Josefa of Fürstenberg-Weitra

Contents

Landgravine Josepha of Fürstenberg-Weitra (German: Landgräfin Josefa zu Fürstenberg-Weitra; 21 June 1776 – 23 February 1848) was princess consort of Liechtenstein as the wife of Johann I Joseph, Prince of Liechtenstein. By virtue of her birth, she was member of the House of Fürstenberg. Around 1801, Beethoven made a dedication to Josepha, his Sonata No. 13 in E-flat Major, op.27, no. 1.

Early life

Josepha was born at Vienna, Austria, the first daughter of Joachim Egon, Landgrave of Fürstenberg-Weitra and his wife, Countess Sophia Maria of Oettingen-Wallerstein.[1]

Personal life

On 12 April 1792 in Vienna, she married Prince Johann Joseph of Liechtenstein, the fourth son of Franz Joseph I and Countess Leopoldine von Sternberg. After his elder brother Aloys's death in 1805, Prince Johann Joseph became heir apparent to the Principality of Liechtenstein. Together, they had fourteen children:

  • Princess Maria Leopoldine Josepha Sophia Aemiliana (1793–1808), who died young.
  • Princess Karoline (1795–1795), who died in infancy.
  • Aloys II, Prince of Liechtenstein (1796–1858), who married Countess Franziska Kinsky of Wchinitz and Tettau in 1831.
  • Princess Maria Sophie Josepha (1798–1869), who married Count Vincenz Esterházy von Galántha in Vienna in 1817.
  • Princess Maria Josepha (1800–1884), who died unmarried and without issue.
  • Prince Franz de Paula of Liechtenstein (1802–1887), who married Countess Julia Potocka and had issue; his great-grandson would eventually become Prince Franz Joseph II.
  • Prince Karl Johann of Liechtenstein (1803–1871), who married Countess Rosalie d'Hemricourt von Grünne and had issue.
  • Princess Klothilda Leopoldina Josepha (1804–1807), who died young.
  • Princess Henriette (1806–1886), who married Count Joseph Hunyady von Kethély in Vienna in 1825 and had 6 children; Janos (1826-1861), Imre Joachim (1827-1902), Franziska (1832-1910), Sophie (1835-1869), Karolina (1836-1907), Maria ((1838-1908).
  • Prince Friedrich Adalbert (1807–1885), 1,018th Knight of the Order of the Golden Fleece in Austria; he married Johanna Sophie Christiane Löwe in 1848 at Schloss Rosegg.
  • Prince Eduard Franz of Liechtenstein (1809–1864), who married Countess Honoria Choloniowa-Choloniewska.
  • Prince August Ludwig Ignaz (1810–1824), who died unmarried.
  • Princess Ida Leopoldine Sophie Marie Josephine Franziska (1811–1884), a Dame of the Imperial Court, Dame of the Order of the Starry Cross; she married Karl, 4th Prince Paar von Hartberg und Krottenstein in Vienna in 1832.
  • Prince Rudolf Maria Franz Placidus (1816–1848), who unmarried and without issue.

Princess Josepha died in Vienna on 23 February 1848.[2]

References

  1. 1.Gates-Coon, Rebecca (15 January 2015). The Charmed Circle: Joseph II and the 'Five Princesses,' 1765-1790. Purdue University Press. p. 87. ISBN 978-1-61249-370-1. Retrieved 18 June 2025.
  2. 2.Almanach de Gotha: Annual Genealogical Reference. Almanach de Gotha. 2004. pp. 243, 522. ISBN 978-0-9532142-5-9. Retrieved 18 June 2025.