Hieronymus von Colloredo
Prince-bishop (1732-1812)
Hieronymus Joseph Franz de Paula Graf Colloredo von Wallsee und Melz (German pronunciation: [hiˈʁɔnimʊs ˈjoːzɛf ˈfʁants də ˈpaʊla ˈɡʁaːf kɔloˈʁeːdo fɔn ˈvalzeː ʊnt ˈmɛlts]; Jérôme Joseph Franz de Paula, Count of Colloredo-Wallsee and Mels; 31 May 1732 – 20 May 1812) was Prince-Bishop of Gurk from 1761 to 1772 and Prince-Archbishop of Salzburg from 1772 until 1803, when the prince-archbishopric was secularized. After secularization, Colloredo fled to Vienna and remained the non-resident archbishop of Salzburg, bereft of temporal power, until his death in 1812. He is most famously known as a patron and employer for Mozart.
Early life
He was born in Vienna, Austria, the second son of Count, later Prince Rudolph Joseph von Colloredo (1706–1788), a high-ranking Imperial official and his wife, Countess Maria Gabriele of Starhemberg (1707–1793).
Life
Hieronymus was brought up in a strict religious household, and since his health did not allow him to pursue a military career, he was educated at the Theresianum Academy in Vienna, and studied philosophy at the University of Vienna and theology at the Collegium Germanicum et Hungaricum in Rome. One of his brothers was the Austrian general Wenzel Joseph von Colloredo.
Accession
The Prince-Archbishopric of Salzburg fell vacant in December 1771, and (with considerable pressure from the Imperial court in Vienna), Colloredo, who had been Prince-Bishop of Gurk since 1761, was elected Prince-Archbishop on 14 March 1772 on the 13th ballot. According to Clive, "it was an unpopular choice in Salzburg whose citizens remained cool to him until the end." Clive continues, "he was extremely autocratic and his dictatorial attitude at times provoked the hostility of the cathedral chapter and of civic officials."
Policies
During his thirty years as ruler of Salzburg, Colloredo implemented reforms similar to those carried out in the Austrian Empire under Joseph II; see Josephinism. According to Halliwell, he "was ultimately successful in his main aims, but the struggle was a perpetual one ... Colloredo had to establish like-minded people in each institution – ecclesiastical, educational, legal, medical, fiscal, administrative and publicistic – and persuade the reluctant populace to change its entire mentality." Halliwell adds that Colloredo "attracted European-wide admiration for his efforts."
Colloredo also resembled Joseph II in moving the Roman Catholic religion within his domains in a direction similar to Protestantism.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Hieronymus von Colloredo” as prince-bishop (1732-1812). Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the general reference register because the source frames it as prince-bishop (1732-1812). Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Named sources, stable identifiers and responsible institutions provide the strongest route from overview to verifiable evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jun 1, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q615681. VIAF identifies the subject as 49354001. The Library of Congress control number is n79016857. 3 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1732, 1812, 1761 and 1772.
A concise general-reference account can conceal disagreements about scope, terminology or the weight assigned to individual sources. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Hieronymus von Colloredo”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Hieronymus von Colloredo primary sources, Hieronymus von Colloredo archive and Hieronymus research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Hieronymus von Colloredo”?
- Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
- What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Hieronymus von Colloredo” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.