Sigismund von Schrattenbach

Who was Sigismund von Schrattenbach?

Sigismund Graf von Schrattenbach was the Archbishop of Salzburg from 1753 to 1771.

He was born in Graz, the son of Otto Heinrich, Graf von Schrattenbach, and Maria Theresa, Countess of Wildenstein and formerly Baroness Gall von Gallenstein.

After studying theology, Schrattenbach was ordained a priest in 1723. He became Archbishop of Salzburg after the death of Andreas Jakob Graf von Dietrichstein, and was himself succeeded after his death by Hieronymus von Colloredo. Michael Haydn wrote a Requiem in his honor, and stayed in Salzburg under the reign of Colloredo. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, on the other hand, left soon after. Schrattenbach died in Salzburg, aged 73. His funeral service on 2 January 1772 was the occasion for the first performance of Michael Haydn's Missa pro defunctis Archespiscopo.