
Franz Joseph Martin, Freiherr von Albini auf Dürrenried (14 May 1748 – 8 January 1816) was a German judge and statesman, noted for organising the defence of German states against the French Revolution.
Life
Born 1748 in
St. Goar
Sankt Goar is a town on the west bank of the Middle Rhine in the Rhein-Hunsrück-Kreis (district) in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It belongs to the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' Hunsrück-Mittelrhein, whose seat is in Emmelshausen.
Sankt Goar is well kn ...
, Germany, he served in the
Würzburg
Würzburg (; Main-Franconian: ) is a city in the region of Franconia in the north of the German state of Bavaria. Würzburg is the administrative seat of the '' Regierungsbezirk'' Lower Franconia. It spans the banks of the Main River.
Würzbur ...
Court and Government from 1770, the Court of Appeal in
Wetzlar
Wetzlar () is a city in the state of Hesse, Germany. It is the twelfth largest city in Hesse with currently 55,371 inhabitants at the beginning of 2019 (including second homes). As an important cultural, industrial and commercial center, the un ...
from 1775, and became a clerk to the
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a political entity in Western, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars.
From the accession of Otto I in 962 ...
in Vienna 1787. In 1790 he became Electoral Chancellor and Minister, and headed the last Imperial election in 1792. When the armies of
Revolutionary France
The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are conside ...
began making incursions into Germany in 1794 he represented the general arming of the people against the French occupation. He organised the defensive ''
Landsturm
In German-speaking countries, the term ''Landsturm'' was historically used to refer to militia or military units composed of troops of inferior quality. It is particularly associated with Kingdom of Prussia, Prussia, German Empire, Germany, Aus ...
'' (Militia) of
Mainz
Mainz () is the capital and largest city of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.
Mainz is on the left bank of the Rhine, opposite to the place that the Main joins the Rhine. Downstream of the confluence, the Rhine flows to the north-west, with Ma ...
and surroundings. Albini was a representative at the
Congress of Rastatt 1797. On the re-opening of hostilities in 1799 he was given the rank of ''
Feldzeugmeister
''Feldzeugmeister'' was a historical military rank in some German and the Austro-Hungarian armies, especially in use for the artillery. It was commonly used in the 16th or 17th century, but could even be found at the beginning of the 20th century i ...
'' in the Austrian Army and appointed to command a 20,000-man corps of German volunteers raised on the right bank of the Rhine under Graf
Sztaray. In this capacity he attacked the French under
Louis Baraguey d'Hilliers
Louis Baraguey d'Hilliers (13 August 1764 – 6 January 1813) was a French Army general who fought in the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. He was the father of Achille Baraguey d'Hilliers, a Marshal of France, and the father-in ...
in September and re-captured
Frankfurt-am-Main
Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , "Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its nam ...
, before threatening the French
garrison of Mainz
A garrison (from the French ''garnison'', itself from the verb ''garnir'', "to equip") is any body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it. The term now often applies to certain facilities that constitute a mili ...
. During
Claude Lecourbe's offensive of 16 November he again threatened the French left wing on the right bank of the
Neckar
The Neckar () is a river in Germany, mainly flowing through the southwestern state of Baden-Württemberg, with a short section through Hesse. The Neckar is a major right tributary of the Rhine. Rising in the Schwarzwald-Baar-Kreis near Sc ...
.
[Phipps, Ramsay Weston. ''The Armies of the First French Republic and the Rise of the Marshals of Napoleon I''. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1926–1939, volume 5 p.124]
In 1806 he was made Governor of
Regensburg, and for a short period Commissioner of Frankfurt 19–25 September 1806. Then he was Chairman of the Council of Ministers of Frankfurt 10 October 1806 - December 1810. In the
Confederation of the Rhine
The Confederated States of the Rhine, simply known as the Confederation of the Rhine, also known as Napoleonic Germany, was a confederation of German client states established at the behest of Napoleon some months after he defeated Austria a ...
he was made Minister of the Grand Duchy of Frankfurt 1810. Albini was a member of the Conference of Ministers administrating Frankfurt 30 September - 23 December 1813, then Presidential Envoy to the Federal Parliament of the
German Confederation
The German Confederation (german: Deutscher Bund, ) was an association of 39 predominantly German-speaking sovereign states in Central Europe. It was created by the Congress of Vienna in 1815 as a replacement of the former Holy Roman Empire ...
in Frankfurt 5 October - 16 December 1815. He died in 1816 in
Dieburg
Dieburg () is a small town in southern Hesse, Germany. It was formerly the seat of the district ("Kreis") of Dieburg, but is now part of the district of Darmstadt-Dieburg.
History
The town of Dieburg was first named in 1492 in the tax books of the ...
.
References
*Gollwitzer, Heinz, "Albini, Franz Josef Martin Freiherr von", in: ''Neue Deutsche Biographie 1'' (1953)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Albini, Franz Joseph Martin von
1748 births
1816 deaths
Counts in Germany
German diplomats
People from Rhein-Hunsrück-Kreis
Politicians from Frankfurt