Count Hieronymus von Colloredo

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For the contemporary Austrian corps commander see Hieronymus Karl Graf von Colloredo-Mansfeld
Count Hieronymus von Colloredo-Mannsfeld (1732-1812)
Count Hieronymus von Colloredo-Mannsfeld (1732-1812)

Count Hieronymus von Colloredo (German: Hieronymus Graf von Colloredo) (31 May, 1732 – 20 May, 1812) was Prince-Bishop of Gurk from 1761 and Prince-Archbishop of Salzburg from 1771 until 1803, when the Archbishopric was secularized.

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[edit] Life

Of aristocratic birth, he was the second son of Count Rudolf Wenzel Joseph Colloredo-Melz und Wallsee (1706-1788), a high-ranking Imperial official.[1] He was educated at the Theresianum in Vienna, and served in various ecclesiastical appointments. The Prince-Archbishopric of Salzburg fell vacant in December 1771, and (with considerable pressure from the Imperial court in Vienna), he was elected to his highest post, Prince-Archbishop of Salzburg, on the 13th ballot. According to Clive (1993) "it was an unpopular choice in Salzburg whose citizens remained cool to him until the end."[2]

Colloredo was the ruler of Salzburg at the time that the long-standing arrangement of placing this sovereign state under the rule of an Archbishop came to an end. On 12 December 1801, as French troops under Napoleon drew near to occupying the city, Colloredo fled the city, never to return. The political fate of Salzburg was first secularization (it was awarded to the Grand Duke of Tuscany, who had lost his state), then incorporation into Austria (1805), then Bavaria (1809), then permanently to Austria (1816). Colloredo remained the eccleciastical head of the diocese, in exile.[3]

According to Clive, "he was extremely autocratic and his dictatorial attitude at times provide the hostility of the cathedral chapter and of civic officials."[4]

[edit] Colloredo and Mozart

He is known as the first patron of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. He did, however, become exceptionally annoyed with Mozart's frequent absences. After a number of arguments, he ultimately dismissed him from his service with the words, "Mag er geh'n, ich brauch' ihn nicht!" ("May he leave, I don't need him!").

Salzburg coin of Hieronymus Graf von Colloredo, dated 1780
Salzburg coin of Hieronymus Graf von Colloredo, dated 1780

[edit] Notes

Regarding personal names: Graf is a title, translated as Count, not a first or middle name. The female form is Gräfin.

  1. ^ Clive 1993, 39
  2. ^ Source for all material in this paragraph: Clive 1993, 39
  3. ^ Source for all material in this paragraph: Clive 1993, 39
  4. ^ Clive 1993, 40

[edit] References

  • Clive, Peter (1993) Mozart: a biographical dictionary. New Haven: Yale University Press.