Portraits
In accordance with his social class, Archduke John was educated by private tutors such as the Swiss Johannes von Müller and Armand, Count Mottet. They helped John develop a great interest in the history of his imperial family, the Habsburgs, and in his Austrian homeland.
As a consequence, John collected an impressive number of portraits of well-known members of his family, from Emperor Maximilian I and his no less famous descendant, Emperor Charles V (“on whose realm the sun never set”), as well as the brothers Rudolf and Matthias, both of whom held the office of Holy Roman Emperor at the beginning of the Thirty Years’ War. Among the Tyrolean sovereign princes were Archduke Ferdinand II of Tyrol with his bourgeois wife Philippine Welser, as well as Archduke Maximilian III, Grand Master of the German Order, or Archduke Leopold V and his son Archduke Ferdinand Charles who married Claudia and Anna de` Medici respectively.
Archduke John’s writing room, still in its original state, is dedicated to portraits of his young and pretty wife Anna, Countess of Meran, née Plochl, and his descendants, the Counts of Meran. Given the overwhelming number of these – over 1,700 according to the 2019 count – the selection of portraits is limited to the elders of each generation who have occupied Schenna Castle since 1859, up to and including the current owner,
Franz, Count of Meran.
As a consequence, John collected an impressive number of portraits of well-known members of his family, from Emperor Maximilian I and his no less famous descendant, Emperor Charles V (“on whose realm the sun never set”), as well as the brothers Rudolf and Matthias, both of whom held the office of Holy Roman Emperor at the beginning of the Thirty Years’ War. Among the Tyrolean sovereign princes were Archduke Ferdinand II of Tyrol with his bourgeois wife Philippine Welser, as well as Archduke Maximilian III, Grand Master of the German Order, or Archduke Leopold V and his son Archduke Ferdinand Charles who married Claudia and Anna de` Medici respectively.
Archduke John’s writing room, still in its original state, is dedicated to portraits of his young and pretty wife Anna, Countess of Meran, née Plochl, and his descendants, the Counts of Meran. Given the overwhelming number of these – over 1,700 according to the 2019 count – the selection of portraits is limited to the elders of each generation who have occupied Schenna Castle since 1859, up to and including the current owner,
Franz, Count of Meran.
