Karl Graf von Arco-Zinneberg (1931-1990)
![]() Biography Karl Antonius von Padua Maria Ernst Ludwig Joseph Ferdinand Konrad von Parzham Petrus Canisius Kaspar Anastasius Bernhardus Graf von Arco-Zinneberg was born in München on 18 August 1931. His father Ferdinand Maria Joseph Maximilian Ludwig Antonius Aemilian Balthasar (1882-1940) first married (in 1922) Maria Angela Gräfin von Spee (1890-1928), daughter of Wilhelm Emanuel Friedrich Graf von Spee (1855-1934) and Melanie Gräfin von Waldersdorff (1864-1937). They had 3 children:
When Maria died, Ferdinand was left behind with three very young children and he soon remarried (in 1929) with Maria Gräfin Fugger von Glött (1894-1935), daughter of Carl Ernst Fürst Fugger von Glött (1859-1940) and Elisabeth Gräfin von Quadt zu Wykradt und Isny (1862-1940). Ferdinand and Maria had two children. Their oldest son Karl was born in 1931, the second son Albert in 1932. Sadly this marriage also was a very short one. Ferdinand’s second wife died in 1935, her children being 4 and 3 years old. Ferdinand died in 1940, in the same year as both his parents-in-law. The children were raised in the Fugger castle in Kirchheim in Schwaben (near Mindelheim), since 1886 the house castle of the Fugger von Glött family. Karl’s brother Albert was adopted by his uncle Joseph Ernst Fürst Fugger von Glött, whose name he took. After finishing his education at the Sankt Blasien Gymnasium Internat (Südschwarzwald), Karl Graf von Arco-Zinneberg started working at the German automobile manufacturer Mercedes Benz in the headquarters in Stuttgart. He stayed there for 33 years, becoming responsible for marketing and public relations. Karl Graf von Arco-Zinneberg was a knight of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, the world's oldest surviving order of chivalry. He was also a knight of the Order of the Four Emperors, also known as the Old Order of St George. In 1961 in Mauern, Karl married Hedwig Gräfin Henckel von Donnersmarck (Born in Schloss Grambschütz, Schlesien, on 16 June 1935), daughter of Georg Graf Henckel von Donnersmarck (1902-1973) and Marie Sophie Gräfin von Waldburg-Wolfegg-Waldsee (1904-1985). They have four daughters:
Karl Graf von Arco-Zinneberg died in Stuttgart on 6 October 1990 and was buried there. His name is also to be found in the Pfarr- und Wallfahrtskirche Mariä Himmelfahrt of Tuntenhausen, where the counts of Arco-Zinneberg have a funeral chapel. Related families Karl von Arco’s grandfather, Carl Ernst Fugger von Glött was a jurist, president of the imperial council of the crown of Bavaria and royal colonel marshal of the Kingdom of Bavaria. Furthermore he was Lord of Kirchheim in Schwaben, Lord of Oberndorf and Count of Kirchberg and Weißenhorn. The Fugger family is a German family that was a historically prominent group of European bankers, members of the fifteenth and sixteenth-century mercantile patriciate of Augsburg, international mercantile bankers, and venture capitalists. Alongside the Welser family, the family controlled much of the European economy in the sixteenth century and accumulated enormous wealth. This banking family replaced the de' Medici family, who influenced all of Europe during the Renaissance. The Fuggers took over many of the Medicis' assets and their political power and influence. Karl’s paternal grandmother was Josephine Prinzessin von Lobkowicz (1853-1898). The Lobkowicz family dates back to the 14th century and is one of the oldest Bohemian noble families. They played a prominent role in Central European history for over seven hundred years. Successive generations have held the highest of noble titles, including Princes of the Holy Roman Empire, High Chancellors of Bohemia, Dukes of Sagan and of Roudnice, and Knights of the Order of the Golden Fleece. The first Lobkowiczs were members of the gentry of north-eastern Bohemia in the late 14th century. One branch of the family belongs to the Belgian nobility. Josephine’s grandfather Joseph Franz Maximilian (1772-1816) was particularly known for his interest in music and as a patron of Ludwig van Beethoven. |