Count Karl Ludwig von Ficquelmont
Encyclopedia
Karl Ludwig Graf von Ficquelmont (Charles-Louis comte de Ficquelmont in French; March 23, 1777, Castle of Dieuze
, France
– April 7, 1857, Venice
, Austrian Empire
) was an Austrian
aristocrat
, statesman
and general
of the Austrian Imperial army of French noble origin.
de Ficquelmont at the Castle
of Dieuze
, in his family's Estates in the present-day French
département of Moselle
. The son of a prominent high nobility Lorrainer family (House of Ficquelmont
), he was introduced to
the King
at the Royal Court of Versailles
in 1789. Only few months later, the French Revolution
started. His family, as high nobility aristocrats
were targeted by the Revolution, several of his relatives were beheated and many of their Estates were confiscated during the Terreur era. Ficquelmont chose to join the "Army of the Princes
" fighting against the Revolutionary France
.
in 1793
. Ficquelmont participated in all Austrian campaigns in the Revolutionary
and Napoleonic Wars
, rising to the rank of an Oberst
and chief of staff in the army of Archduke Ferdinand Karl Joseph of Austria-Este
. He received the capitulation of Lyon
and was elevated to the rank of a Major General
in 1814. Following the Fall of Napoleon
, he was appointed diplomat
of the Austrian Empire
.
In 1815 he was Ambassador Extraordinary to Sweden
, in 1820 Ambassador
to Tuscany
and Lucca
, in 1821 he was Special Envoy at the Royal court of Naples
. Finally, in 1829, he was appointed Ambassador Extraordinary to Russia
, where he became an extremely influential agent of Chancellor Metternich on the politics of Emperor Nicholas I
.
Ficquelmont continued his rise into the imperial Austrian military, being successively:
to assume the duties of the Foreign Office during the absence of Prince Metternich, in 1840 he was appointed Minister of the State and Conferences and led the Imperial Army.
During the Revolutions of 1848
, he was again in charge of the Department of Foreign Affairs from March 20 in the cabinet of Minster-President Franz Anton von Kolowrat-Liebsteinsky
, whom he succeeded between 3-5 April as Minister-President. Due to his close ties with the "Metternich System" and the Russian tsar, popular feeling against him compelled him to resign on May 4. It was a violent period, his wife Countess Dolly
, who was at their Venice
's Palace at the time, was arrested twice by the Venetian guarda civil and finally had to flee the city on board an English ship with her daughter, son-in-law and grand-children. Moreover, Ficquelmont's kinsman in the War Ministry, Count Theodor Franz Baillet von Latour
, was lynched during the Vienna Uprising
of October 1848.
Afterwards, Ficquelmont retired at first to his palace of Vienna
, later to his palace of Venice
, where he died in 1857, at the age of 81.
, the Ficquelmont family spread across Europe. Beyond Austria
and France, members of the family settled in Italy, Hungary
, England
and the Netherlands
, where one of Charles-Louis's brother, Count Antoine-Charles de Ficquelmont (1753-1833), recreated the title Count de Ficquelmont in the Dutch nobility (July 16th 1822).
In 1821, Ficquelmont, 44, married Countess Dorothea von Tiesenhausen
(1804-1863), 17, grand-daughter of Prince Kutuzov. The couple had one daughter, Elisabeth-Alexandrine-Marie-Thérèse de Ficquelmont, born in 1825 in Naples
, Countess de Ficquelmont by birth and Princess Clary und Aldringen by marriage. Prince Siegfried von Clary-Aldringen
and Count Manfred von Clary-Aldringen
are Ficquelmont's grand-children.
Countess Dorothea de Ficquelmont
is famous for her letter-writing and diary (the former was published in Italian and Russian in 1950) telling her life as a high society
's aristocrat
in 19th century's Europe.
Dieuze
Dieuze is a commune in the Moselle department in Lorraine in north-eastern France.-People:Dieuze was the birthplace of:*Charles Hermite, mathematician*Edmond François Valentin About, novelist, publicist and journalist*Émile Friant, painter...
, France
Kingdom of France
The Kingdom of France was one of the most powerful states to exist in Europe during the second millennium.It originated from the Western portion of the Frankish empire, and consolidated significant power and influence over the next thousand years. Louis XIV, also known as the Sun King, developed a...
– April 7, 1857, Venice
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
, Austrian Empire
Austrian Empire
The Austrian Empire was a modern era successor empire, which was centered on what is today's Austria and which officially lasted from 1804 to 1867. It was followed by the Empire of Austria-Hungary, whose proclamation was a diplomatic move that elevated Hungary's status within the Austrian Empire...
) was an Austrian
Austrian Empire
The Austrian Empire was a modern era successor empire, which was centered on what is today's Austria and which officially lasted from 1804 to 1867. It was followed by the Empire of Austria-Hungary, whose proclamation was a diplomatic move that elevated Hungary's status within the Austrian Empire...
aristocrat
Aristocracy (class)
The aristocracy are people considered to be in the highest social class in a society which has or once had a political system of Aristocracy. Aristocrats possess hereditary titles granted by a monarch, which once granted them feudal or legal privileges, or deriving, as in Ancient Greece and India,...
, statesman
Statesman
A statesman is usually a politician or other notable public figure who has had a long and respected career in politics or government at the national and international level. As a term of respect, it is usually left to supporters or commentators to use the term...
and general
General
A general officer is an officer of high military rank, usually in the army, and in some nations, the air force. The term is widely used by many nations of the world, and when a country uses a different term, there is an equivalent title given....
of the Austrian Imperial army of French noble origin.
French nobleman
He was born Gabriel-Charles-Louis-Bonnaventure, CountCount
A count or countess is an aristocratic nobleman in European countries. The word count came into English from the French comte, itself from Latin comes—in its accusative comitem—meaning "companion", and later "companion of the emperor, delegate of the emperor". The adjective form of the word is...
de Ficquelmont at the Castle
Castle
A castle is a type of fortified structure built in Europe and the Middle East during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars debate the scope of the word castle, but usually consider it to be the private fortified residence of a lord or noble...
of Dieuze
Dieuze
Dieuze is a commune in the Moselle department in Lorraine in north-eastern France.-People:Dieuze was the birthplace of:*Charles Hermite, mathematician*Edmond François Valentin About, novelist, publicist and journalist*Émile Friant, painter...
, in his family's Estates in the present-day French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
département of Moselle
Moselle
Moselle is a department in the east of France named after the river Moselle.- History :Moselle is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790...
. The son of a prominent high nobility Lorrainer family (House of Ficquelmont
House of Ficquelmont
Nine-century-old high nobility Lorrainerinct family ranking among the prominent of the Holy Roman Empire, Lorraine, Austria and Hungary, France, Russia and Belgium.-Origins:...
), he was introduced to
Honneurs de la Cour
The Honneurs de la Cour were ceremonious presentations to the sovereign at the Royal Court of France which were formal for women but more casual for men. It was a very prestigious honour only granted to the families of ancient nobility...
the King
Louis XVI of France
Louis XVI was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and Navarre until 1791, and then as King of the French from 1791 to 1792, before being executed in 1793....
at the Royal Court of Versailles
Palace of Versailles
The Palace of Versailles , or simply Versailles, is a royal château in Versailles in the Île-de-France region of France. In French it is the Château de Versailles....
in 1789. Only few months later, the French Revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
started. His family, as high nobility aristocrats
Aristocracy (class)
The aristocracy are people considered to be in the highest social class in a society which has or once had a political system of Aristocracy. Aristocrats possess hereditary titles granted by a monarch, which once granted them feudal or legal privileges, or deriving, as in Ancient Greece and India,...
were targeted by the Revolution, several of his relatives were beheated and many of their Estates were confiscated during the Terreur era. Ficquelmont chose to join the "Army of the Princes
Émigré armies of the French Revolutionary Wars
The émigré armies of the French Revolutionary Wars were armies raised outside of France by and out of Royalist émigrés, with the aim of overthrowing the French Revolution, reconquering France and restoring the monarchy. These were aided by royalist armies within France itself, such as the Chouans,...
" fighting against the Revolutionary France
French Counter-Revolution
The French Counter-Revolution was a period in the history of France where certain individuals, groups and nations openly opposed the French Revolution.- Causes :During the early stages of the French Revolution many were not content with the status of France...
.
Austrian military and diplomat
He eventually entered the military service of the Habsburg MonarchyHabsburg Monarchy
The Habsburg Monarchy covered the territories ruled by the junior Austrian branch of the House of Habsburg , and then by the successor House of Habsburg-Lorraine , between 1526 and 1867/1918. The Imperial capital was Vienna, except from 1583 to 1611, when it was moved to Prague...
in 1793
Execution of Louis XVI
The execution of Louis XVI by means of the guillotine took place on 21 January 1793 at the Place de la Révolution in Paris. It was a major event of the French Revolution...
. Ficquelmont participated in all Austrian campaigns in the Revolutionary
French Revolutionary Wars
The French Revolutionary Wars were a series of major conflicts, from 1792 until 1802, fought between the French Revolutionary government and several European states...
and Napoleonic Wars
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...
, rising to the rank of an Oberst
Oberst
Oberst is a military rank in several German-speaking and Scandinavian countries, equivalent to Colonel. It is currently used by both the ground and air forces of Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Denmark and Norway. The Swedish rank överste is a direct translation, as are the Finnish rank eversti...
and chief of staff in the army of Archduke Ferdinand Karl Joseph of Austria-Este
Archduke Ferdinand Karl Joseph of Austria-Este
Archduke Ferdinand Karl Joseph of Austria-Este was the third son of Archduke Ferdinand of Austria-Este and of his wife Princess Maria Beatrice Ricciarda d'Este, last member and heiress of the house of Este. For much of the Napoleonic Wars he was in command of the Austrian army.Ferdinand was born...
. He received the capitulation of Lyon
Lyon
Lyon , is a city in east-central France in the Rhône-Alpes region, situated between Paris and Marseille. Lyon is located at from Paris, from Marseille, from Geneva, from Turin, and from Barcelona. The residents of the city are called Lyonnais....
and was elevated to the rank of a Major General
Major General
Major general or major-general is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. A major general is a high-ranking officer, normally subordinate to the rank of lieutenant general and senior to the ranks of brigadier and brigadier general...
in 1814. Following the Fall of Napoleon
Napoleon I
Napoleon Bonaparte was a French military and political leader during the latter stages of the French Revolution.As Napoleon I, he was Emperor of the French from 1804 to 1815...
, he was appointed diplomat
Diplomat
A diplomat is a person appointed by a state to conduct diplomacy with another state or international organization. The main functions of diplomats revolve around the representation and protection of the interests and nationals of the sending state, as well as the promotion of information and...
of the Austrian Empire
Austrian Empire
The Austrian Empire was a modern era successor empire, which was centered on what is today's Austria and which officially lasted from 1804 to 1867. It was followed by the Empire of Austria-Hungary, whose proclamation was a diplomatic move that elevated Hungary's status within the Austrian Empire...
.
In 1815 he was Ambassador Extraordinary to Sweden
Union between Sweden and Norway
The Union between Sweden and Norway , officially the United Kingdoms of Sweden and Norway, consisted of present-day Sweden and Norway between 1814 and 1905, when they were united under one monarch in a personal union....
, in 1820 Ambassador
Ambassador
An ambassador is the highest ranking diplomat who represents a nation and is usually accredited to a foreign sovereign or government, or to an international organization....
to Tuscany
Grand Duchy of Tuscany
The Grand Duchy of Tuscany was a central Italian monarchy that existed, with interruptions, from 1569 to 1859, replacing the Duchy of Florence. The grand duchy's capital was Florence...
and Lucca
Duchy of Lucca
The Duchy of Lucca was an Italian state existing from 1815 to 1847. It was centered on the city of Lucca.The Duchy was formed in 1815 by the Congress of Vienna, out of the former Republic of Lucca and the Principality of Lucca and Piombino, which had been ruled by Elisa Bonaparte...
, in 1821 he was Special Envoy at the Royal court of Naples
Kingdom of the Two Sicilies
The Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, commonly known as the Two Sicilies even before formally coming into being, was the largest and wealthiest of the Italian states before Italian unification...
. Finally, in 1829, he was appointed Ambassador Extraordinary to Russia
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
, where he became an extremely influential agent of Chancellor Metternich on the politics of Emperor Nicholas I
Nicholas I of Russia
Nicholas I , was the Emperor of Russia from 1825 until 1855, known as one of the most reactionary of the Russian monarchs. On the eve of his death, the Russian Empire reached its historical zenith spanning over 20 million square kilometers...
.
Ficquelmont continued his rise into the imperial Austrian military, being successively:
- 1830 : Feldmarschallleutnant
- 1831 : GeneralGeneralA general officer is an officer of high military rank, usually in the army, and in some nations, the air force. The term is widely used by many nations of the world, and when a country uses a different term, there is an equivalent title given....
of the DragoonsDragoonThe word dragoon originally meant mounted infantry, who were trained in horse riding as well as infantry fighting skills. However, usage altered over time and during the 18th century, dragoons evolved into conventional light cavalry units and personnel... - 1840-1848 : Minister of the State and conferences, in charge of the Imperial Army
- 1843 : GeneralfeldmarschallGeneralfeldmarschallField Marshal or Generalfeldmarschall in German, was a rank in the armies of several German states and the Holy Roman Empire; in the Austrian Empire, the rank Feldmarschall was used...
Minister-President of the Austrian Empire
In 1839 Ficquelmont was recalled to ViennaVienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
to assume the duties of the Foreign Office during the absence of Prince Metternich, in 1840 he was appointed Minister of the State and Conferences and led the Imperial Army.
During the Revolutions of 1848
Revolutions of 1848 in the Habsburg areas
From March 1848 through July 1849, the Habsburg Austrian Empire was threatened by revolutionary movements. Much of the revolutionary activity was of a nationalist character: the empire, ruled from Vienna, included Austrian Germans, Hungarians, Slovenes, Poles, Czechs, Slovaks, Ruthenians,...
, he was again in charge of the Department of Foreign Affairs from March 20 in the cabinet of Minster-President Franz Anton von Kolowrat-Liebsteinsky
Count Franz Anton von Kolowrat-Liebsteinsky
Count Franz Anton von Kolowrat-Liebsteinsky was a Bohemian nobleman and an Austrian statesman.Born in Prague the son of a Bohemian noble family, whose ancestors had already served under Emperor Charles IV of Luxembourg, Franz Anton finished his studies in 1799...
, whom he succeeded between 3-5 April as Minister-President. Due to his close ties with the "Metternich System" and the Russian tsar, popular feeling against him compelled him to resign on May 4. It was a violent period, his wife Countess Dolly
Dorothea de Ficquelmont
Countess Dolly de Ficquelmont, born Countess Dorothea von Tiesenhausen was a Russian writer and salonist...
, who was at their Venice
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
's Palace at the time, was arrested twice by the Venetian guarda civil and finally had to flee the city on board an English ship with her daughter, son-in-law and grand-children. Moreover, Ficquelmont's kinsman in the War Ministry, Count Theodor Franz Baillet von Latour
Theodor Franz, Count Baillet von Latour
Count Theodor Franz Baillet von Latour was an Austrian soldier and statesman. As the Imperial Minister of War, he was killed by a mob at the beginning of the Vienna Uprising.-Biography:...
, was lynched during the Vienna Uprising
Vienna Uprising
The Vienna Uprising or October Revolution of October 1848 was the last uprising in the Austrian Revolution of 1848....
of October 1848.
Afterwards, Ficquelmont retired at first to his palace of Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
, later to his palace of Venice
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
, where he died in 1857, at the age of 81.
Family
As a consequence of the French RevolutionFrench Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
, the Ficquelmont family spread across Europe. Beyond Austria
Austrian Empire
The Austrian Empire was a modern era successor empire, which was centered on what is today's Austria and which officially lasted from 1804 to 1867. It was followed by the Empire of Austria-Hungary, whose proclamation was a diplomatic move that elevated Hungary's status within the Austrian Empire...
and France, members of the family settled in Italy, Hungary
Kingdom of Hungary
The Kingdom of Hungary comprised present-day Hungary, Slovakia and Croatia , Transylvania , Carpatho Ruthenia , Vojvodina , Burgenland , and other smaller territories surrounding present-day Hungary's borders...
, England
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the formal name of the United Kingdom during the period when what is now the Republic of Ireland formed a part of it....
and the Netherlands
United Kingdom of the Netherlands
United Kingdom of the Netherlands is the unofficial name used to refer to Kingdom of the Netherlands during the period after it was first created from part of the First French Empire and before the new kingdom of Belgium split out in 1830...
, where one of Charles-Louis's brother, Count Antoine-Charles de Ficquelmont (1753-1833), recreated the title Count de Ficquelmont in the Dutch nobility (July 16th 1822).
In 1821, Ficquelmont, 44, married Countess Dorothea von Tiesenhausen
Dorothea de Ficquelmont
Countess Dolly de Ficquelmont, born Countess Dorothea von Tiesenhausen was a Russian writer and salonist...
(1804-1863), 17, grand-daughter of Prince Kutuzov. The couple had one daughter, Elisabeth-Alexandrine-Marie-Thérèse de Ficquelmont, born in 1825 in Naples
Naples
Naples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...
, Countess de Ficquelmont by birth and Princess Clary und Aldringen by marriage. Prince Siegfried von Clary-Aldringen
Prince Siegfried von Clary-Aldringen
Siegfried Graf von Clary und Aldringen was an Austro-Hungarian diplomat during the time before World War I.-Life:...
and Count Manfred von Clary-Aldringen
Count Manfred von Clary-Aldringen
Count Manfred von Clary-Aldringen was an Austro-Hungarian nobleman and statesman.-Biography:...
are Ficquelmont's grand-children.
Countess Dorothea de Ficquelmont
Dorothea de Ficquelmont
Countess Dolly de Ficquelmont, born Countess Dorothea von Tiesenhausen was a Russian writer and salonist...
is famous for her letter-writing and diary (the former was published in Italian and Russian in 1950) telling her life as a high society
High society
High society may refer to:* Upper class, group of people at the top of a social hierarchy* Gentry, origin Old French genterie, from gentil ‘high-born, noble* High society , social grouping which socialites may be affiliated with....
's aristocrat
Aristocracy (class)
The aristocracy are people considered to be in the highest social class in a society which has or once had a political system of Aristocracy. Aristocrats possess hereditary titles granted by a monarch, which once granted them feudal or legal privileges, or deriving, as in Ancient Greece and India,...
in 19th century's Europe.
Decoration
- Knight of the Order of the Golden FleeceOrder of the Golden FleeceThe Order of the Golden Fleece is an order of chivalry founded in Bruges by Philip III, Duke of Burgundy in 1430, to celebrate his marriage to the Portuguese princess Infanta Isabella of Portugal, daughter of King John I of Portugal. It evolved as one of the most prestigious orders in Europe...
- Grand CrossGrand CrossThe phrase Grand Cross is used to denote the highest grade in many orders of knighthood. Sometimes the holders of the highest grade are referred to "knights grand cross" or just "grand crosses"; in other cases the actual insignia itself is called "the grand cross".Alternatively, in some other...
of the Order of Saint Januarius
Works
- Aufklärungen über die Zeit vom 20 März bis zum 4 Mai, 1848 (second edition, 1850)
- Die religiöse Seite der orientalischen Frage (second edition, 1854)