Individual Details
Count Karl Franz Harrach zu Rohrau
(1570 - 16 May 1628)
369 Knight of the Order of the Golden Fleece - 1627
Karl was born in 1570, the third of nine children of Leonhard V, Freiherr von Harrach zu Rohrau, and Gräfin Marie Jakobe von Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen. He was the only one of their children to have progeny. Karl was to serve three emperors, two at the highest levels. He was the father-in-law of Albrecht von Wallenstein, and was until his death one of the most influential personalities at the imperial court in Vienna.
On 24 November 1591 Karl married Freiin Maria Elisabeth von Schrattenbach, daughter of Freiherr Maximilian von Schrattenbach and Anna von Grasswein. They had fourteen children of whom five would have progeny; their sons Leonhard VII Karl and Otto Friedrich, and daughters Katharina Barbara, Maria Elisabeth, and Maria Maximiliana.
Karl's gift for diplomacy and negotiation, and his loyalty to the court, brought him the almost limitless trust of the emperors ruling in his lifetime, first Rudolph, then Matthias and finally Ferdinand II. He was seen as dependable, courteous, courageous and fair. The high esteem in which he was held was shown in 1622 when his daughter Katharina married Count Maximilian von Waldstein, a cousin of Albrecht Wallenstein; the emperor attended the wedding, as did the ambassadors of the Pope, Spain, Denmark and Saxony.
Karl was finally raised to the title of Count by Ferdinand II after the suppression of the Bohemian uprising; confirmation of this came with the transfer to him of confiscated properties as an aftermath of the uprising. Under Ferdinand II all offices held by Karl were confirmed. He was a member of the imperial privy council under the chairmanship of Eggenberg.
It was a stroke of good fortune for Albrecht von Waldstein (Wallenstein) when in 1623 he married Maria Elisabeth, fourth daughter of Karl. Through this marriage all doors at court were open to him. From a relatively impoverished Bohemian nobleman he became a feudal lord of 300 vassals, owning one-quarter of Bohemia. Karl's daughter Maria Maximiliana married Graf Adam Erdmann Trczka z Lipy, who was murdered with Wallenstein on 25 February 1634.
Fortunately Karl Harrach did not experience the murder of his sons-in-law. He died on 25 May 1628 in Prague, and is buried in the Augustinerkloster in Vienna.
Source: Leo van de Pas
Karl was born in 1570, the third of nine children of Leonhard V, Freiherr von Harrach zu Rohrau, and Gräfin Marie Jakobe von Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen. He was the only one of their children to have progeny. Karl was to serve three emperors, two at the highest levels. He was the father-in-law of Albrecht von Wallenstein, and was until his death one of the most influential personalities at the imperial court in Vienna.
On 24 November 1591 Karl married Freiin Maria Elisabeth von Schrattenbach, daughter of Freiherr Maximilian von Schrattenbach and Anna von Grasswein. They had fourteen children of whom five would have progeny; their sons Leonhard VII Karl and Otto Friedrich, and daughters Katharina Barbara, Maria Elisabeth, and Maria Maximiliana.
Karl's gift for diplomacy and negotiation, and his loyalty to the court, brought him the almost limitless trust of the emperors ruling in his lifetime, first Rudolph, then Matthias and finally Ferdinand II. He was seen as dependable, courteous, courageous and fair. The high esteem in which he was held was shown in 1622 when his daughter Katharina married Count Maximilian von Waldstein, a cousin of Albrecht Wallenstein; the emperor attended the wedding, as did the ambassadors of the Pope, Spain, Denmark and Saxony.
Karl was finally raised to the title of Count by Ferdinand II after the suppression of the Bohemian uprising; confirmation of this came with the transfer to him of confiscated properties as an aftermath of the uprising. Under Ferdinand II all offices held by Karl were confirmed. He was a member of the imperial privy council under the chairmanship of Eggenberg.
It was a stroke of good fortune for Albrecht von Waldstein (Wallenstein) when in 1623 he married Maria Elisabeth, fourth daughter of Karl. Through this marriage all doors at court were open to him. From a relatively impoverished Bohemian nobleman he became a feudal lord of 300 vassals, owning one-quarter of Bohemia. Karl's daughter Maria Maximiliana married Graf Adam Erdmann Trczka z Lipy, who was murdered with Wallenstein on 25 February 1634.
Fortunately Karl Harrach did not experience the murder of his sons-in-law. He died on 25 May 1628 in Prague, and is buried in the Augustinerkloster in Vienna.
Source: Leo van de Pas
Events
| Birth | 1570 | ||||
| Marriage | 24 Nov 1591 | Graz - Baroness Maria Elisabeth von Schrattenbach | |||
| Death | 16 May 1628 | Prague |
Families
| Spouse | Baroness Maria Elisabeth von Schrattenbach (1573 - 1653) |
| Child | Count Leonhard VII Harrach zu Rohrau (1594 - 1645) |
| Father | Baron Leonhard V Harrach zu Rohrau (1542 - 1597) |
| Mother | Countess Maria Jakoba Hohenzollern-Hechingen (1549 - 1578) |