Maximilian Freiherr von und zu Trauttmansdorff (23 May 1584, in

Graz Graz () is the capital of the Austrian Federal states of Austria, federal state of Styria and the List of cities and towns in Austria, second-largest city in Austria, after Vienna. On 1 January 2025, Graz had a population of 306,068 (343,461 inc ...

– 8 June 1650, in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

), (from 1623 Reichsgraf von und zu Trauttmansdorff) was an Austrian politician and diplomat of the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War, fought primarily in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648, was one of the most destructive conflicts in History of Europe, European history. An estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died from battle, famine ...

era. His other titles included Freiherr von Gleichenberg,

Neuenstadt am Kocher Neuenstadt, usually known as Neuenstadt am Kocher (; and until as late as 1800 also known as Neuenstadt an der großen Linde) is a town in Baden-Württemberg in south-western Germany with 9,600 inhabitants. It consists of Neuenstadt, the village ...

, Negau, Burgau und Totzenbach, Herr zu Teinitz. He was a Knight in 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 ...

Geheimer Rat was the title of the highest advising officials at the imperial, royal, or princely courts of the Holy Roman Empire, who jointly formed the ''Geheimer Rat'' reporting to the ruler. The term remained in use during subsequent monarchic reigns in Ge ...

Chancellor Chancellor () is a title of various official positions in the governments of many countries. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the (lattice work screens) of a basilica (court hall), which separa ...

and

Obersthofmeister Oberhofmeister of the Austrian King and Emperor (''Grand Master of the Court'') was the most important function at the court of the Holy Roman Emperor (until 1806) and the Emperor of Austria in Vienna (1804–1918). The Oberhofmeister acted as the ...

. As a long-term counsellor to emperors Ferdinand II and especially to Ferdinand III, he was a leading figure in governing the Empire and the Austrian

Erblande The ("Hereditary Lands") of the House of Habsburg formed the Alpine heartland of the Habsburg monarchy.Kann, ''Habsburg Empire'', 1–4. They were the hereditary possessions of the Habsburgs within the Holy Roman Empire from before 1526. The ...

. Concluding many treaties for the Empire, he was a principal architect of the

Peace of Westphalia The Peace of Westphalia (, ) is the collective name for two peace treaties signed in October 1648 in the Westphalian cities of Osnabrück and Münster. They ended the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) and brought peace to the Holy Roman Empire ...

where he was the head of the Imperial delegation.

Early life

Maximilian Johann was born as son of Johann Friedrich,

Freiherr (; male, abbreviated as ), (; his wife, abbreviated as , ) and (, his unmarried daughters and maiden aunts) are designations used as titles of nobility in the German-speaking areas of the Holy Roman Empire, the Austro-Hungarian Empire and in ...

von Trauttmansdorff (1542-1614) and his wife Eva von Trauttmansdorff zum Freienthurn und Castelalt (b. 1549), who belonged to the other line of Trauttmansdorff family. Apart from his elder brother Johann David (d. 1627), he had sisters Susanna (d. 1620) and Elisabeth (1587-1653), who both married into House of Sinzendorf.

Biography

After

law studies Jurisprudence, also known as theory of law or philosophy of law, is the examination in a general perspective of what law is and what it ought to be. It investigates issues such as the definition of law; legal validity; legal norms and values ...

Padua Padua ( ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Veneto, northern Italy, and the capital of the province of Padua. The city lies on the banks of the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice and southeast of Vicenza, and has a population of 20 ...

Siena Siena ( , ; traditionally spelled Sienna in English; ) is a city in Tuscany, in central Italy, and the capital of the province of Siena. It is the twelfth most populated city in the region by number of inhabitants, with a population of 52,991 ...

and

Perugia Perugia ( , ; ; ) is the capital city of Umbria in central Italy, crossed by the River Tiber. The city is located about north of Rome and southeast of Florence. It covers a high hilltop and part of the valleys around the area. It has 162,467 ...

from 1601 to 1603, Trauttmansdorff shortly became

Rittmeister Rittmaster () is usually a commissioned officer military rank used in a few armies, usually equivalent to Captain. Historically it has been used in Germany, Austria-Hungary, Scandinavia, and some other countries. A is typically in charge of a s ...

in the Imperial Army. He started his political career as member of the

Aulic Council The Aulic Council (; ; literally "Court Council of the Empire", sometimes abbreviated in academic writing as "RHR") was one of the two supreme courts of the Holy Roman Empire, the other being the ''Reichskammergericht'' (Imperial Chamber Court). ...

under

Rudolf II Rudolf II (18 July 1552 – 20 January 1612) was Holy Roman Emperor (1576–1612), King of Hungary and Croatia (as Rudolf I, 1572–1608), King of Bohemia (1575–1608/1611) and Archduke of Austria (1576–1608). He was a member of the H ...

in 1609. In 1614, he became Obersthofmeister of Empress

Anna of Tyrol Anna of Tyrol (4 October 1585 – 14 December 1618) was by birth an Archduchess of Austria and member of the Tyrolean branch of the House of Habsburg and by marriage Holy Roman Empress, German Queen, Queen of Bohemia and Queen of Hungary. The fi ...

. Since the overthrow of the leading imperial counsellor Melchior Khlesl in 1618 and the coming into power of Ferdinand II, Trauttmansdorff was privy councillor and one of the most important diplomats of the new emperor. In 1619, he arranged the alliance between Ferdinand II and

Maximilian I, Elector of Bavaria Maximilian I (17 April 157327 September 1651), occasionally called the Great, a member of the House of Wittelsbach, ruled as Duke of Bavaria from 1597. His reign was marked by the Thirty Years' War during which he obtained the title of a prince- ...

. With Prince

Gabriel Bethlen Gabriel Bethlen (; 1580 – 15 November 1629) was Prince of Transylvania from 1613 to 1629 and Duke of Opole from 1622 to 1625. He was also King-elect of Hungary from 1620 to 1621, but he never took control of the whole kingdom. Bethlen, sup ...

Transylvania Transylvania ( or ; ; or ; Transylvanian Saxon dialect, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Siweberjen'') is a List of historical regions of Central Europe, historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and ...

, he concluded the Peace of Nikolsburg in 1621. The emperor made him

Reichsgraf Imperial Count (, ) was a title in the Holy Roman Empire. During the medieval era, it was used exclusively to designate the holder of an imperial county, that is, a fief held directly (Imperial immediacy, immediately) from the emperor, rather th ...

in 1623 and elevated him into the Bohemian nobility in 1628. From 1633 on, Trauttmansdorff was Obersthofmeister and closest advisor to the emperor's son, Ferdinand III. In 1635, he arranged the Peace of Prague with the

Electorate of Saxony The Electorate of Saxony, also known as Electoral Saxony ( or ), was a territory of the Holy Roman Empire from 1356 to 1806 initially centred on Wittenberg that came to include areas around the cities of Dresden, Leipzig and Chemnitz. It was a ...

. With Ferdinand's coronation to emperor in 1637, Maximilian, now the Imperial

, became the most powerful person of the imperial court behind the emperor. He was the head of the delegation of the Holy Roman Empire for the

between 1645 and 1647 but was replaced by Johann Ludwig von Nassau-Hadamar in 1647 when his health deteriorated. In September 1648, he convinced Ferdinand to agree to the peace treaty without involvement of or military support for Spain, thus removing the last barrier on the way to peace.

Marriage and issue

In 1615 he married Countess Maria Sophia

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 ...

(1596-1668), together they had the following surviving children: * Count Adam Matthias von und zu Trauttmansdorff (1617-1687); married first to Countess Eva Johanna von Sternberg (d. 1674); married secondly to Maria Isabella

Lobkowicz The House of Lobkowicz (''Lobkovicové'' in modern Czech, sg. ''z Lobkovic''; ''Lobkowitz'' in German) is an important Bohemian noble family that dates back to the 14th century and is one of the oldest noble families of the region. Over the ce ...

(1649-1719); no issue from both marriages * Count Johann Friedrich von und zu Trauttmansdorff (1619-1696); married first to Princess Maria Clara von

Dietrichstein The House of Dietrichstein was one of the oldest and most prominent Austrian nobility, Austrian noble families originating in the Duchy of Carinthia. The family belonged to the Uradel, high nobility (German: ''Hochadel''). The Mikulov Castle, Niko ...

(1626-1667); married secondly to Countess Maria Eleonora von Sternberg (1654-1703); had issue from both marriages * Count Ferdinand von und zu Trauttmansdorff (d. 1692); married Countess Maria Elisabeth Kinsky von Wchinitz und Tettau (1670-1737); no issue * Countess Maria Elisabeth von und zu Trauttmansdorff; Prioress * Countess Maria Maximiliana von und zu Trauttmansdorff (d. 1692): married to Count Georg Siegmund von

Herberstein Herberstein may refer to: * Schloss Herberstein, a castle in Styria, Austria * Siegersdorf bei Herberstein, a municipality in the district of Hartberg in Styria, Austria * Sankt Johann bei Herberstein, a municipality in the district of Hartberg in ...

(d. 1696) * Count Franz Anton von und zu Trauttmansdorff (d. 1683): married Countess Margaretha von Porcia; had issue * Count Maximilian von und zu Trauttmansdorff (d. 1705); married his relative Victoria Eleonora von Trauttmansdorff (d. 1705); no issue * Count Karl von und zu Trauttmansdorff (d. 1664); Knight of the Order of St. John; no issue * Count Georg Sigmund von und zu Trauttmansdorff (1638-1708); married Countess Eleonora Cäcilia Renata von

Wildenstein Wildenstein () is a commune in the Haut-Rhin department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. Geography Wildenstein is the highest village in the Thur Valley. The houses cluster along the main street, nestled between the steep slopes of th ...

(1643-1708); had issue

References

Sources

* *

External links

* * http://www.aeiou.at/aeiou.encyclop.t/t730941.htm {{DEFAULTSORT:Trautmansdorff 1584 births 1650 deaths Austrian people of the Thirty Years' War Diplomats of the Habsburg monarchy Politicians from Graz Counts of Austria 17th-century diplomats from the Holy Roman Empire Knights of the Golden Fleece Obersthofmeister