Francis joseph of austria biography of albert

For this reason, Franz Joseph was consistently built up as a potential successor to the imperial throne by his politically ambitious mother from early childhood. Up to the age of seven, little "Franzi" was brought up in the care of the nanny "Aja" Louise von Sturmfeder. Then the "state education" began, the central contents of which were "sense of duty", religiosity and dynastic awareness.

The theologian Joseph Othmar von Rauscher conveyed to him the inviolable understanding of rulership of divine origin divine graceand therefore a belief that no participation of the population in rulership in the form of parliaments was required. The educators Heinrich Franz von Bombelles and Colonel Johann Baptist Coronini-Cronberg ordered Archduke Franz to study an enormous amount of time, which initially comprised 18 hours per week and was expanded to 50 hours per week by the age of One of the main focuses of the lessons was language acquisition: in addition to French, the diplomatic language of the time, Latin and Ancient GreekHungarianCzech, Italian and Polish were the most important national languages of the monarchy.

In addition, the archduke received general education that was customary at the time including mathematics, physics, history, geographywhich was later supplemented by law and political science. Various forms of physical education completed the extensive program. From that point onward, army style dictated his personal fashion—for the rest of his life, he normally wore the uniform of a military officer.

The young archduke, who it was widely expected would soon succeed his uncle on the throne, was appointed Governor of Bohemia on 6 Aprilbut never took up the post. By all accounts, he handled his first military experience calmly and with dignity. Around the same time, the imperial family was fleeing revolutionary Vienna for the calmer setting of Innsbruckin Tyrol.

Called back from Italy, the archduke joined the rest of his family at Innsbruck by mid-June. It was here that Franz Joseph first met his cousin and eventual future bride, Elisabeth, then a girl of ten, but apparently the meeting made little impression. Following Austria's victory over the Italians at Custoza in late Julythe court felt it safe to return to Vienna, and Franz Joseph travelled with them.

It was thought that a new ruler would not be bound by the oaths to respect constitutional government to which Ferdinand had been forced to agree, and that it was necessary to find a young, energetic emperor to replace the kindly but mentally unfit Ferdinand. At this time, he first became known by his second as well as his first Christian name.

The name "Franz Joseph" was chosen to bring back memories of the new Emperor's great-granduncle, Emperor Joseph II Holy Roman Emperor from toremembered as a modernising reformer. Under the guidance of the new prime minister, Prince Felix of Schwarzenbergthe new emperor at first pursued a cautious course, granting a constitution in March At the same time, a military campaign was necessary against the Hungarians, who had rebelled against Habsburg central authority in the name of their ancient constitution.

Franz Joseph was also almost immediately faced francis joseph of austria biography of albert a renewal of the fighting in Italywith King Charles Albert of Sardinia taking advantage of setbacks in Hungary to resume the war in March However, the military tide began to turn swiftly in favor of Franz Joseph and the Austrian whitecoats. Almost immediately, Charles Albert was decisively beaten by Radetzky at Novara and forced to sue for peace, as well as to renounce his throne.

Unlike other Habsburg ruled areas, the Kingdom of Hungary had an old historic constitution[ 8 ] which limited the power of the crown and had greatly increased the authority of the parliament since the 13th century. The Hungarian reform laws April laws were based on the 12 points that established the fundaments of modern civil and political rights, economic and societal reforms in the Kingdom of Hungary.

The monarchs had no right to revoke Hungarian parliamentary laws which were already signed. This unconstitutional act irreversibly escalated the conflict between the Hungarian parliament and Francis Joseph. The Austrian Stadion Constitution was accepted by the Imperial Diet of Austriawhere Hungary had no representation, and which traditionally had no legislative power in the territory of Kingdom of Hungary; despite this, it also tried to abolish the Diet of Hungary which existed as the supreme legislative power in Hungary since the late 12th century.

The new Austrian constitution also went against the historical constitution of Hungary, and even tried to nullify it. The Austrian military intervention in the Kingdom of Hungary resulted in strong anti-Habsburg sentiment among Hungarians, thus the events in Hungary grew into a war for total independence from the Habsburg dynasty. On 7 Decemberthe Diet of Hungary formally refused to acknowledge the title of the new king, "as without the knowledge and consent of the diet no one could sit on the Hungarian throne", and called the nation to arms.

Even during the long personal union between the Kingdom of Hungary and other Habsburg ruled areas, the Habsburg monarchs had to be crowned as King of Hungary in order to promulgate laws there or exercise royal prerogatives in the territory of the Kingdom of Hungary. Constitutionally, Franz Josef's uncle Ferdinand was still the legal king of Hungary.

If there was no possibility to inherit the throne automatically due to the death of the predecessor king since King Ferdinand was still alivebut the monarch wanted to relinquish his throne and appoint another king before his death, technically only one legal solution remained: the parliament had the power to dethrone the king and elect a new king.

Due to the legal and military tensions, the Hungarian parliament did not grant Franz Joseph that favour. This event gave to the revolt an excuse of legality. Actually, from this time until the collapse of the revolution, Lajos Kossuth as elected regent-president became the de facto and de jure ruler of Hungary. While the revolutions in the Austrian territories had been suppressed byin Hungary, the situation was more severe and Austrian defeat seemed imminent.

Sensing a need to secure his right to rule, Franz Joseph sought help from Russiarequesting the intervention of Tsar Nicolas Iin order "to prevent the Hungarian insurrection developing into a European calamity". Finally, the joint army of Russian and Austrian forces defeated the Hungarian forces. After the restoration of Habsburg power, Hungary was placed under brutal martial law.

With order now restored throughout his empire, Franz Joseph felt free to renege on the constitutional concessions he had made, especially as the Austrian parliament meeting at Kremsier had behaved—in the young Emperor's eyes—abominably. The constitution was suspended, and a policy of absolutist centralism was established, guided by the Minister of the Interior, Alexander Bach.

He immediately struck the emperor from behind with a knife straight at the neck. Franz Joseph almost always wore a uniform, which had a high collar that almost completely enclosed the neck. The collars of uniforms at that time were made from very sturdy material, precisely to counter this kind of attack. Even though the Emperor was wounded and bleeding, the collar saved his life.

O'Donnell, hitherto a Count only by virtue of his Irish nobility, [ 22 ] was made a Count of the Habsburg monarchy Reichsgraf. For his deed he was later elevated to the nobility by the emperor and became Joseph von Ettenreich. He was executed on the Simmeringer Heide. After this unsuccessful attack, the emperor's brother Archduke Ferdinand Maximilian called upon Europe's royal families for donations to construct a new church on the site of the attack.

The church was to be a votive offering for the survival of the emperor. Francis of Assisithe patron saint of the emperor, on Charles Bridge. The next few years saw the seeming recovery of Austria's position on the international scene following the near disasters of — Under Schwarzenberg's guidance, Austria was able to stymie Prussian scheming to create a new German Federation under Prussian leadership, excluding Austria.

After Schwarzenberg's francis joseph of austria biography of albert death inhe could not be replaced by statesmen of equal stature, and the emperor himself effectively took over as prime minister. The s witnessed several failures of Austrian external policy: the Crimean Warthe dissolution of its alliance with Russia, and defeat in the Second Italian War of Independence.

The setbacks continued in the s with defeat in the Austro-Prussian War ofwhich resulted in the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of The Hungarian political leaders had two main goals during the negotiations. One was to regain the traditional status both legal and political of the Hungarian state, which was lost after the Hungarian Revolution of The other was to restore the series of reform laws of the revolutionary parliament ofwhich were based on the 12 points that established modern civil and political rights, economic and societal reforms in Hungary.

The Compromise partially re-established [ 27 ] the sovereignty of the Kingdom of Hungary, separate from, and no longer subject to the Austrian Empire. Instead, it was regarded as an equal partner with Austria. The compromise put an end to 18 years of absolutist rule and military dictatorship which had been introduced by Francis Joseph after the Hungarian Revolution of Her influence helped build the trust necessary for successful negotiations, and her personal popularity in Hungary significantly bolstered the monarchy's legitimacy in the region.

Francis joseph of austria biography of albert: Franz Joseph I or Francis

Political difficulties in Austria mounted continuously through the late 19th century and into the 20th century. However, Franz Joseph remained immensely respected; the emperor's patriarchal authority held the Empire together while the politicians squabbled among themselves. Following the accession of Franz Joseph to the throne inthe political representatives of the Kingdom of Bohemia hoped and insisted that account should be taken of their historical state rights in the upcoming constitution.

They felt the position of Bohemia within the Habsburg monarchy should have been highlighted by a coronation of the new ruler to the king of Bohemia in Prague the last coronation took place in However, before the 19th century the Habsburgs had ruled Bohemia by hereditary right and a separate coronation was not deemed necessary. His new government installed the system of neoabsolutism in Austrian internal affairs to make the Austrian Empire a unitary, centralised and bureaucratically administered state.

Francis joseph of austria biography of albert: ""The Emperor Francis Joseph And

When Franz Joseph returned to constitutional rule after the debacles in Italy at Magenta and Solferino and summoned the diets of his lands, the question of his coronation as king of Bohemia again returned to the agenda, as it had not since I will have myself crowned King of Bohemia in Prague, and I am convinced that a new, indissoluble bond of trust and loyalty between My throne and My Bohemian Kingdom will be strengthened by this holy rite.

In contrast to his predecessor Emperor Ferdinand who spent the rest of his life after his abdication in in Bohemia and especially in PragueFranz Joseph was never crowned separately as king of Bohemia. Inthe negotiations failed because of unsolved constitutional problems. Inthe Austro-Hungarian compromise and the introduction of the dual monarchy left the Czechs and their aristocracy without the recognition of separate Bohemian state rights for which they had hoped.

Bohemia remained part of the Austrian Crown Lands. In Bohemia, opposition to dualism took the form of isolated street demonstrations, resolutions from district representations, and even open air mass protest meetings, confined to the biggest cities, such as Prague. The Czech hopes were revived again in — In an Imperial Rescript of 26 SeptemberFranz Joseph referred again to the prestige and glory of the Bohemian Crown and to his intention to hold a coronation.

Under Minister-President Karl Hohenwart inthe government of Cisleithania negotiated a series of fundamental articles spelling out the relationship of the Bohemian Crown to the rest of the Habsburg Monarchy. On 12 SeptemberFranz Joseph announced:. Having in mind the constitutional position of the Bohemian Crown and being conscious of the glory and power which that Crown has given us and our predecessors … we gladly recognise the rights of the kingdom and are prepared to renew that recognition through our coronation oath.

The creation of the German Empiredomestic opposition from German-speaking liberals especially German-Bohemians and from Hungarians doomed the Fundamental Articles. Hohenwart resigned and nothing changed. Masaryk served in the Reichsrat Upper House from to in the Young Czech Party and again from to in the Realist Party which he had founded inbut he did not campaign for the independence of Czechs and Slovaks from Austria-Hungary.

The Bohemian question would remain unresolved for the entirety of Franz Joseph's reign. The main foreign policy goal of Franz Joseph had been the unification of Germany under the House of Habsburg. The Greater Germans favoured the inclusion of Austria in a new all-German state on the grounds that Austria had always been a part of Germanic empires, that it was the leading power of the German Confederationand that it would be absurd to exclude eight million Austrian Germans from an all-German nation state.

The champions of a lesser Germany argued against the inclusion of Austria on the grounds that it was a multi-nation state, not a German one, and that its inclusion would bring millions of non-Germans into the German nation state. If Greater Germany were to prevail, the crown would necessarily have to go to Franz Joseph, who had no desire to cede it in the first place to anyone else.

The contest between the two ideas, quickly developed into a contest between Austria and Prussia. After Prussia decisively won the Seven Weeks Warthis question was solved; Austria lost no territories to Prussia as long as they remained out of German affairs. The league had been designed by the German chancellor Otto von Bismarckas an attempt to maintain the peace of Europe.

It would last intermittently until It was the last use of such a veto, as the new Pope Pius X prohibited future uses and provided for excommunication for any attempt. During the mids a series of violent rebellions against Ottoman rule broke out in the Balkans, and the Turks responded with equally violent and oppressive reprisals. In the Budapest Convention ofthe two powers agreed that Russia would annex southern Bessarabiaand Austria-Hungary would observe a benevolent neutrality toward Russia in the pending war with the Turks.

As compensation for this support, Russia agreed to Austria-Hungary's annexation of Bosnia-Herzegovina. After his death, young Franz was trained to be the next emperor of Austria, although he was not in the line of succession. His uncle, Emperor Ferdinand, was mentally feeble, and his father was not efficient either. Thus, the young duke was raised to be a responsible monarch.

He had a short-lived childhood, as he started his career at the age of 13 and was soon joined by his brothers. He was also appointed as the governor of Bohemia after the resignation of Chancellor Prince Metternich. With the help of his prime minister, Schwarzenberg, and advisors such as Felix, Leo, and Alexander, Franz Joseph established the era known as neoabsolutism that lasted throughout the s.

Francis of Assisi Pages English St. Ronald Beavers PhD Dr. Joseph Redlich. Read Books Ltd. Erinnerungen an Franz Joseph I. Berlin, Cite this article Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography. January 8, Retrieved January 08, from Encyclopedia. Then, copy and paste the text into your bibliography or works cited list. Because each style has its own formatting nuances that evolve over time and not all information is available for every francis joseph of austria biography of albert entry or article, Encyclopedia.

Francis Joseph was emperor of Austria and king of Hungary. He was the last noteworthy ruler of the Hapsburg Empire. Born on Aug. Yet, because his mentally impaired uncle Ferdinand I proved childless, Francis was immediately viewed and educated as an heir presumptive. Proclaimed emperor after Ferdinand's abdication on Dec. The most serious of these, the Hungarian revolution, he crushed with Russian help.

Then, after this dearly won victory, he had to reconstruct his near-defunct empire. Begun under the aegis of a constitution March 4,this reconstruction continued throughout the s, although in constitutionalism was replaced by a system of absolutist centralism. Foreign-policy reverses during the s, however, compelled Francis Joseph to reconsider his position on constitutionalism.

Thus there soon ensued a period of constitutional experiments "October Diploma" of and "February Patent" of which kept the empire's political life in a constant state of crisis up to These crises, together with Austria's expulsion from Italy and Germanyconvinced Francis Joseph of the necessity of coming to terms with his subjects. He opted for a compromise with the strongest nationality, the Magyars.

The result was the Austro-Hungarian Compromise Ausgleich ofwhich brought about the dualistic reconstruction of the empire Austria-Hungarywith both halves receiving their own constitutional governments and internal autonomy, and their common affairs being reduced to matters of foreign and military policy and some finances. Although the new political structure was much more favorable for the evolution of political democracy and capitalism than the previous absolutist system, it still preserved the hegemony of the earlier ruling classes.

Francis Joseph did not regard the compromise as an ideal solution, but he fought all attempts to alter it for fear of disrupting the unity of his empire. The weakness of this arrangement was revealed not only in the continued rivalry between the two partners but also in the growth of German-Czech national antagonism and extremism in Bohemia and in the increasingly bellicose Serbian irredentism.

Having been pushed out of Italy and Germany, the empire under Francis Joseph became increasingly active in the Balkans, which resulted in its occupation and later annexation of Bosnia-Herzegovina. This policy, however, soon placed Austria-Hungary on a direct collision course with Russia, forcing Francis Joseph to seek support in Bismarckian Germany in the form of the Dual Alliance This alliance later proved to be the first step in the direction of the political polarization of Europe, a polarization that, together with the nationality struggle in the Danubian and Balkan region, was of decisive importance in the outbreak of World War I and the dissolution of the empire.

Francis Joseph was a man of simple tastes. His political thinking was as uncomplicated and simple as his private life. He was basically a benevolent despot, unable to grasp the meaning and purpose of modern ideologies and popular political institutions. At the same time he was devoted to duty, to honor, and to the welfare of his people. Above all, he believed in the calling and destiny of his beleaguered dynasty.

Francis joseph of austria biography of albert: Franz Joseph was the

The best works about Francis Joseph are the products of Austro-German historiography. Fortunately, a number of them have also appeared in English. Hallberg, Franz Joseph and Napoleon III, are excellent monographs, but they deal only with certain limited aspects of Francis Joseph's reign. Francis Joseph gale.