The Cobenzl family was an Austrian noble family from Carinthia. They had the bulk of their possessions in present-day Slovenia and had an important role in the history of Carniola and the County of Gorizia. Several of its members served as diplomats for the Habsburg rulers.
The family was first mentioned in 1204, and was elevated by imperial order to Freiherren von Cobenzl in 1588 and raised to Imperial Counts in 1722. In the 1570s, baron Johann Cobenzl was the ambassador of emperor Maximilian II and later Rudolf II at the court of the Russian tsar Ivan the Terrible.[1] He also served as regent (Landeshauptmann) of Carniola. Other members of the families have served as regents in Gorizia and Carniola in the 17th and 8th century.[2]
By the 16th century, most of the family's estates were located in what is now Slovenia. Among others, the Cobenzls owned the castles of Predjama and Štanjel.
During the 18th century, several notable members of the family held important administrative and political positions in the Habsburg monarchy, especially in the Austrian Netherlands (present-day Belgium):
Jean-Philippe de Cobenzl, died 1702: Married Jeanne de Lanthiery