Michael Friedrich von Althann

Michael Friedrich Graf von Althann (12 July 1680, Glatz, Prussia (now Kłodzko, Poland) – 20 June 1734, Waitzen, Habsburg monarchy (now Vác, Hungary)) was a Holy Roman clergyman and politician who was the bishop of Vác (or Waitzen) and former viceroy to the Kingdom of Naples and Sicily. Origin and education Von Althann was the youngest son of Imperial Count Michael Wenzel von Althann (1630–1686), Landeshauptmann of the County of Kladsko, and the Countess Anna Maria Elisabeth von Aspremont-Lynden (1646–1723). He attended the Jesuit College in Glatz and studied theology in Olomouc, Wrocław, and the Collegium Germanicum et Hungaricum in Rome. He was ordained a priest in 1709, and in 1710 he earned his theological doctorate, and a few years later, another doctorate. After the death of his mother, he inherited the allodial rule of Stronie Śląskie. Clerical offices Von Althann held numerous spiritual offices. Before his priestly ordination, he became a canon of Olomouc. He also enjoyed other benefits in Prague, Breslau, Brandýs nad Labem-Stará Boleslav and Tapolca in Hungary. In 1714, he became an Austrian auditor of the Roman Rota, where he was also rector of the German priesthood, Collegio Teutonico. In 1718, he was appointed bishop of Vác in Hungary, and a year later he received the cardinal dignity with the Roman titular church Santa Sabina at Aventine Hill. Political offices Von Althann was, from 1720 to 1722, the Imperial Austrian ambassador to the Holy See. In this position, he had the full confidence of the imperial court. He sought to improve the relations between the Roman Curia and the imperial court in Vienna and carried out a complete reorganization of the imperial embassy offices. The rise of the archdiocese of Vienna in 1722 as an archbishopric can be traced back to his negotiating abilities.