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, Germany, he served in the

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 ...

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, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...

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 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 various European countries, the term Landstorm (, Swedish and , roughly "land assault", ) was historically used to refer to militia or military units composed of conscripts who are not in regular army. It is particularly associated with Pru ...

'' (Militia) of

Mainz Mainz (; #Names and etymology, see below) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, and with around 223,000 inhabitants, it is List of cities in Germany by population, Germany's 35th-largest city. It lies in ...

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 General of the Artillery () was a historical military rank in some German and Austro-Hungarian armies, specifically in artillery. It was commonly used in the 16th and 17th centuries, and survived until the beginning of the 20th century in some Euro ...

'' 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-i ...

in September and re-captured

Frankfurt-am-Main Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...

, before threatening the French garrison of Mainz. During

Claude Lecourbe Claude Jacques Lecourbe (; 22 February 1759 – 22 October 1815) was a French general during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic wars. He fell out of favour with Napoleon and was out of service until recalled by the Bourbons. Biography Leco ...

'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 States of Germany, 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 ...

.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 Regensburg (historically known in English as Ratisbon) is a city in eastern Bavaria, at the confluence of the rivers Danube, Naab and Regen (river), Regen, Danube's northernmost point. It is the capital of the Upper Palatinate subregion of the ...

, 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 or Rhine Confederation, was a confederation of German client states established at the behest of Napoleon some months after he defeated Austrian Empire, Austria ...

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 ( ) 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, which had been dissolved ...

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 Early mentions of Dieburg date back to the early 13th century, with ...

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