Johann Karl Philipp, Graf von Cobenzl (21 July 1712 – 27 January 1770) was an 18th-century politician in the

Habsburg monarchy The Habsburg monarchy, also known as Habsburg Empire, or Habsburg Realm (), was the collection of empires, kingdoms, duchies, counties and other polities (composite monarchy) that were ruled by the House of Habsburg. From the 18th century it is ...

. He was minister plenipotentiary of the

Austrian Netherlands The Austrian Netherlands was the territory of the Burgundian Circle of the Holy Roman Empire between 1714 and 1797. The period began with the acquisition by the Austrian Habsburg monarchy of the former Spanish Netherlands under the Treaty of Ras ...

in Brussels under Empress

Maria Theresia Maria Theresa (Maria Theresia Walburga Amalia Christina; 13 May 1717 – 29 November 1780) was the ruler of the Habsburg monarchy from 1740 until her death in 1780, and the only woman to hold the position in her own right. She was the sovereig ...

from 1753 until his death in 1770. Jan Davidsz

Life

Cobenzl was born in 1712 in Laibach, the capital of the

Duchy of Carniola The Duchy of Carniola (, , ) was an imperial estate of the Holy Roman Empire, established under House of Habsburg, Habsburg rule on the territory of the former East Frankish March of Carniola in 1364. A hereditary land of the Habsburg monarc ...

in the Habsburg Empire (present-day

Ljubljana {{Infobox settlement , name = Ljubljana , official_name = , settlement_type = Capital city , image_skyline = {{multiple image , border = infobox , perrow = 1/2/2/1 , total_widt ...

Slovenia Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...

) as the son of Johann Caspar von Cobenzl (1664-1742), Imperial councillor and his second wife Carolina Sophia von Rindsmaul (1682-1756), and thus a member of the Austrian Von Cobenzl family. He studied in

Leiden Leiden ( ; ; in English language, English and Archaism, archaic Dutch language, Dutch also Leyden) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Provinces of the Nethe ...

and

Würzburg Würzburg (; Main-Franconian: ) is, after Nuremberg and Fürth, the Franconia#Towns and cities, third-largest city in Franconia located in the north of Bavaria. Würzburg is the administrative seat of the Regierungsbezirk Lower Franconia. It sp ...

and subsequently became treasurer of the emperor in 1730. Five years later, in 1735, he was appointed Imperial councillor, in succession of his father. From 1738 onward, he was committed to solve the boundary problems between Upper Lorraine and

Lower Lorraine The Duchy of Lower Lotharingia, also called Northern Lotharingia, Lower Lorraine or Northern Lorraine (and also referred to as '' Lothier'' or '' Lottier''

. During the reign of Empress Maria Theresia he was travelling as an envoy throughout the Habsburg Empire solving all kinds of problems. On 19 May 1753, Cobenzl was appointed minister plenipotentiary of the

in Brussels by Empress Maria Theresia. His predecessor was

Antoniotto Botta Adorno Antoniotto Botta Adorno or Anton Otto Marchese Botta d'Adorno (1688 – 29 December 1774) was a high officer of the Habsburg monarchy and a plenipotentiary of the Austrian Netherlands. Biography He was born in Branduzzo, present-day Lombardy, to ...

who then became Prime minister of

Tuscany Tuscany ( ; ) is a Regions of Italy, region in central Italy with an area of about and a population of 3,660,834 inhabitants as of 2025. The capital city is Florence. Tuscany is known for its landscapes, history, artistic legacy, and its in ...

. In 1759, Cobenzl was appointed member 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 ...

. Cobenzl's long term in office as minister plenipotentiary is seen as a successful period, although he constantly had to struggle with lack of money. Well noted is his strong ambition for arts and culture throughout his life and he collected a huge amount of art. In 1768 in Brussels

Catherine the Great Catherine II. (born Princess Sophie of Anhalt-Zerbst; 2 May 172917 November 1796), most commonly known as Catherine the Great, was the reigning empress of Russia from 1762 to 1796. She came to power after overthrowing her husband, Peter I ...

bought the collections of Count Karl von Cobenzl and Prince Charles de Ligne which are now displayed in the

Hermitage Museum The State Hermitage Museum ( rus, Государственный Эрмитаж, r=Gosudarstvennyj Ermitaž, p=ɡəsʊˈdarstvʲɪn(ː)ɨj ɪrmʲɪˈtaʂ, links=no) is a museum of art and culture in Saint Petersburg, Russia, and holds the large ...

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

, Russia. In 1769, a 'literary society' was established by Count Johann Karl Philipp von Cobenzl in Brussels, initially led by Johann Daniel Schöpflin and with regard to its resources mainly based on the vast collection of books and manuscripts of the library of the Burgundian dukes. These books and manuscripts were saved from destruction by fire when the

Coudenberg The Palace of Coudenberg (; ) was a royal residence situated on the Coudenberg or Koudenberg (; Dutch for "Cold Hill"), a hill in what is today the Royal Quarter of Brussels, Belgium. For nearly 700 years, the Castle and then Palace of Couden ...

Palace, the residence of the archdukes, burnt down in 1731. However, shortly after the foundation of the society, Cobenzl died in Brussels on 27 January 1770 at the age of 57.

Georg Adam, Prince of Starhemberg Johann Georg Adam Graf von Starhemberg, since 1765 Fürst von Starhemberg (''prince of Starhemberg'') (10 August 1724 in London – 19 April 1807 in Vienna) was an Austrian diplomat, minister, chief chamberlain and close confidant of Empress ...

(1724-1807) became his successor as minister plenipotentiary of the Austrian Netherlands. Starhemberg continued the efforts of his predecessor in Brussels by transforming Cobenzl's 'literary society' in 1772 into the ' Imperial and Royal Academy of Brussels' with the approval of Empress Maria Theresia.

Private life

On 24 November 1734, Johann Karl Philipp von Cobenzl married Maria Theresia Katharina Walburga

Pálffy ab Erdöd The House of Pálffy, also known as Pálffy von Erdőd, Pálffy de Erdőd, or Pálffy of Erdőd, is the name of an old Hungarian nobility, Hungarian noble family, later incorporated into Austrian nobility. Members of the family held significant po ...

(1719 - 1771), a granddaughter of Imperial

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 a ...

Johann Bernhard Stephan, Graf Pálffy ab Erdöd (1664 - 1751). Ten children stemmed from this marriage, among them his famous son Johann Ludwig, Graf von Cobenzl, born in 1753.''Cobenzl, Ludwig'' (ADB)
, at deutsche-biographie.de (in German) Karl von Cobenzl was a proponent of

Enlightenment Enlightenment or enlighten may refer to: Age of Enlightenment * Age of Enlightenment, period in Western intellectual history from the late 17th to late 18th century, centered in France but also encompassing (alphabetically by country or culture): ...

and a crucial figure for the promotion and support of Enlightenment in the Habsburg Netherlands. Due to his lavish spending on art, the deceased count left his wife a huge amount of debt in 1770. These debts were repaid by Empress Maria Theresa who subsequently also supported the widow.

Descendants

# Johanna Maria Anna (* 1735, † 1736) # Marie Eleonore : married to the 3rd Marquess of Becelaere, who was executed by Guillotine. # Marie Thérèse von Cobenzl (1739-1778): marr. Philippe Roger Joseph de Varick de Sart Baulai. # Franz Joseph (* 1740, † 1741) # Josepha (* 16. März 1741, † 1741) # Johann Karl (* 14. Juli 1742, † 6. December 1751) # Johann Ludwig, Graf von Cobenzl, born in 1753

External links

''ADB:Cobenzl''
at de.wikisource.org (in German)

, at deutsche-biographie.de (in German)
''Cobenzl''
at viaf.org

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cobenzl, Johann Karl Philipp von 1712 births 1770 deaths Politicians from Ljubljana Politicians from Brussels Counts of Austria 18th-century Austrian people 18th-century politicians from the Holy Roman Empire Knights of the Golden Fleece of Austria Members of the Royal Academy of Belgium Diplomats from Ljubljana

Life

Private life

Descendants

See also

External links

References