Profesor Thomas Winkelbauer of the University of Vienna is a respected historian of the Early Modern Age. His bibliography reveals that a large part of his research work focuses on the princely Liechtenstein family, both in his monographs (in particular Gundaker of Liechtenstein and Karl of Liechtenstein), as well as contextually (as part of the history of the aristocracy in the Early Modern Age and the wider context of Austrian history). Thomas Winkelbauer wrote an important monograph on Gundaker of Liechtenstein, to which he later added specialist studies and editorial sources. He uses this Austrian-Moravian to demonstrate how the world of the aristocracy worked in the Early Modern Age. He also examines the themes of religion and conversion as one of the decisive elements directly linked to the political rise of individuals and families in the Early Modern Age. It is also important to remember that for Winkelbauer, the Liechtensteins represent "the aristocracy which knows no bounds". All of these issues are also addressed in Winkelbauer's outstanding synthesis on Austrian history in the 16th and 17th centuries.