About Hotel Prince de Ligne

Charles Joseph de Ligne was born in Brussels on 23 May 1735 into the family of Claude Lamoral II, the sixth Prince of the House of Ligne, and Princess Elizabeth de Salm. Unfortunately he did not get to know his mother well; Elizabeth died when Charles was only five. He was raised by his uncle, Prince Ferdinand, and home teachers. Thanks to the diversity of their focus, Charles would learn about courtesy and etiquette as well as about literature, theatre, philosophy, and military tactics. Prince de Ligne was an excellent warrior, politician, an amusing author, for instance of memoirs, and a genuine aristocrat. Prince de Ligne met a lot of statesmen during his colourful life, such as Louis XV of France, Louis XVI of France, Marie Antoinette, Madame du Barry, Maria Theresa, Catherine the Great. He was friends with Potemkin, Talleyrand, Casanova, Goethe, Voltaire, Rousseau, and many other significant persons of that time. He had a close relationship with Germaine de Staël. Madame de Staël was one of Napoleon's principal opponents, and sought asylum in Teplice when persecution in France was at its peak. During the Vienna Congress about the post-war situation in Europe, Charles Joseph de Ligne died in his house in Vienna on 13 December 1814, after he was found unconscious and half-frozen in the park.