Archduke Maximilian Francis of Austria
| Archduke Maximilian Francis | |
|---|---|
| Archbishop-Elector of Cologne | |
 |
|
| Born |
8 December 1756 Hofburg Imperial Palace, Vienna, Lower Austria, Holy Roman Empire |
| Died | 26 July 1801 (aged 44) Hetzendorf Palace, Vienna, Lower Austria, Holy Roman Empire |
| House | House of Habsburg-Lorraine |
| Father | Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor |
| Mother | Maria Theresa of Austria |
Archduke Maximilian Francis of Austria (8 December 1756 in Vienna – 26 July 1801 in Vienna) was Archbishop and Elector Spiritual of Cologne (and as such Chancellor of the Holy Roman Empire for Italy), Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights, and the last child of the Habsburg ruler of Austria, Maria Theresa, and her husband, Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor. Not only his father, the ex-Duke of Lorraine, but also two of his brothers and one of his nephews were Holy Roman Emperors: Joseph II, Leopold II and, until his abdication in 1806 (see below), Francis II. Two of his sisters were Queen Consorts: Marie Antoinette of France and Maria Carolina of the Two Sicilies. He was the last fully functioning Elector of Cologne and was the employer and patron of the young Ludwig van Beethoven.
Maximilian Francis was born in the Hofburg Palace, Vienna. In 1780, he succeeded his uncle Prince Charles Alexander of Lorraine as Hochmeister (Grand Master) of the Teutonic Knights.
In 1784, he became Archbishop and Elector Spiritual of Cologne, living in the Electoral residence at Bonn. He remained in that office until his death in exile, in his capacity as Chancellor of the Holy Roman Empire for Italy and the Pope's deputy crowning as Emperor in Frankfurt-on-Main first his brother Leopold II in 1790, and in 1792 his nephew Francis II.
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