Franz Ludwig Johann Baptist Graf von Meran (b. 11 March 1839 in 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...

; d. 27 March 1891 in Opatija

Opatija

Opatija is a town in western Croatia, just southwest of Rijeka on the Adriatic coast. , the town proper had a population of 7,850, with the municipality having a total 12,719 inhabitants.-Geography:...

) was an Austrian

Austria

Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...

 count

Count

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...

 .

Life

Franz was the only child of the morganatic marriage

Morganatic marriage

In the context of European royalty, a morganatic marriage is a marriage between people of unequal social rank, which prevents the passage of the husband's titles and privileges to the wife and any children born of the marriage...

 of Archduke Johann of Austria

Archduke Johann of Austria

Archduke John of Austria was a member of the Habsburg dynasty, an Austrian field marshal and German Imperial regent .-Biography:...

 and Anne Marie Josephine Plochl, and a grandson of Leopold

Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor

Leopold II , born Peter Leopold Joseph Anton Joachim Pius Gotthard, was Holy Roman Emperor and King of Hungary and Bohemia from 1790 to 1792, Archduke of Austria and Grand Duke of Tuscany from 1765 to 1790. He was a son of Emperor Francis I and his wife, Empress Maria Theresa...

, Grand Duke Leopold of Tuscany and later Holy Roman Emperor

Holy Roman Emperor

The Holy Roman Emperor is a term used by historians to denote a medieval ruler who, as German King, had also received the title of "Emperor of the Romans" from the Pope...

. On 8 July 1862 at Ottenstein

Ottenstein

Ottenstein is a municipality in the district of Holzminden, in Lower Saxony, Germany....

, Germany, he married Theresia Gräfin von Lamberg, the second child and only daughter of Franz Philipp Graf von Lamberg and Caroline Gräfin Hoyos .

In 1868 he became a knight of the Order of the Golden Fleece

Order of the Golden Fleece

The 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...

 . He and his descendants were 'Counts of Meran' and 'Barons of Brandhofen'. He died at Opatija

Opatija

Opatija is a town in western Croatia, just southwest of Rijeka on the Adriatic coast. , the town proper had a population of 7,850, with the municipality having a total 12,719 inhabitants.-Geography:...

, Croatia

Croatia

Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...

 on 27 March 1891, aged 52.

Descendants

His marriage to Theresia Gräfin von Lamberg (1836–1913) produced seven offspring.

• Anna Maria (1864−1935)
• Maria Johanna (1865−1935)
• Johann Stephan (1867−1947) m. (1891) Ladislaja Gräfin von Lamberg; their grandchildren include conductor
  Conducting
  Conducting is the art of directing a musical performance by way of visible gestures. The primary duties of the conductor are to unify performers, set the tempo, execute clear preparations and beats, and to listen critically and shape the sound of the ensemble...
  
   Nikolaus Harnoncourt
  Nikolaus Harnoncourt
  Nikolaus Harnoncourt is an Austrian conductor, particularly known for his historically informed performances of music from the Classical era and earlier. Starting out as a classical cellist, he founded his own period instrument ensemble in the 1950s, and became a pioneer of the Early Music movement...
  
   and politician Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg
  Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg
  Karl-Theodor Freiherr zu Guttenberg is a German politician of the Christian Social Union ....
  
  
• Franz Peter (1868−1949) m. (1902) Princess Marie Johanna Franziska, youngest daughter of Prince Franz de Paula of Liechtenstein
  Prince Franz de Paula of Liechtenstein
  Prince Franz de Paula of Liechtenstein was a son of Johann I Joseph, Prince of Liechtenstein and wife Landgravine Josepha of Fürstenberg-Weitra, nephew of Aloys I, brother of Aloys II and uncle of Johann II and Franz I.-Marriage and issue:On 3 June 1841, in Vienna, he married Ewa Jozefina...
  
  
• Karoline Johanna (1870−1944)
• Rudolf Johann (1872−1959) m. (1917) Princess Johanna von Auersperg, granddaughter of Prince Adolf of Auersperg
  Prince Adolf of Auersperg
  Prince Adolf Wilhelm Daniel von Auersperg was an Austrian statesman.-Biography:He served in the Army from 1841 to 1860 and attained the rank of major of dragoons in the regiment of Prince Eugene...
  
  
• Albrecht Johann (1874−1928)

Further reading

• Renate Basch-Ritter, Anna Plochl - Die Frau an der Seite Erzherzog Johanns, Advea Verlag 2005