This comment by Prince Metternich suggested that events in France frequently inspire Europeans elsewhere. This phrase was inspired by the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Era, both of which Metternich lived through and saw the global implications of (that even affected his home country of Austria). He was born Karl von Metternich-Winneburg in Prague, then part of the Austrian Empire. His father was a high-ranking official in the Austrian government and his mother came from an old German noble family. He had two older brothers who also became prominent politicians. When Karl was only nine years old, his father was appointed governor of Vienna, so the young family moved to Austria's capital city. There, Karl's father continued to rise through the government bureaucracy until he was made prince-bishop of Seckau in Moravia at the age of 36. The bishop's job was not very powerful but it did give its holder access to a large sum of money which they needed to live on since neither brother was interested in politics or administration. When Karl Metternich was still a child, his parents died in a carriage accident. Since his father was now prince-bishop of Seckau, all their possessions passed to him. The young boy went to live with one of his parents' relatives in Vienna while his other parent returned to her family estate in Germany.