Maximilian Friedrich von Königsegg-Rothenfels (13 May 1708 – 15 April 1784) was the

Archbishop-Elector of Cologne The Archbishop of Cologne governs the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cologne in western North Rhine-Westphalia. Historically, the archbishop was ''ex officio'' one of the prince-electors of the Holy Roman Empire and ruled the Electorate of Cologne ...

and the

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

from 1761 to 1784. He was born in

Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...

, son of Count Albert-Eusebius-Franz von Königsegg-Rothenfels and his wife Countess Maria von Manderscheid-Blankenheim. He was the first Elector of Cologne to come from outside the Bavarian

Wittelsbach The House of Wittelsbach () is a former Bavarian dynasty, with branches that have ruled over territories including the Electorate of Bavaria, the Electoral Palatinate, the Electorate of Cologne, County of Holland, Holland, County of Zeeland, ...

dynasty since 1583. He was the first employer and patron of the young

Ludwig van Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. He is one of the most revered figures in the history of Western music; his works rank among the most performed of the classical music repertoire ...

, who at age twelve composed Three Early Piano Sonatas, WoO 47 in his honor. These works, known as the "Kurfürstensonaten" ("Prince-Elector sonatas") in German, were not assigned an opus number by Beethoven and are not included in the "canonical" count of 32 piano sonatas, which begins with Op. 2 No. 1 in F minor and ends with Op. 111 in C minor.

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Maximilian Frederick Of Konigsegg-Rothenfels 1708 births 1784 deaths Archbishop-electors of Cologne Prince-bishops of Münster 18th-century Roman Catholic archbishops in the Holy Roman Empire Cathedral deans of Cologne

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