Johann I Josef, Prince of Liechtenstein

Infobox_Monarch | name =Johann I Josef
title =Prince of Liechtenstein


caption =
reign =1805 - 1814
coronation =
predecessor =Alois I
successor =Alois II
consort =Josepha Sophie von Furstenberg-Weitra
issue =Alois II, and fourteen other children
royal house =House of Liechtenstein
father =Franz Josef I
mother =Countess Josepha Sophie von Furstenberg-Weitra
date of birth =birth date|1760|6|26|mf=y
place of birth =
date of death =death date and age|1836|4|20|1760|6|26|mf=y
place of death =
buried =|

Johann I Josef, Prince of Liechtenstein (June 26, 1760 - April 20, 1836) was the tenth prince of Liechtenstein between 1805 and 1806 and again from 1814 until 1836. He was the last Liechtenstein prince to rule under the Holy Roman Empire between 1805 and 1806 and as regent of Liechtenstein from 1806 until 1814. He was the fourth son of Franz Josef I of Liechtenstein.

Johann chose a military career at age 22 and entered the army a lieutenant. He was a colonel by the Turkish Wars eight years later. Johann was prominent in the Napoleonic Wars, during which he was promoted to field marshal and given supreme command of the Austrian Army. He commanded Austrian forces at the Battle of Austerlitz. Later on he was also in charge of peace talks with Napoleon concluding the Peace of Pressburg (1805) and the Peace of Schönbrunn (1809). Both of these treaties were very favourable to Napoleon and hard on Austria and Johann was accused of having little diplomatic skill and to escape criticism he resigned from the military in 1810.

As Prince of Liechtenstein, Johann made forward-thinking reforms, but also had an absolutist governing style. In 1818 he granted a constitution, although it was limited in its nature. He expanded agriculture and forestry and radically reorganized his administration, in an attempt to take the requirements of what was then a modern estate into account.He proved a trendsetter in the area of garden art by planting Biedermeier gardens and park landscapes in an English model.

In 1806 Napoleon incorporated Liechtenstein in the Confederation of the Rhine and made it a sovereign state. At the Vienna Congress the sovereignty of Liechtenstein was approved. Liechtenstein became a member of the German Confederation in 1815. This membership confirmed Liechtenstein’s sovereignty.

On April 12, 1792, he married Josepha Sophie von Furstenberg-Weitra (21 June 1776 - 23 February 1848). They had 15 children:
* Princess Leopoldine Maria (11 September 1793 - 28 July 1808)
* Princess Karoline (b. 2 February 1795); died in infantcy
* Prince Alois II - (26 May 1796 - 12 November 1858)
* Princess Sophie Marie (5 September 1798 - 27 June 1869). Married Vincenz Count Esterhazy von Galantha.
* Princess Marie Josephine (11 January 1800 - 14 June 1884)
* Prince Franz (25 February 1802 - 31 March 1887). Married Countess Julie Poyocki and had issue. His great-grandson would eventually become Prince Franz Joseph II.
* Prince Karl Johann (14 June 1803 - 12 October 1871). Married Rosalie d'Hemricourt and had issue.
* Princess Klotilde (19 August 1804 - 27 January 1807)
* Princess Henriette (1 April 1806 - 15 June 1876). Married Joseph Count Hunyady.
* Prince Friedrich (21 September 1807 - 1 May 1885). Married Sophie Lowe. No issue.
* Prince Eduard Franz (22 February 1809 - 27 June 1864). Married Countess Honoria Choloniow-Choloniewski and had issue.
* Prince August Ludwig (22 April 1810 - 27 May 1884)
* Prince August Ignaz (22 April 1810 - 1824)
* Princess Ida Leopoldine (12 September 1811 - 1884)
* Prince Rudolf (5 October 1816 - 19 June 1848)