Karl Johann Baptist, Prince of Dietrichstein

[1] Karl Johann, together with his younger brother Franz de Paula, graduated from the grammar school in Vienna, and in 1749 they went to study Law at Leipzig University.

[2] In 1763 he traveled from Copenhagen to Berlin, where he discussed with King Frederick II the investiture of Archduke Joseph as Holy Roman Emperor.

However, thanks to the intervention of his friend Franz Moritz von Lacy, Karl Johann met Countess Maria Christiana of Thun und Hohenstein (1738-1788), and soon became in love with her.

[2] In 1767, and as a reward for his services, Karl Johann Baptist entered in the Austrian branch of the Order of the Golden Fleece as the 782nd Knight since its foundation.

In 1769, Karl Johann received from his father the government of the Bohemian domains, which comprised the north of the whole Dietrichstein heritage, along with the Silesian County of Proskau.

Despite his new responsibilities, Karl Johann continue to spend most of his time involved in the court life and the study of Esotericism;[2] in consequence, the administration of his estates was in the hands of his wife Maria Christina.

After the fire which destroyed most of Nikolsburg on 14 September 1784, Karl Johann (who finally inherited the title of Prince of Dietrichstein after the death of his father one month later) moved permanently to the Imperial court in Vienna, while his wife Maria Christina stayed at the castle in Židlochovice, where she died in 1788.

A small part of the Masonic personal library of Karl Johann was located in Lipník nad Bečvou after being inherited by his great-granddaughter Gabriele of Dietrichstein, by marriage Countess and later Princess of Hatzfeld-Wildenburg.

The negotiations with the Russians for a safe passage were led by Karl Johann's son, Hereditary Prince Franz Joseph.