Maximilian Francis of Austria, Elector of Cologne

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Maximilian Francis (or Franz) of Austria, Elector of Cologne (1756 - 1801) was the youngest of sixteen children born into the imperial household of Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor and Maria Theresa, whose more famous progeny included Marie Antoinette and Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor. He was the last Elector of Cologne and an early patron of Ludwig van Beethoven.

Maximilian Franz succeeded to the title of Elector of Cologne and the related Archbishopric of Munster and maintained his noble court in Bonn. A keen patron of music, Maximilian Franz maintained a court orchestra where Ludwig van Beethoven's father was a tenor in the court chapel. The court organist was Christian Gottlob Neefe, who became an early mentor and teacher to Ludwig van Beethoven. Recognising his young pupil's remarkable gift both as a performer and a composer, Neefe brought Beethoven into the court, convincing Maximilian Franz to appoint him as assistant organist. Maximilian, too, recognised the extraordinary abilities of the young Beethoven. In 1787, he gave Beethoven leave to visit Vienna to study with Mozart, a visit cut short by the illness and death of Beethoven's mother. In 1792, Maximilian again agreed to let Beethoven depart for Vienna in order to pursue studies with Joseph Haydn, Antonio Salieri and others, where he continued to pay Beethoven's court salary. Maximilian Franz maintained an interest in Beethoven's progress, and several letters from Haydn to Maximilian detailing his student's progress remain extant.

During the Napoleonic Wars, Cologne and Bonn were both occupied by the French army, in October and November of 1794. As the French approached, Maximilian left Bonn never to return and the territories eventually passed to France under the terms of the Treaty of Lunéville (1801). The dismantling of the court made Beethoven's relocation to Vienna permanent, and his stipend was terminated.

Plagued by corpulence and ill-health, Maximilian Franz took up residence in Vienna after the loss of his territories until his death at age 45 in 1801. He was the last Elector of Cologne, since his successor, Anthony, Archduke of Austria, was never able to assume the title. (In 1803, the electorate was secularized altogether.)

Beethoven planned to dedicate his First Symphony to his former patron, but Maximilian Franz died before it was completed.