Biography. Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire
Era of reign Franz Joseph, which lasted nearly seven decades, was the decline of the great Austrian empire.
Franz Joseph ascended the throne of the Austrian Empire at the age of eighteen, during the period when the revolution of 1848 was raging in the country. His uncle, Emperor Ferdinand I, abdicated the throne, and the father, Archduke Franz Karl, renounced inheritance rights, which opened the way for Franz Joseph to the imperial crown.
Portrait of the family of Franz Joseph I (1861). Commons.wikimedia.org
The position of the Austrian Empire during this period was critical, and only the intervention of Russian troops, who helped to suppress the revolution in Hungary, helped to prolong the existence of the Habsburg monarchy as a whole.
The weakness of power in the Austrian Empire forced Franz Joseph I to make political compromises, giving the national regions more and more rights.
In 1866, Austria was defeated in the war with Prussia, thus losing the opportunity to become the center of the unification of the German world.
In March 1867, the Austrian Empire became the Austro-Hungarian, a constitutional dualist monarchy. This decision was reached as a result of a compromise with a powerful national movement in Hungary.
Franz Joseph I was extremely skeptical of parliamentarism and adhered to conservative views, but the situation forced him to make more and more concessions. The emperor considered it the most important task to avoid military conflicts that could finally destroy the monarchy.
Franz Joseph I (1851). Commons.wikimedia.org
Time of big problems
This goal was achieved by Franz Joseph: from 1866 until the beginning of the First World War, Austria did not participate in military conflicts. The emperor tried to support the development of industry, science and culture, preserving the external splendor of the old monarchy.
In the 1870s, Austria-Hungary entered into a military-political alliance with Germany, which allowed it to somewhat restore its influence in European politics. After the Russian-Turkish war of 1877-1878, Austria-Hungary makes its last territorial acquisition, first occupying, and in 1908 annexing Bosnia and Herzegovina.
These actions of Austria-Hungary spoiled the country's relations with Russia and especially Serbia. In the territory of residence of the Slavic peoples of Austria-Hungary, Pan-Slavic organizations supported by Serbia actively acted, seeking independence from Vienna.
Franz Joseph in 1855. Photo: Commons.wikimedia.org
An additional problem in relations with the Slavic population of the empire was that Franz Joseph I was a zealous Catholic who had close relations with the papal throne, and many of his subjects professed Orthodoxy. Keeping the situation under control under these conditions was extremely difficult.
The fact that Franz Joseph did not have direct heirs did not add to the stability of the monarchy. In 1889, his only son, Crown Prince Rudolph, committed suicide. Died even earlier Franz Joseph's brother, Maximilian, proclaimed emperor of Mexico.
Became heir to the throne Franz Joseph's nephew, Archduke Franz Ferdinand... The emperor treated his nephew with detachment, did not bring him closer and did not seek to initiate him into state affairs.
The assassination attempt on Franz Joseph I (1853). Photo: Commons.wikimedia.org
Franz Joseph was not close to the ideas of Franz Ferdinand about the transformation of Austria-Hungary into the "United States of Austria-Hungary" with the expansion of the rights of the nations living in the state.
In addition, Franz Ferdinand was a categorical opponent of the military conflict with Russia, and at that time a "war party" was formed around Franz Joseph, which considered a possible military solution to the conflict with Serbia, as well as a military clash with Serbia's ally Russia with the help of Germany.
Attraction for war
The Austrian "war party" was led by Chief of the General Staff of Austria-Hungary Konrad von Hetzendorf, who called for war with Serbia, despite the possible intervention of Russia back in 1908, immediately after the annexation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Franz Joseph I and Hungarian Prime Minister Istvan Tisza (1905). Photo: Commons.wikimedia.org
This position was strengthened after in 1909 Russia, wanting to avoid war with Germany and Austria-Hungary, actually forced Serbia to recognize the annexation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The smoldering Balkan crisis erupted in June 1914, when the heir to the throne Franz Ferdinand and his wife were killed by a Serbian nationalist in Sarajevo.
84-year-old Franz Joseph, who survived another of his heirs, supported the "war party" intending to use the murder in Sarajevo as a pretext for a military solution to the "Serbian problem". Despite the fact that immediately after the death of Franz Ferdinand, the Austrian government and personally Emperor Franz Joseph rushed to assure Russia that they did not intend to undertake any military actions, three weeks later Serbia was presented with an obviously impracticable ultimatum. After Serbia rejected a number of its points, Franz Joseph I declared war on Serbia on July 28, 1914 and began to mobilize the army.
A few days later, the ensuing chain reaction of the allies of both sides turned into the outbreak of the First World War.
Thank you for not living
Emperor Franz Joseph, formally retaining the reins of government in his hands, appointed his commander-in-chief of the Austro-Hungarian troops brother, Archduke Frederick... According to Franz Joseph, Frederick had to "not interfere" with the actions of the main supporter of the war - Chief of General Staff Konrad von Hetzendorff.
However, the first months of the war showed that the Austro-Hungarian military leaders overestimated the power of their army. For a long time, Austria-Hungary could not defeat the many times outnumbered Serbian army, and the crushing defeat from the Russian army in the Battle of Galicia forced the military leaders to subsequently carry out operations only together with Germany, and not on their own.
The further the war went, the more obvious its destructive consequences for Austria-Hungary became. However, Franz Joseph I did not find the last act of the drama of his empire. His health deteriorated, and on November 21, 1916, in the midst of the war, the 86-year-old emperor died.
The last Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire and the first Austrian Emperor Franz I was born on February 12, 1768 in Florence. He was the son of Archduke Leopold, the future Emperor Leopold II, and the great-nephew of Empress Maria Theresa, who, during almost her entire reign, was forced to repel enemy attacks on Austria.
Franz was third in line to the throne after his uncle Archduke Joseph (future Joseph II) and his father, Archduke Leopold. He could take the throne only if his uncle dies childless, which ultimately happened.
In 1780, Maria Theresa died and Joseph II, Franz's uncle, ascended the throne. He called his nephew to Vienna and took up his upbringing. According to the Emperor, Franz was incapable and lazy and was very weak for the role of the future sovereign.
In 1788 he married Elizabeth Princess of Württemberg, who died two years later and their first marriage was childless.
In 1789, at the age of 21, Franz, who then had the title of Archduke, was the nominal commander-in-chief in the war with Turkey, where Austria fought in alliance with Russia. The actual commander-in-chief was then Field Marshal Laudon.
In 1790, after the death of Elizabeth of Württemberg, Franz remarried. His second wife was Maria Theresa of Sicilian from the Neapolitan Bourbon family. She bore him 13 children, including the future heir to the throne and Emperor Ferdinand I and the future second wife of Napoleon, Empress Marie-Louise.
In the same year, 1790, the unexpected happened. Emperor Joseph II, Franz's uncle, died childless. Franz's father, Emperor Leopold II, ascended the throne, and Franz unexpectedly became the heir to the throne.
In 1791, Franz, as heir, attended the convention of monarchs in Pilnitz, where the first coalition against France was formed. Austria and Prussia became its main participants, and England and Russia promised financial support.
On March 1, 1792, Franz's father Leopold II died and Franz ascended the throne of Austria, which took 43 years.
Already the first year of his reign was marked by the outbreak of war with revolutionary France.
Franz, despite the many defeats of his army, fought this war with enviable persistence. Even the defeats at Valmy, Gemappé and Fleurus and the execution of the royal family of France, one of the reasons for which was the contemptuous attitude of the Austrians towards the revolutionaries, did not stop him.
Prussia's withdrawal from the war in 1795, when she concluded the Basel Peace with France, did not stop him either.
Franz's military aspirations temporarily subsided after the lightning victories of General Bonaparte (the future Emperor Napoleon) in Italy in 1796-1797.
Within a year, Bonaparte managed to destroy the best Austrian armies, capture all of northern and central Italy and invade Tyrol, threatening Vienna.
As a result, Franz in 1797 was forced to sign a peace treaty in Campo Formio, where he ceded all of northern and central Italy, except Venice.
But this peace turned out to be only a brief truce, for Austria was eager to get even for the defeat.
And in 1799, when Bonaparte was in Egypt, the Russian army of the great A.V. Suvorov invaded Italy in alliance with the Austrians. The main fighting force was the Russian troops, who defeated the French and cleared them from the entire territory of Italy, conquered by Bonaparte. The Austrians behaved treacherously towards their allies. So they did not provide any assistance to the corps of General Rimsky-Korsakov, which was defeated in Switzerland near Zurich, which led Suvorov to the need to leave Italy.
Nevertheless, Italy, cleared of the French by Russian hands, was firmly captured by the Austrians. The only Italian fortress that did not surrender was Genoa.
But, as it turned out, it was not for long.
In 1800, Bonaparte, who returned from Egypt and became the first Consul, invaded Italy and on June 14, 1800, at Marengo, defeated the Austrians again. All northern and central Italy once again fell firmly into the hands of the French.
But Austria again did not reconcile and yearned for revenge. Its leading role in the Germanic world was shaken, for the French ruled there as at home. It was the same in Italy, from where Austria seemed to have been removed forever.
This became especially noticeable in 1804-1805, when Bonaparte became Emperor Napoleon, he planted his relatives and marshals on the thrones of the German principalities, completely ignoring the influence of Austria.
And in 1805, Austria joined the third coalition, hoping that, as in 1799, she would be able to win with Russian hands.
But soon the hopes were scattered to dust. The great army of Napoleon surrounded and destroyed the best army of General Mack at Ulm.
Then the French, steadily moving forward, took Vienna. The commander of the Russian army, MI Kutuzov, miraculously escaping the fate of Makka, took the army to Bohemia (now the Czech Republic), where he met with the Russian guard, led by Emperor Alexander the Great himself.
And on December 2, 1805, at Austerlitz, a battle was fought between the three Emperors, Napoleon, Franz and Alexander. Kutuzov was against this battle and offered to leave at least to Galicia (now western Ukraine), which Austria received after the partition of Poland, but Franz and Alexander insisted on the battle and it was miserably lost due to the stupid organization.
For Napoleon, the sun of Austerlitz rose, and Franz was forced to reconcile and again lose the provinces.
In 1806, Franz announced the end of the existence of the Holy Roman Empire, since Napoleon reigned supreme in Germany.
Franz remained only the Emperor of Austria. At the same time, the great Joseph Haydn wrote the Austrian hymn, which began with the words, "God save the Emperor Franz." Interestingly, the melody of this anthem, in other words, is now the anthem of Germany.
But, despite another setback, Austria was still waiting for the moment for revenge.
And this moment, according to Franz, came in 1809, when Napoleon, mired in a popular war in Spain, could act half-heartedly.
In addition, Alexander, who entered into an alliance with Napoleon in Tilsit in 1807, already in 1808 in Erfurt made it clear to the Austrian ambassador Vincent that he was not going to be a zealous and loyal ally of Napoleon.
In turn, the Austrians pinned their hopes on the Archduke Charles, who was considered a talented military leader.
And then in 1809 the war broke out. Even half of Napoleon's strength was enough to re-enter Vienna. But beyond Vienna, the battle of Essling awaited him, where he was almost defeated and buried one of his bravest marshals Lann.
But soon after Essling at Wagram, all the hopes of the Austrians were dashed. Napoleon won again. Austria again lost the provinces.
At the same time, Franz also renounced his partisans who were operating in Tyrol against Napoleon under the leadership of the peasant Andrei Gofer. Gopher was shot, and Tyrol fell under the rule of Napoleon.
It would seem that Austria has come to an end.
But suddenly the hope for deliverance came from the same Napoleon.
He asked for the hand of the daughter of Franz, Archduchess Maria Louise, and the delighted Franz agreed.
The new Chancellor Clement Metternich, who believed that in close alliance with Napoleon, Austria would be able to rise after humiliation, and eventually subjugate Napoleon, made him a feat for this.
In 1811, the grandson of Napoleon's heir, the future Duke of Reichstadt Karl Napoleon Franz, was born to Franz.
And in 1812, Franz singled out the corps of Prince Schwarzenberg into the composition of the Napoleonic "great army", which went to Russia. This corps operated on the flanks, but Napoleon even gave Schwarzenberg the rank of French Marshal. But he gave in vain, because after the defeat in Russia in the winter of 1813, Austria withdrew from the war, signing an armistice with Russia.
After the formation of the sixth coalition, Austria did not enter the war until August 1813. Metternich and Franz tried to persuade Napoleon for peace, through small concessions. For this, a congress was even convened in Prague. But Napoleon did not make any concessions and in August 1813 Austria joined the war, putting Schwarzenberg's corps in the Allied army.
After the defeat at Dresden and a number of private battles, the Allies defeated Napoleon at Leipzig on October 16-19, 1813, and by mid-November 1813 they had cleared almost all of Germany of the French.
Then Metternich and Franz tried to persuade Napoleon to reconcile again by sending him a proposal that if he agreed to peace, northern and middle Italy, Holland with Belgium and West Germany would remain in his power, i.e. he will remain the owner of a first-class power, which, according to Franz, will be an ally of Austria.
For the sake of appearance, Napoleon agreed, but again gathered troops and in the winter of 1814 a campaign began in France.
In February 1814, Austria for the last time offered Napoleon peace, already leaving him the borders of France proper. Peace talks began in Chatillon, but they did not lead to anything. Napoleon did not want to give in.
Meanwhile, on March 31, 1814, the Allies occupied Paris, and on April 6, 1814, Napoleon abdicated and went to the island of Elba in his first exile.
His wife and son returned to Vienna, where Emperor Franz bestowed the title of Duke of Reichstadt on Napoleon's heir and his grandson and raised him in the Austrian spirit.
Nevertheless, Napoleon's son knew well about his father and was an ardent admirer of him.
After the overthrow of Napoleon, a congress of the victorious powers gathered in Vienna, which was supposed to decide the fate of the former "great empire" of Napoleon. Prince Talleyrand was also present at the congress, representing the restored Bourbons who returned to power in France.
By the early spring of 1815, the winners had quarreled. War was approaching between Austria, England and Royal France on the one hand and Russia and Prussia on the other. Disagreement was caused by questions about Saxony and Poland.
But unexpectedly everyone was reconciled by Napoleon, who began his legendary "One Hundred Days".
Austria almost did not take part in the events of the "Hundred Days". So in the spring of 1815, Franz rejected Napoleon's demand to return his wife and son to him. Then, on behalf of the victorious countries, he declared that the allies would not put up with Napoleon as an "enemy of humanity".
Everything was decided by the catastrophe of the Napoleonic army at Waterloo, his second abdication and the occupation by the allies of France, in which the Austrians took part.
At the same time, the Austrians tried to save some figures of Napoleonic times, for example, Marshal Murat, but to no avail.
The Congress of Vienna ended in 1815. Germany and Italy fell undividedly under the rule of Austria. The Sacred Union of Monarchs was formed, in which Russia and Austria played the leading role.
In 1816, the third wife of Franz Maria-Louis of Modena, whom he married in 1807, after the death of Maria Theresa of Sicily, the mother of his children, died.
And in 1817, the Emperor married for the fourth time to the daughter of King Maximilian of Bavaria, Caroline-Augusta, who outlived her husband by more than 38 years and died in 1873.
The post-war period in Austria was distinguished by conservatism, which Franz, Metternich and other victorious sovereigns imposed throughout Europe.
On May 5, 1821, Franz's son-in-law, the Emperor Napoleon, died on the island of St. Helena. On this occasion, Franz wrote a short letter of sympathy to his daughter, the former Empress, and now the Duchess of Parma. Here is a quote: "... He died as a Christian. I deeply sympathize with your grief .." To this Maria Louise replied with such a letter, which completely reveals her attitude towards Napoleon: "You are mistaken, father. I never loved him .. I She did not wish him harm, and even less death .. Let him still live happily ever after, but far from me .. "
In 1825 (according to the official version), the inspirer of the Sacred Union, Emperor Alexander I, died, after which the congresses of the union, one of which Aachensky liberated France from occupation in 1818, were no longer convened.
In 1830, the July Revolution took place in France. She overthrew the Bourbons and brought to power Louis Philippe, the Duke of Orleans, who was a general of the revolutionary army during the great revolution. The tricolor and many ideas from the times of the revolution and Napoleon returned to France. But the countries of the Holy Union did nothing to prevent this.
Then there was an uprising in the Russian part of Poland and Franz pushed the troops into his part of Poland, but everything worked out there.
In addition, within the framework of the Holy Union, he participated in the suppression of the uprisings in Italy and the uprisings of Riego in Spain, which he earned even more than the Russian Nicholas I, the title of "All-European gendarme".
In the same 1830 in Vienna, the second son of Franz Archduke Franz-Karl was born a son, Franz Joseph. After 18 years, this man became the Emperor of Austria and over 68 years of reign led the once great power to complete collapse.
In 1832, Napoleon's son and Franz's grandson, the Duke of Reichstadt, died at the age of 21 in Vienna. He remembered well his great father and, apparently, was very worried, being in complete isolation in Vienna.
Moreover, in the last years of his life, the Duke of Reichstadt was visited by followers of his great father.
So they offered to nominate him to the throne of the independent Belgium formed in 1830, but the countries of the Holy Union flatly refused.
In the same 1830, several Bonapartists arrived in Vienna and invited the duke to go to Paris and come to power as the legitimate heir of his father, who, upon his abdication in 1815, handed over the throne to him. But the Duke of Reichstadt refused, saying that he was ready to come only when he was called by all the people, and did not want to come on bayonets and arrange civil strife.
Apparently, these meetings reached Franz and Metternich, and in 1832 the Duke of Reichstadt, whom the Bonapartists called Napoleon II, suddenly died under mysterious circumstances. According to one version, he was poisoned.
The body of the duke was buried in the burial vault of the Habsburgs Capuchinenkirche in Vienna, and in 1940, when both Vienna and Paris were under Nazi rule, the Nazis, in order to try to win some sympathy in the eyes of the French, transferred the body of the duke to Paris and buried in the Les Invalides next to his great father .. This did not bring sympathy, but since then, father and son have been resting next to each other ..
Franz himself lived for three more years and died on March 2, 1835 and was also buried in the Capuchinenkirche in Vienna. He ruled for 43 years, at that time more than all Austrian monarchs. But soon this record will be beaten by his grand-nephew Franz Joseph, who will rule for 68 years.
At the same time, in the 30s of the XIX century, a portrait gallery in memory of the heroes of the wars with Napoleon was created in the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg. A portrait of Franz was also placed in this gallery, who, however, personally did not take part in almost any battle, with the exception, perhaps, of the miserably lost Austerlitz.
Nevertheless, his portrait, the work of the artist Kraft, can be seen in the military gallery of the Hermitage in our time.
The memory of Franz remains this portrait, several monuments in Austria, the Czech Republic, Italy and Hungary, as well as Haydn's anthem, which became the anthem of Germany.
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The incredibly long reign (68 years) of the Austrian Emperor Franz Joseph was the period of the collapse of the great empire in the past. Franz Joseph became the Austrian emperor at the age of 18 (he was born in 1830). At that time, the flame of the 1848 revolution was burning in the country, as a result of which Emperor Ferdinand I (uncle of Franz Joseph) was forced to abdicate, and his brother (and father of Franz Joseph), Archduke Franz Karl, did not inherit him, as a result of which the crown passed immediately to the emperor's nephew.
Ascension to the throne
The young man was not too surprised by this turn of events, since their mother was more in charge of their family - Princess Sophia, who was the daughter of the Bavarian king Maximilian I and Caroline of Baden. The mother raised the boy in accordance with her own ideas about what a monarch should be. He had to go through a variety of military drills, so subordination, discipline, endurance and punctuality stuck in him for the rest of his life. But civil sciences (history, jurisprudence) were taught to the young man much more modestly, so he had to make up for their deficiency already as an emperor. But "bohemian things" like music, painting, poetry were considered completely superfluous, so in this area the emperor was a complete dilettante, which cannot be said about his wife, Empress Elizabeth.
Love-match
Among the crowned heads, Franz Joseph was incredibly lucky to marry for love. Sisi became his chosen one - that was the name of the Bavarian princess Elizabeth in her family. The wedding in 1854 was incredibly magnificent, but the life of the imperial couple went according to a bad scenario. Elizabeth did not have a relationship with her mother-in-law, which caused her a nervous breakdown. Sofia even took her daughter-in-law away from her daughter-in-law immediately after birth, trying to raise her according to her own rules. She repeated the same trick with her second daughter, but then, finally, Franz Joseph himself was indignant and forbade his mother to interfere in the private life of his family. True, even after that, closeness in the family was not restored. From such a life, the young empress began to strive to spend as little time as possible in Vienna: she lived in distant residences, stayed at home, traveled a lot. The old love also faded imperceptibly.
Monarch habits
The emperor, meanwhile, preferred to work hard. He woke up at 4 in the morning, but already at half past nine in the evening he went to sleep. Each of his days was scheduled strictly by the minute. He was a fairly capable person - he could speak many languages fluently, regularly performed the duties of a monarch, never was late for meetings, and worked a lot, governing the state. Franz Joseph hated various meetings, preferring to meet face-to-face with a specific minister who was in charge of the problem under discussion. It took him a lot of time, and at this time the beautiful and young empress was bored, so a couple of weeks after the wedding she was already yearning for freedom.
Franz Joseph was a well-known conservative, he loved a simple way of life, traditions, was rigorous in etiquette, he considered himself the last of the monarchs of the old school. He barely agreed to electrify his palace, but he did not dare to install telephones. His son died in vague, suicidal circumstances. Informing other European monarchs about this, Franz Joseph called the cause of his son's death an accidental shot during a hunt, but Pope Leo XIII could not lie and wrote about suicide, of which he was personally sure.
There is even a historical anecdote about the Hungarians, Austrians, Slovaks and Czechs - that they are still accustomed by their lark-emperor over the decades of his reign to get up very early and go to bed just as early.
Liberalization of the empire
In Europe, it was restless: in the east, the main, according to the emperor, the enemy was Russia, in the south Italy only thought how to get out from under the heavy Austrian heel, and Prussia grew and strengthened nearby, which after the defeat of the Austrian army in the battle of Sadovaya grabbed herself a significant chunk of Germany. And then even its own Hungary began to show signs of discontent, as a result of which it had to make concessions and reformat the power into Austria-Hungary with more liberal laws, to carry out administrative, military and judicial reforms in it. Galicia and partly the Czech Republic received autonomy. The reforms had a positive impact: the economy began to develop, the combat capability of the army increased, which was especially important against the backdrop of the failures of Germany and Italy.
The emperor himself hated any parliamentarism, being an ardent conservative in these matters, but the realities of modern life forced him to make more and more significant concessions. He considered his most important task to avoid military confrontation, which could quickly finish off the remnants of the empire.
The geographical discoveries of Franz Joseph
The empire successfully developed sciences, especially geography, since the emperor envied the neighbors - the maritime powers, who were successfully dividing the rest of the world at that time. In 1872, an Austrian expedition even managed to discover an archipelago in the Arctic Ocean, which was named Franz Josef Land. After the First World War, however, these islands became part of Russia. But these little-good islands with an unsuitable climate for life were the only territory that Franz Joseph was able to add to his empire.
Franz Joseph's relationship with the Vatican
When the conclave of cardinals met in 1903 to elect a new pontiff, Franz Joseph vetoed the candidacy of Cardinal Rampollo del Tindaro, which was voiced on behalf of the emperor by Cardinal Puzin of Krakow. The conclave did not dare to contradict the emperor, because he was the only monarch who did not conflict with the popes, so he chose Giuseppe Sarto. During his 68-year reign, Franz Joseph used this right of veto for the only time, which Pope Pius X later abolished altogether.
The last years of the monarch's life
In general, despite his long stay in power, this emperor did not make friends among equals, did not win love and devotion among his own subjects. The Czechs frankly hated him, and even the kind Hungarians for some reason did not show gratitude.
Franz Joseph became the Austrian emperor in 1848, when revolutionary events forced his father and uncle to abdicate. The reign of this monarch is a whole era in the life of the peoples that were part of the multinational Austro-Hungarian Empire. The ascetic monarch, whose character combined good nature with a love of army discipline, called himself "the senior official of the empire." From his youthful years he devoted himself entirely to the affairs of a vast state. Franz Joseph was an erudite person, fluent in French, English, Italian, could speak Polish, Hungarian and Czech.
In his personal life, the monarch was a deeply unhappy person. Having fallen in love, Franz Joseph 1 married Elizabeth of Bavaria, daughter of King Maximilian I. Their marriage could have been a happy one, but the intervention of the imperious Sophia - the emperor's mother - gradually alienated the spouses from each other. The mother-in-law took the children of Sissi (that was the name of the young empress in the household circle) and limited their meetings with their mother. This could not but affect the attitude of Elizabeth to her husband. Sissy never liked palace etiquette, so she preferred to live away from the courtyard. Elizabeth was the first beauty of the empire, her portraits in Austria and Hungary can still be found in the most unexpected places. The Empress was engaged in gymnastics, horseback riding, hunting, loved to travel, kept diaries and wrote poetry. Franz Joseph gave his beloved wife relative freedom, although he often lacked the presence of Elizabeth.
The troubles of the imperial couple began in their youth, when they buried their two-year-old daughter Sophia. In 1889, a new grief came to the family - their son Rudolph took his own life. Since then, Elizabeth has given up on light-colored clothes and began to withdraw even more into herself. After 9 years, the empress was gone. The heart of Franz Joseph's beloved wife stopped beating, pierced by a file - a tool of an anarchist killer.
The head of the two-pronged monarchy (the emperor of Austria-Hungary since 1867) pursued a successful internal policy, thanks to which Austria-Hungary in the second half of the 19th - early 20th centuries became one of the developed European states. At the same time, in foreign policy, Emperor Franz Joseph sometimes made fatal mistakes that led to very serious consequences. He refused to provide assistance to Russia in the Crimean campaign, thereby losing a reliable ally capable of strengthening the position of Austria-Hungary in the international arena. The monarch, who has done a lot for his country, is to a certain extent responsible for the collapse of the once great power. It is difficult to imagine how the fate of the peoples of the empire would have developed if Franz Joseph had not allowed himself in 1914 to be drawn into a conflict with Serbia, which led to the Emperor, who died in 1916, did not have a chance to see how the power that he ruled for 68 years ceased to exist ...
In Vienna, Franz Joseph, this great personality, has only one monument. It is located in the Burggarten garden and is made in the form of a lonely figure of a man immersed in painful thoughts, sadly walking along the paths of the garden.
Ivan Stychinsky
Franz Joseph I ( Franz Josef I) was born on August 18, 1830 in Laxenburg. His father, Archduke Franz Karl, was a rather insignificant and ordinary figure. For many of his qualities, as well as his succession to the throne, Franz Joseph owes his mother, the Bavarian princess Sophia. This smart and very energetic woman, " the only man in the imperial family”, Gave her son a very good thought-out education, dreaming to elevate him to the throne in the future. From childhood, the young Archduke showed remarkable abilities, especially in foreign languages. In addition to French, English and Latin, he knew Hungarian very well and spoke Polish, Czech and Italian fluently. Much attention in his education was paid to military sciences. This left a certain imprint on his character: all his life, Franz Joseph maintained a love of order, discipline, uniform and strict observance of the chain of command. On the contrary, music, poetry, art played an insignificant role in his life.
Emperor Franz Joseph I The Emperor wears the white "festive" uniform of German generals. Among the awards are the Military Medal, the Officer's Badge for Service, the Russian Military Order of St. George of the 4th degree, the stars of the highest degrees of the Military Order of Maria Theresa, the Order of St. Stephen, the Order of Leopold and the Order of the Iron Crown. Sash of the Military Order of Maria Theresa is worn over the shoulder
By nature, Franz Joseph had a sociable, cheerful disposition, he loved the simplicity of life and relationships. In the field of state and legal sciences, he did not have time to get fundamental knowledge, since his studies were interrupted by the revolution.
In December 1848, Emperor Ferdinand was forced to abdicate in favor of his nephew. From that moment, Franz Joseph became emperor. His full title is as follows: His Imperial and Apostolic Majesty Franz Joseph I, by God's grace the Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary and Bohemia, King of Lombard and, Dalmatian, Croatian, Galician and Illyrian, King of Jerusalem, etc .; Archduke of Austria; Grand Duke of Tuscan and Krakow; Duke of Lorraine, Salzburg, Styrian, Carinthian, Carniola and Bukovinian; Grand Duke of Transylvanian; Margrave of Moravian; Duke of Upper and Lower Silesia, Modena, Parma, Piacenza and Guastal, and Zatora; Teshinsky, Friulian, and; sovereign count of Habsburg and Tyrolean, Cyburg, Goriz and Gradish; prince of trent and brixen; Margrave of the Upper and Lower Lusatia and Istria; Count, Feldkirch, Bregenz, Sonneber, etc .; the sovereign of Trieste, Kotor and the Vendian mark; Great, and so on, and on, and on.
After becoming emperor, he married his cousin Elizabeth, daughter of King Maximilian I of Bavaria.
The long reign of Franz Joseph was filled with many upheavals, both external and internal. He stood at the helm of a huge empire torn apart by social and national contradictions. The first three years of his reign, the emperor had to reckon with the Constitution, but after 1849 the Russian troops suppressed the Hungarian revolution and the position of the Habsburgs strengthened so much that in December 1851 Franz Joseph abolished the constitution and restored absolutism. After the death in 1859 of the prime minister, Prince Alfred Windischgrez, who headed the liberal cabinet and played an important role at the beginning of the reign of the emperor, power was finally concentrated in the hands of Franz Joseph. He saw his main task in these years in preserving the unity and strengthening the power of the empire, in creating a strong centralized state, in which the borders between the various lands of the Habsburg monarchy would be erased. To this end, Franz Joseph tried to introduce a unified administrative, judicial and customs system throughout the state, to unify finance, taxation and the education system. However, many insurmountable difficulties eventually forced the emperor to abandon this policy.
The Crimean War was the first serious test for his system. Franz Joseph during these years came out firmly against Russia. He wrote to his mother: “ Our future is in the east, and we will drive the power and influence of Russia into those limits beyond which it went only because of the weakness and confusion in our camp. Slowly, preferably imperceptibly for Tsar Nicholas, but surely we will bring Russian politics to the point of collapse. Of course, it is not good to oppose old friends, but in politics it cannot be otherwise, and our natural enemy in the east is Russia". From this letter it is clear that Franz Joseph was hardly aware of how fundamental the old Sacred Alliance was for the preservation of his own empire. The Italian war, which began in 1859, turned out to be a bitter insight for the emperor. In three battles, the Austrian army is defeated by French and Sardinian troops. The emperor himself found himself in the same position in which he had recently put Nicholas I. The previous allies left him in the most insidious way: France fought on the side of Sardinia, and Prussia " didn't even lift a finger", Calmly watching" gross trampling»The rights of Austria. In November, a peace was signed in Zurich, according to which Lombardy came under the rule of the Savoy dynasty; but it turned out that the emperor had not yet fully drunk the cup of humiliation. In 1866 Austria suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of the Prussian troops at Sadovaya. She had to leave Germany, which a few years later united under the rule of Prussia. Immediately after this, a powerful uprising began in Hungary, which threatened the final collapse of the Habsburg monarchy. Franz Joseph realized that the previous course would bring him nothing but defeat. To preserve the unity of the state, it was necessary to make significant concessions to the national and liberal movement.
Back in 1861, Franz Joseph agreed to the introduction of a constitution in Austria. In 1867, a very liberal constitution was given to the Hungarians. She gave them perfect autonomy, equalized them in rights with the Austrians, organized all the internal government of the country on a national basis and allowed them to have their own army. In the same year, Franz Joseph was crowned King of Hungary in Budapest. Following this, full autonomy was introduced in Galicia and partial - in the Czech Republic. Jury trials were established throughout the empire and the irremovability of judges was recognized. The following years have shown that the policy of reforms, despite all its moderation, is yielding good results. With the introduction of universal conscription, the army was strengthened. Finances were strengthened. The construction of numerous railways led to an industrial boom. Equality of religion was declared. Great strides have been made in the field of education. Vienna and other cities expanded and adorned with beautiful buildings. The alienation from Prussia after 1866 was overcome in 1878, when Austria-Hungary received at the Berlin Congress the right to temporarily occupy Bosnia and Herzegovina.
In these and subsequent years, Franz Joseph strengthened his reputation as a balanced, tactful, benevolent monarch. He never imposed his will, but, on the contrary, tried to be a sensitive and skillful administrator. The emperor was engaged in management affairs himself. He tried to cover the whole complex of problems and delve into every little detail, devoting a lot of time to reviewing papers. His favorite residence throughout his life was Schönbrunn. The emperor got up very early - already at four o'clock in the morning he was on his feet, put on a general's uniform, drank a cup of coffee and started business, which he did until 10 o'clock with remarkable diligence and accuracy. This was followed by audiences and conferences with ministers. He never held collegiate meetings of the Council of Ministers, but always communicated with each minister separately. At one o'clock in the afternoon it was time for breakfast. It was served right in the office so that the emperor would not be distracted from his affairs. At three o'clock the work was interrupted. After the walk, Franz Joseph left for Vienna. At 6 o'clock he returned to Schönbrunn, dined in a narrow circle of guests. At half past eight the emperor went to bed. This measured routine has not been disturbed for many years. Now they say that Austrians, Hungarians and Czechs get up early and go to bed early, so life in cities starts and ends earlier. Franz Joseph, a former "lark", taught the whole empire to his routine.
The personal life of the emperor was unhappy. He never had many friends, and he was close with his wife only in the first years after the wedding. In the future, Elizabeth almost never lived in Austria, preferring Hungary and other countries to her. In 1898, she was killed by an Italian anarchist who did not even know who he was attempting to assassinate. The eldest son and heir of the emperor Rudolph, a bright but nervous nature, unexpectedly for everyone committed suicide in 1889. The younger brother Maximilian, having become the Mexican emperor, was shot by the rebels in 1867. The second brother of the emperor, Karl Ludwig, died in 1896. His son Franz Ferdinand was declared heir to the throne. The emperor was aloof towards his nephew, did not come close to himself and did not seek to initiate him into state affairs. In 1908, Franz Joseph celebrated the sixtieth anniversary of his reign.
On June 28, 1914, Franz Ferdinand and his wife were killed in Sarajevo. The murderer was the Serb Gavrila Princip. As you know, this murder marked the beginning of the First World War. Despite his reluctance to get involved in an international conflict (especially since he was extremely pissimistic about the prospects for war), Franz Joseph agreed with the representatives of the "war party" - v. including the Chief of the General Staff of the General. Franz Konrad von Hetzendorff and L. Berchtold - and began to escalate the conflict. In the early days, the emperor said: “ If the monarchy is destined to perish, then at least it must perish with dignity". With the outbreak of war, the emperor did not take the lead in the army, but appointed his brother, Archduke Frederick, as commander. For another two years, the emperor tried to keep all the threads of government in his hands, but then his condition deteriorated sharply and on November 21, 1916, Franz Joseph I died in Schönbrunn.
The archipelago in the Arctic Ocean, which now belongs to the Russian Federation, was named in his honor - "Franz Josef Land", discovered by Austrian explorers in 1873.
