Josef Wenzel, Prince of Liechtenstein
Encyclopedia
Born at Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
, Joseph Wenzel was the eldest son of Prince Philip Erasmus of Liechtenstein
Liechtenstein
The Principality of Liechtenstein is a doubly landlocked alpine country in Central Europe, bordered by Switzerland to the west and south and by Austria to the east. Its area is just over , and it has an estimated population of 35,000. Its capital is Vaduz. The biggest town is Schaan...
(11 September 1664-13 January 1704) and Christina Theresa von Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rochefort
Löwenstein-Wertheim
Löwenstein-Wertheim was a county of the Holy Roman Empire, part of the Franconian Circle. It was formed from the counties of Löwenstein and Wertheim ....
(12 October 1665-14 April 1730). He was a nephew of Anton Florian.
Joseph was primarily a 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....
and was a very successful campaigner. In 1745, he was made Generalissimo
Generalissimo
Generalissimo and Generalissimus are military ranks of the highest degree, superior to Field Marshal and other five-star ranks.-Usage:...
in Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
and won the next year the important Battle of Piacenza
Battle of Piacenza
The Battle of Piacenza was a pitched battle between a Franco-Spanish army and Austrian army near Piacenza on June 16, 1746. It formed part of later operations in the War of the Austrian Succession...
. In 1753 he was made General Chief Commander in Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
. In one of the greatest achievements of his career, he reorganised the Habsburg
Habsburg 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...
artillery
Artillery
Originally applied to any group of infantry primarily armed with projectile weapons, artillery has over time become limited in meaning to refer only to those engines of war that operate by projection of munitions far beyond the range of effect of personal weapons...
, partly out of his own pocket.
From 1735 to 1736, he was Imperial Envoy to Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
and he was Ambassador to Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
between 1738 to 1741. In 1760, he escorted the future bride of Josef II to 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...
.
Joseph managed to rule Liechtenstein
Liechtenstein
The Principality of Liechtenstein is a doubly landlocked alpine country in Central Europe, bordered by Switzerland to the west and south and by Austria to the east. Its area is just over , and it has an estimated population of 35,000. Its capital is Vaduz. The biggest town is Schaan...
three times. Firstly, in his own right, from 1712-1718. The second time, he ruled as heir to Josef Johann Adam
Josef Johann Adam of Liechtenstein
Johann Josef Adam, Prince of Liechtenstein was the Prince of Liechtenstein from 1721 to his death.Born in Vienna, he was the only living son of Anton Florian, Prince of Liechtenstein...
between 1732–1745 and the third time as representative of the House of Liechtenstein from 1748-1772.
He was the 698th Knight
Knight
A knight was a member of a class of lower nobility in the High Middle Ages.By the Late Middle Ages, the rank had become associated with the ideals of chivalry, a code of conduct for the perfect courtly Christian warrior....
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...
in Austria
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...
.
When he died in 1772 at Vienna, without surviving issue, Liechtenstein went to his nephew Franz Joseph I, Prince of Liechtenstein.
Marriage and issue
Joseph Wenzel married his cousin, Princess Anna Maria Antonie of LiechtensteinAnna Maria of Liechtenstein
Anna Maria of Liechtenstein , was a princess consort of Liechtenstein; married 19 April 1718 to her cousin prince Joseph Wenzel I, Prince of Liechtenstein.- Sources :...
(1699–1753), daughter of Anton Florian, in 1718. They had five children, all of whom died in early childhood:
- Prince Philipp Anton (1719)
- Prince Philipp Anton (1720)
- Prince Philipp Ernst (1722–1723)
- Princess Maria Elisabeth (1724)
- Princess Marie Alexandra (1727)