Joseph Wenzel I, Prince of Liechtenstein


Joseph Wenzel I was the Prince of Liechtenstein between 1712 and 1718, 1732 and 1745, and 1748 and 1772.
Born at Prague, Joseph Wenzel was the eldest son of Prince Philip Erasmus of Liechtenstein and Countess Christina Theresa von Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rochefort. He was a nephew of Anton Florian.
Joseph was primarily a general and was a very successful campaigner. In 1745, he was made Generalissimo in Italy and was victorious the following year at the Battle of Piacenza. In 1753 he was made General Chief Commander in Hungary. In one of the greatest achievements of his career, he reorganised the Habsburg artillery, partially financed out of his own pocket.
From 1735 to 1736, he was Imperial Envoy to Berlin and he was Ambassador to Paris between 1738 and 1741. In 1760, he escorted the future bride of Josef II to Vienna.
Joseph managed to rule Liechtenstein three times. Firstly, in his own right, from 1712–1718. The second time, he ruled as the guardian of Johann Nepomuk Karl between 1732–1745 and the third time as representative of the House of Liechtenstein from 1748–1772.
He was the 698th Knight of the Order of the Golden Fleece in Austria.
When he died in 1772 in Vienna, without surviving issue, Liechtenstein went to his nephew Franz Joseph I, Prince of Liechtenstein.

Marriage and issue

On 19 April 1718 Joseph Wenzel married his cousin, Princess Anna Maria Antonie of Liechtenstein, daughter of Anton Florian, in 1718. They had five children, all of whom died in early childhood: