Wenzel Anton, Prince of Kaunitz-Rietberg was an Austrian and Czech diplomat and statesman in the Habsburg monarchy. A proponent of enlightened absolutism, he held the office of State Chancellor for ab
Portrait by Liotard in 1762, wearing the collar of the Order of the Golden Fleece
Prince Kaunitz's Slavkov Castle
Wenzel Anton von Kaunitz, c. 1750 – c. 1752
Prince Kaunitz-Rietberg (part of the Maria Theresa Monument in Vienna)
Joseph II was Holy Roman Emperor from 18 August 1765 and sole ruler of the Habsburg monarchy from 29 November 1780 until his death. He was the eldest son of Empress Maria Theresa and her husband, Empe
Wenzel Anton, Prince of Kaunitz-Rietberg
…absolutism, he held the office of State Chancellor for about four decades and was responsible for the foreign policies during the reigns of Maria Theresa, Joseph II, and Leopold II. In 1764, he was elevated to the noble rank of a Prince of the Holy Roman Empire (Reichfürst). Kaunitz was born in Vienna, Austria, as…
The arrival of Isabella of Parma on the occasion of her wedding to Joseph II, 1760, painting by Martin van Meytens
Fête organised to celebrate the marriage of Emperor Joseph II to Princess Maria Josepha of Bavaria. The central figures are the three youngest siblings of Joseph, from left to right, Archduke Ferdinand as the groom, Archduke Maximilian Franz as Cupid and Archduchess Marie Antoinette as the bride.
Coronation of the Archduke Joseph as King of the Romans in the Imperial Cathedral of Saint Bartholomew in Frankfurt, 3 April 1764, painting by Martin van Meytens
Emperor Joseph II and Grand Duke Pietro Leopoldo of Tuscany by Pompeo Batoni, 1769, Vienna, Kunsthistorisches Museum)