Prince Alois I.   1781 - 1805

Like his father, Prince Franz Josef I, Alois (born 1759, died 1805) performed military service for a short time and soon withdrew from the army for health reasons. His interests lay in other domains: as an expert in forestry, he planted various kinds of trees on his manors, whose seeds being brought by his commissioners even from America. He supported the ore reduction on his possessions in Moravia and constructed modern ironworks near Olmütz. He also dealt intensively with scientific problems.

He was a downright bibliophile and brought magnificent innovations to his library in the Herrengassen-Palace in Vienna. Thanks to him, the picture gallery was enriched with a few new acquisitions. Music and theatre captivated him to such a high degree, that he had his own musical band and spent three months a year organising his own ensemble in the Feldsberg Castle.