Die Hofkammer und ihr ungetreuer Präsident

The `Hofkammer` was the top financial office of the emperor during the reign of Leopold I. It was headed by a collective body (`Hofkammerrat`), which was chaired by a president. Up to now there has been no thorough and systematic investigation into the Hofkammer`s duties, its organisational set-up und its working methods. The present volume undertakes to close this scientific gap. In addition, attention is given to the history of this authority, to the location of its office and to the civil servants employed. In this context should be mentioned that individual members of the staff coud be identified and allocated to the major layers in the hierarchy. Furthermore, the working conditions and the salaries of the staff have been investigated, revealing a level of pay which could well contribute to the proneness to corruption. It has been attempted to find out how far an average civil servant on the staff of the Hofkammer could afford an appropriate lifestyle on den basis of the official salary he received. A particular special event at that time was the fall of the Hofkammer president Georg Ludwig Sinzendorf. For more than thirty years he was a member of the Hofkammerrat, chairing it 23 years. From the beginning of his term of office Sinzendorf`s personal integrity and his administration were judged controversial. In spite of these well known allegations Sinzendorf was held in his office by the Emperor; moreover, he was protected against future accusations. As these allegations did not disappear the Emperor ordered proceedings against the president through a special court (iudicium delegatum), which eventually led to a sentence against Sinzendorf. So far there has been no scientific examination of the proceedings. Only the verdict is well- known, as it was published soon after Sinzendorf`s death. The present work focuses on the allegations, the crimes committed und the formal proceedings. Furthermore, the circumstances and the details of the Emperor`s pardon could be clarified as well as how Sinzendorf could manage to settle the enormous fine. In the final chapter consideration is given to the success of the Hofkammer. It is discussed how good its performance was, in what areas it had a realistic opportunity to improve its performance and to what extent it took the chance to do so. The attachment contains an extensive edition of sources relevant to the Hofkammer and its subordinate offices together with a selection of documents of the proceedings against Sinzendorf.