1826 deaths 18th-century Hungarian people 19th-century Hungarian people People from the Austrian Empire of the Napoleonic Wars

Károly Károly () is a common Hungarian male given name. It is also sometimes found as a Hungarian surname. Károly is considered the equivalent of English Karl or Charles (because the Latin Carolus is very close to Károly).Fercsik Erzsébet – Raátz ...

Judges royal