Talk:Nikolaus II, Prince Esterházy

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This is pasted in from the main Esterhazy article, which is evolving into a system of brief descriptions of individual princes linked to more detailed separate articles. I will (or anyone else can) mine this for material to use here.

In his youth he served as an officer in the Guards and took the Grand Tour. During his Grand Tour, Nikolaus developed a taste for the visual arts, and as Prince, he accumulated a collection of drawings and paintings. His profligacy as a collector caused financial difficulties for the next two generations of the family. In 1783, he married Maria Josepha Prinzessin von und zu Liechtenstein (1768–1845). Later on he served the Empire as a diplomat.

A dramatic moment in Nikolaus's career occurred in 1809 when Napoleon made him an offer to become King of an independent Hungary. Nicholas helped save the Empire by rejecting Napoleon's invitation. Actually, he went further than this, and raised a regiment of volunteers to help defend the Empire, an action he had previously taken in 1797.

He was promoted to major general on 13 May 1796, and to Lieutenant Field Marshal in 1803; in 1817, he was promoted to Feldzeugmeister. Like his father, he was also a Captain of the Hungarian Noble Life Guard, from December 1803 until his death in 1833. In 1802, he was appointed Colonel and Proprietor (Inhaber) of the 32nd Infantry Regiment, a position he held also until his death. He received the Grand Cross of the Order of St. Stephen in 1797 and was initiated into the Order of the Golden Fleece on 7 January 1808. He also served as an imperial and royal Chamberlain and Privy Counselor. In 1829, he received from the Grand Duchy of Baden, the Order of Fidelity in 1829 and the Grand Cross of the Order of the Lion of Zähringen. The Kingdom of Bavaria awarded him the Military Order of St. Hubert and the House of Hannover awarded him the Grand Cross of the Guelphic Order in 1816. He died in Como Italy in 1833.

Nikolaus II commissioned the six late masses of Haydn noted above, as well as the Mass in C of Ludwig van Beethoven. At the first performance of the Beethoven Mass, the Prince criticized the work, and Beethoven left his house in a rage.

The splendour of Nikolaus II's reign was greatly diminished by a financial crisis that shook Austria in 1811.

Nicholas II Prince Esterhazy
The story of Principality of Edelstetten is on Wikipedia. See wiki Edelstetten Abbey 151.38.81.216 (talk) 12:00, 22 July 2022 (UTC)