As a long-term counsellor to emperors Ferdinand II and especially to Ferdinand III, he was a leading figure in governing the Empire and the Austrian Erblande. Concluding many treaties for the Empire, he was a principal architect of the Peace of Westphalia where he was the head of the Imperial delegation.
Early life
Maximilian Johann was born as son of Johann Friedrich, Freiherr von Trauttmansdorff (1542-1614) and his wife Eva von Trauttmansdorff zum Freienthurn und Castelalt (b. 1549), who belonged to the other line of Trauttmansdorff family. Apart from his elder brother Johann David (d. 1627), he had sisters Susanna (d. 1620) and Elisabeth (1587-1653), who both married into House of Sinzendorf.
With Ferdinand's coronation to emperor in 1637, Maximilian, now the Imperial Obersthofmeister, became the most powerful person of the imperial court behind the emperor.[1]
He was the head of the delegation of the Holy Roman Empire for the Peace of Westphalia between 1645 and 1647 but was replaced by Johann Ludwig von Nassau-Hadamar in 1647 when his health deteriorated.[2] In September 1648, he convinced Ferdinand to agree to the peace treaty without involvement of or military support for Spain, thus removing the last barrier on the way to peace.[1]
Marriage and issue
In 1615 he married Countess Maria Sophia Pálffy ab Erdöd (1596-1668), together they had the following surviving children:
Count Adam Matthias von und zu Trauttmansdorff (1617-1687); married first to Countess Eva Johanna von Sternberg (d. 1674); married secondly to Maria Isabella Lobkowicz (1649-1719); no issue from both marriages
Count Johann Friedrich von und zu Trauttmansdorff (1619-1696); married first to Princess Maria Clara von Dietrichstein (1626-1667); married secondly to Countess Maria Eleonora von Sternberg (1654-1703); had issue from both marriages
Count Ferdinand von und zu Trauttmansdorff (d. 1692); married Countess Maria Elisabeth Kinsky von Wchinitz und Tettau (1670-1737); no issue
Countess Maria Elisabeth von und zu Trauttmansdorff; Prioress
Countess Maria Maximiliana von und zu Trauttmansdorff (d. 1692): married to Count Georg Siegmund von Herberstein (d. 1696)
Count Franz Anton von und zu Trauttmansdorff (d. 1683): married Countess Margaretha von Porcia; had issue
Count Maximilian von und zu Trauttmansdorff (d. 1705); married his relative Victoria Eleonora von Trauttmansdorff (d. 1705); no issue
Kampmann, Christoph (2016), "Trauttmansdorff, Maximilian Graf von", Neue Deutsche Biographie (in German), vol.26, Berlin: Duncker & Humblot, pp.376–378;(full text online)