Leopold Karl von Kollonitsch (also spelt ''Collonicz'', ''Colonitz'', ''Kollonitz'', ''Kolonits'' and ''Kolonić''; 26 October 1631 – 20 January 1707) or Lipót Kollonich was a

cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal may refer to: Animals * Cardinal (bird) or Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of cardinal in the family Cardinalidae **''Cardinalis cardinalis'', or northern cardinal, the ...

of the

Holy Roman Church The Diocese of Rome ( la, Dioecesis Urbis seu Romana; it, Diocesi di Roma) is the ecclesiastical district under the direct jurisdiction of the Pope, who is Bishop of Rome and hence the supreme pontiff and head of the worldwide Catholic Church. ...

Archbishop of Kalocsa In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdioc ...

and later of

Esztergom Esztergom ( ; german: Gran; la, Solva or ; sk, Ostrihom, known by alternative names) is a city with county rights in northern Hungary, northwest of the capital Budapest. It lies in Komárom-Esztergom County, on the right bank of the river Danu ...

, and Primate of Hungary. Also a

count 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: ...

of the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a Polity, political entity in Western Europe, Western, Central Europe, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its Dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, dissolution i ...

, he was a leading figure of the Hungarian

Counter-reformation The Counter-Reformation (), also called the Catholic Reformation () or the Catholic Revival, was the period of Catholic resurgence that was initiated in response to the Protestant Reformation. It began with the Council of Trent (1545–1563) a ...

. As an imperial minister, Kollonitsch was responsible for reorganizing the new Hungarian territories won from the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

and later ceded at the

Treaty of Karlowitz The Treaty of Karlowitz was signed in Karlowitz, Military Frontier of Archduchy of Austria (present-day Sremski Karlovci, Serbia), on 26 January 1699, concluding the Great Turkish War of 1683–1697 in which the Ottoman Empire was defeated by the ...

. He was said to have gained over one hundred thousand converts to Rome from

Orthodox Christianity Orthodoxy (from Ancient Greek, Greek: ) is adherence to correct or accepted creeds, especially in religion. Orthodoxy within Christianity refers to acceptance of the doctrines defined by various creeds and ecumenical councils in Late antiquity, A ...

Early life and military career

Born at the Hungarian castle of Komárom (now Komárno), Leopold Karl von Kollonitsch was the son of Count Ernst von Kollonitsch, Governor of the castle, by his marriage to Anne Elizabeth von Kueffstein. He became a candidate officer of the

Sovereign Military Order of Malta The Sovereign Military Order of Malta (SMOM), officially the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta ( it, Sovrano Militare Ordine Ospedaliero di San Giovanni di Gerusalemme, di Rodi e di Malta; ...

, first seeing action in the Cretan War, when the Knights of Malta supported

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...

against the Turks.Franz Krones, 'Kollonitsch, Leopold', in ''Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie'' vol. 16 (Leipzig: Duncker & Humblot, 1882), pp. 481–484 In 1650 he was

knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the Gr ...

ed at Vienna. In 1654 he took part in the defence of Crete, and in 1655 he fought at the Battle of the Dardanelles, a victory for Venice. He became a

Knight Hospitaller The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem ( la, Ordo Fratrum Hospitalis Sancti Ioannis Hierosolymitani), commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller (), was a medieval and early modern Catholic military order. It was headq ...

in 1658 and was next appointed as Prior and Castellan of the Order of Mailberg, based at Schloss Mailberg. Soon he was also in command of

Eger Eger ( , ; ; also known by other alternative names) is the county seat of Heves County, and the second largest city in Northern Hungary (after Miskolc). A city with county rights. Eger is best known for its castle, thermal baths, baroque build ...

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; cs, Čechy ; ; hsb, Čěska; szl, Czechy) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. Bohemia can also refer to a wider area consisting of the historical Lands of the Bohemian Crown ruled by the Bohem ...

.Franz Wißgrill, Karl von Odelga, ''Schauplatz des landsässigen Niederösterr. Adels'', vol. 5 (1804)
p. 196
/ref>

Churchman

In 1659, the

Emperor Leopold I Leopold I (Leopold Ignaz Joseph Balthasar Franz Felician; hu, I. Lipót; 9 June 1640 – 5 May 1705) was Holy Roman Emperor, King of Hungary, Croatia, and Bohemia. The second son of Ferdinand III, Holy Roman Emperor, by his first wife, Maria An ...

appointed Kollonitsch as his Lord Chamberlain and also named him as Bishop of Nitra. Kollonitsch then began some studies in

theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

, but he was not ordained a

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...

until 1668. In 1669 he was enthroned as bishop of Nitra, and in 1670 he was translated to become Bishop of Wiener Neustadt, the "new city" of

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

, succeeding Laurenz Aidinger.Leopold Karl Cardinal von Kollonitsch Lipót
at catholic-hierarchy.org, accessed 26 May 2013 From 1672 to 1681, he was president of the Hungarian Court Chamber. In 1673–1674 Kollonitsch was responsible with Archbishop György Szelepcsényi for a Special Court in

Pressburg Bratislava (, also ; ; german: Preßburg/Pressburg ; hu, Pozsony) is the capital and largest city of Slovakia. Officially, the population of the city is about 475,000; however, it is estimated to be more than 660,000 — approximately 140% of ...

which tried some 278 Protestants, resulting in their condemnation and expulsion. In 1683, at the time of the second Siege of Vienna by the Turks, Kollonitsch went to the city, taking money to pay troops and also establishing emergency hospitals in monasteries there. After the Battle of Kahlenberg on 11 and 12 September 1683 which lifted the siege, he organized the care of some five hundred orphans at Schloss Mailberg, children whose parents had been killed in the conflict. In the years which followed, he founded the first military hospitals, as a result of which he enjoyed great popularity in Vienna. In 1685 Kollonitsch was appointed

Bishop of Győr A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

, in Hungary, and gave up his diocese in Austria, where he was succeeded by Cristoval Royas de Spinola. In 1686 he was named a cardinal, with the title of Cardinal-Priest of

Saint Jerome of the Croats Saint Jerome of the Croats is the national Catholic church of Croatia on Via Tomacelli in the Campus Martius of Rome. It is now a chapel of the Pontifical Croatian College of Saint Jerome in Rome and is only open to visitors by arrangement with ...

, and in 1688 he was promoted

. In 1692 the

Emperor Charles VI , house = Habsburg , spouse = , issue = , issue-link = #Children , issue-pipe = , father = Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor , mother = Eleonore Magdalene of Neuburg , birth_date ...

made him Minister of State, and in that capacity Kollonitsch was responsible for reorganizing the new Hungarian territories conquered from the

. In 1695 he was finally promoted to become Archbishop of Esztergom (or Gran) and Primate of Hungary, and was able to gain over 100,000 Orthodox Christians for Rome. At the time Kollonitsch was the only Hungarian member of the Emperor's inner circle, and he was quoted as saying that he would "first render Hungary obedient, then destitute, and finally Catholic". The Emperor never acted on the Cardinal archbishop's appeal for measures to bring about a massive conversion to Rome, but a document he issued in 1691 known as the ''Explanatio Leopoldina'' suggested that religious freedom in the conquered lands was to be only temporary.Charles Ingrao, ''The Habsburg Monarchy 1618–1815'' (Cambridge University Press, 2003, ), p. 87 Kollonitsch took part in the

Papal conclave A papal conclave is a gathering of the College of Cardinals convened to elect a Bishops in the Catholic Church, bishop of Rome, also known as the pope. Catholics consider the pope to be the Apostolic succession, apostolic successor of Saint ...

s of

1689 Events January–March * January 22 (January 12, 1688 O.S.) – Glorious Revolution in England: The Convention Parliament is convened to determine if King James II of England, the last Roman Catholic British monarch, vacated th ...

and

1691 Events January–March * January 6 – King William III of England, who rules Scotland and Ireland as well as being the Stadtholder of the Dutch Republic, departs from Margate to tend to the affairs of the Netherlands. * January 14 – A ...

, but was unable to attend that of 1700. He died at Vienna in 1707. His body was laid to rest in the Jesuits' '' Annakirche'', then taken to Pressburg (now

Bratislava Bratislava (, also ; ; german: Preßburg/Pressburg ; hu, Pozsony) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Slovakia. Officially, the population of the city is about 475,000; however, it is estimated to be more than 660,000 — approxim ...

) for burial.

Memorials

In front of the '' Rathaus'' at Vienna stands a statue of Kollonitsch by Vincenz Pilz. In 1862 a street in the city's

Landstraße Landstraße (; Central Bavarian: ''Laundstrossn'') is the 3rd municipal district of Vienna, Austria (german: 3. Bezirk). It is near the center of Vienna and was established in the 19th century. Landstraße is a heavily populated urban area with ...

district was named after him ''Kolonitzgasse'', and in 1873 this was joined by the ''Kolonitzplatz''. Under Kollonitsch the settlement of the Capuchins in

was begun, and in 1708 the cornerstone of a Capuchin monastery was laid.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kollonitsch, Leopold Karl von 1631 births 1707 deaths 17th-century Roman Catholic archbishops in Hungary 17th-century Hungarian cardinals 18th-century Hungarian cardinals Archbishops of Esztergom Archbishops of Kalocsa Bishops of Győr Knights of Malta Chief justices of Hungary Counts of Croatia Counts of Hungary Counts of the Holy Roman Empire Hungarian nobility Croatian nobility Hungarian people of Croatian descent People from Komárno Hungarian Roman Catholic archbishops

Early life and military career

Churchman

Memorials

Further reading

Notes