Karl, 1st Prince and Altgrave of Salm-Reifferscheidt-Raitz

Karl Borromäus Joseph Franz de Paula Joachim Richard, 1st Prince of Salm-Reifferscheidt-Raitz (3 April 1750 – 16 June 1838), previously 2nd Count of Salm-Reifferscheidt-Raitz from 1769 to 1790, was a German prince.

Early life

Karl Joseph was born in Vienna, Archduchy of Austria on 3 April 1750. He was the son of Countess Maria Anna Raphaele von Rogendorf (1718–1807) and Anton Joseph Franz von Salm-Reifferscheidt-Raitz (1720–1769). His sister, Maria Theresia zu Salm-Reifferscheidt, married Friedrich von Kageneck and, after his death in 1800, Auguste de Buissy. His father was the fourth surviving son of Franz Wilhelm I, Count of Salm-Reifferscheidt-Bedburg, and Princess Maria Karoline Anna of Liechtenstein (a daughter of reigning Anton Florian, Prince of Liechtenstein and Countess Eleonore Barbara von Thun und Hohenstein). His maternal grandparents were Count Karl Ludwig Josef von Rogendorf and Countess Karolina Anna Dorothea Pálffy of Erdöd.

Career

His father Anton Joseph Franz was created 1st Count of Salm-Reifferscheidt-Raitz in 1734 when the County came into existence in Central Moravia (now part of the Czech Republic) after a partition of Salm-Reifferscheidt-Bedburg line in 1734.

Upon the death of his father in 1769, he succeeded as the 2nd Count of Salm-Reifferscheidt-Raitz. In 1790, he was further ennobled when he was elevated to the rank of Reichsfürst. He ruled his Imperial Estate as Prince of Salm-Reifferscheidt-Raitz until his territory was mediatized in 1811.

Personal life On 8 June 1775 in Vienna, Karl Joseph was married to Princess Maria Franziska of Auersperg (1752–1791), a daughter of Karl Josef, 5th Prince of Auersperg and Countess Maria Josepha Trautson von Falkenstein. Her elder brother was Wilhelm, 6th Prince of Auersperg. Together, they were the parents of:

Franz Joseph, Hereditary Prince of Salm-Reifferscheidt-Raitz (1776–1836), who married Countess Maria Josepha McCaffry von Keanmore, a daughter of Count Robert McCaffry von Keanmore and Countess Maria Anna von Blümegen.

After her death, he married Countess Antonia Maria von Paar (1768–1838), a daughter of Wenzel, 2nd Prince Paar and Princess Maria Antonia of Liechtenstein (a daughter of Johann Nepomuk Karl, Prince of Liechtenstein), in Vienna on 1 May 1792. She was sister to Karl, 3rd Prince Paar.

Prince Karl Joseph died in Vienna on 16 June 1838. As he was predeceased by his only son, he was succeeded by his grandson, Hugo.