Melchior Friedrich von Schönborn-Buchheim

Melchior Friedrich, Count of Schönborn-Buchheim (16 March 1644 – 19 May 1717), was a German politician who served as a Minister of State of the Electorate of Mainz.

His younger brother, Lothar Franz von Schönborn, was the Archbishop-Elector of Mainz and Prince-Bishop of Bamberg, who is known best today for commissioning a number of Baroque buildings, such as the palace Schloss Weissenstein.

[2] In 1654, his father had acquired the noble residence of the Stockheim family in Geisenheim, dating back to 1550, which later became known as Schönborn Castle.

In 1671, Melchior acquired the fief of Reichelsberg (near Aub) from the Prince-Bishop of Würzburg, giving him access to the Franconian Circle of the Imperial Knights.

In 1710, Schönborn bought the estates of Göllersdorf, Mühlberg and Aspersdorf in Lower Austria from the last Count of Puchheim, Franz Anton von Bucheim, the then Bishop of Wiener Neustadt.

From 1711 to 1718, shortly after the purchase, Melchior Friedrich commissioned the architect Johann Lukas von Hildebrandt to convert the Mihlberg Fortress, which was located on the property, into a representative country castle.