Franz Joseph I and his family. Franz Joseph I and his family Love marriage
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. Franz Joseph owes many of his qualities, as well as his succession to the throne, to his mother, the Bavarian Princess Sophia. This intelligent and extremely energetic woman, “ the only male in the imperial family", gave her son a very good, well-thought-out education, dreaming of later elevating him to the throne. 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 fluent Polish, Czech and Italian. 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 chain of command. On the contrary, music, poetry, and 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 IV degree, 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. The ribbon of the Military Order of Maria Theresa is worn over the shoulder
By nature, Franz Joseph had a sociable, cheerful disposition, and loved the simplicity of life and relationships. In the field of state and legal sciences, he did not have time to gain 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 this moment on, Franz Joseph becomes emperor. His full title is as follows: His Imperial and Apostolic Majesty Franz Joseph I, by the grace of God Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary and Bohemia, King of Lombardy and Dalmatia, Croatia, Galicia and Illyria, King of Jerusalem, etc.; Archduke of Austria; Grand Duke of Tuscany and Krakow; Duke of Lorraine, Salzburg, Styrian, Carinthian, Carniolian and Bukovinian; Grand Duke of Transylvania; Margrave of Moravia; Duke of Upper and Lower Silesia, Modena, Parma, Piacenza and Guastal, and Zatora; Teshinsky, Friulian, and; sovereign count of Habsburg and Tyrolean, Kyburg, Goriz and Gradis; Prince of Trent and Brixen; Margrave of Upper and Lower Lusatia and Istria; Count, Feldkirch, Bregenz, Sonneber, etc.; sovereign of Trieste, Kotor and the Vendian mark; Great, and so on, and so on, and so on.
Having become emperor, he married his cousin Elisabeth, daughter of King Maximilian I of Bavaria.
The long reign of Franz Joseph was filled with many upheavals, both external and internal. He took the helm of a huge empire, torn apart by social and national contradictions. For the first three years of his reign, the emperor had to reckon with the Constitution, but after 1849, Russian troops suppressed the Hungarian revolution and the Habsburg position became so strong that in December 1851, Franz Joseph abolished the constitution and restored absolutism. After the death in 1859 of Prime Minister Prince Alfred Windischgrätz, who headed the liberal cabinet and played an important role at the beginning of the emperor's reign, power was finally concentrated in the hands of Franz Joseph. He saw his main task during these years in maintaining the unity and strengthening the power of the empire, in creating a strong centralized state in which the boundaries 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 finances, taxation and the education system. However, many insurmountable difficulties finally forced the emperor to abandon this policy.
The Crimean War became the first serious test for his system. Franz Joseph stood firmly against Russia during these years. He wrote to his mother: “ Our future is in the east and we will drive the power and influence of Russia into the limits beyond which it has gone only because of weakness and discord in our camp. Slowly, preferably unnoticed by Tsar Nicholas, but surely we will bring Russian politics to collapse. Of course, it’s not good to oppose old friends, but in politics it’s impossible to do 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 "Holy Alliance" was to the preservation of his own empire. The Italian War, which began in 1859, turned out to be a bitter epiphany for the emperor. In three battles, the Austrian army was defeated by French and Sardinian troops. The emperor himself found himself in the same position in which he had shortly before placed Nicholas I. His former allies abandoned 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» 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 completely drunk the cup of humiliation. In 1866, Austria suffered a crushing defeat from Prussian troops at Sadovaya. She had to leave Germany, which a few years later was united under the leadership of Prussia. Immediately after this, a powerful uprising began in Hungary, threatening the final collapse of the Habsburg monarchy. Franz Joseph realized that his previous course would bring him nothing but defeat. To preserve the unity of the state, significant concessions had to be made 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 provided them with complete autonomy, equalized their rights with the Austrians, organized the entire internal administration of the country on a national basis and allowed them to have their own army. That same year, Franz Joseph was crowned King of Hungary in Budapest. Following this, full autonomy was introduced in Galicia and partial autonomy in the Czech Republic. Throughout the empire, jury trials were established and the irremovability of judges was recognized. Subsequent years showed that the reform policy, despite all its moderation, produces good results. With the introduction of universal conscription, the army became stronger. Finances have strengthened. The construction of numerous railways led to an industrial boom. Equality of religions was declared. Great strides have been made in the field of education. Vienna and other cities expanded and were decorated with beautiful buildings. The estrangement with Prussia that occurred 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, he tried to be a sensitive and skillful administrator. The emperor handled administrative affairs himself. He tried to cover the whole range of problems and delve into every detail, devoting a lot of time to looking through 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 his general's uniform, drank a cup of coffee and got down to business, which he did until 10 o'clock with remarkable diligence and accuracy. This was followed by audiences and meetings with ministers. He never held collegial 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 his office so that the emperor would not be distracted from his business. At three o'clock work was interrupted. After the walk, Franz Joseph went to Vienna. At 6 o'clock he returned to Schönbrunn and dined with a narrow circle of invitees. At half past eight the emperor went to bed. This measured routine was not disturbed for many years. Now they say that Austrians, Hungarians and Czechs get up early and go to bed early, so life in cities begins and ends earlier. Franz Joseph, who was a “lark”, accustomed the entire empire to his routine.
The emperor's personal life was unhappy. He never had many friends, and he was close to his wife only in the first years after their wedding. Subsequently, Elizabeth almost never lived in Austria, preferring Hungary and other countries. In 1898, she was killed by an Italian anarchist, who did not even know who he was attacking. The emperor's eldest son and heir, Rudolf, a bright but nervous character, unexpectedly committed suicide in 1889. The younger brother Maximilian, having become the Mexican emperor, was shot by rebels in 1867. The Emperor's second brother, Karl Ludwig, died in 1896. His son Franz Ferdinand was declared heir to the throne. The emperor treated his nephew with detachment, did not approach him and did not seek to involve him in 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 killer was Serbian 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 pessimistic about the prospects for war), Franz Joseph agreed with the representatives of the “war party” - V. including the Chief of the General Staff, General. Franz Conrad von Hetzendorf and L. Berchtold - and began the escalation of the conflict. In the first days the emperor said: “ If the monarchy is destined to die, then it should at least die with dignity" At the outbreak of war, the emperor did not take charge of 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.
An archipelago in the Arctic Ocean that now belongs to the Russian Federation, Franz Josef Land, discovered by Austrian explorers in 1873, was named in his honor.
Age of Reign Franz Joseph, which lasted nearly seven decades, became the period of decline of the great Austrian Empire.
Franz Joseph ascended to the throne of the Austrian Empire at the age of eighteen, during the period when the 1848 revolution was raging in the country. His uncle Emperor Ferdinand I, abdicated the throne, and the father, Archduke Franz Karl, renounced the rights of inheritance, 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 assisted in suppressing 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 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 unification of the German world.
In March 1867, the Austrian Empire became the Austro-Hungarian Empire, a constitutional dualist monarchy. This decision was reached as a result of a compromise with the 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 the most important task to be to avoid military conflicts that could completely destroy the monarchy.
Franz Joseph I (1851). commons.wikimedia.org
Time for big problems
Franz Joseph managed to achieve this goal: from 1866 until the outbreak of the First World War, Austria did not participate in military conflicts. The emperor tried to support the development of industry, science and culture, and preserved the external splendor of the ancient 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 Russo-Turkish War of 1877-1878, Austria-Hungary made its last territorial acquisition, first occupying and annexing Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1908.
These actions of Austria-Hungary spoiled the country's relations with Russia and especially Serbia. In the territory inhabited by the Slavic peoples of Austria-Hungary, pan-Slavic organizations supported by Serbia were active, 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 devout 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 had no direct heirs did not add to the stability of the monarchy. In 1889 his only son, Crown Prince Rudolf, 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 to him and did not seek to involve him in state affairs.
Assassination attempt on Franz Joseph I (1853). Photo: Commons.wikimedia.org
Franz Joseph was not close to the ideas of Franz Ferdinand about transforming Austria-Hungary into the “United States of Austria-Hungary” with the expansion of the rights of the nations living within the state.
In addition, Franz Ferdinand was a categorical opponent of a military conflict with Russia, and at that time a “war party” formed around Franz Joseph, which believed that a military solution to the conflict with Serbia was possible, as well as a military clash with Serbia’s ally Russia with the help of Germany.
Craving for war
The Austrian "War Party" was headed by Chief of the General Staff of Austria-Hungary Konrad von Hetzendorff, who called for war with Serbia, despite possible Russian intervention back in 1908, immediately after the annexation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Franz Joseph I and Hungarian Prime Minister István Tisza (1905). Photo: Commons.wikimedia.org
This position was strengthened after Russia, in 1909, 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 heir to the throne Franz Ferdinand and his wife were killed at the hands of a Serbian nationalist in Sarajevo.
84-year-old Franz Joseph, who outlived another of his heirs, supported the “war party,” which intended 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 Emperor Franz Joseph personally hastened to assure Russia that they did not intend to take any military action, three weeks later Serbia was presented with an obviously impossible ultimatum. After Serbia rejected a number of his points, Franz Joseph I declared war on Serbia on July 28, 1914 and began mobilizing the army.
A few days later, the ensuing chain reaction of the allies of both sides turned into the beginning of the First World War.
Thank you for not making it
Emperor Franz Joseph, formally retaining the reins of power in his hands, appointed his commander-in-chief of the Austro-Hungarian troops brother, Archduke Frederick. According to Franz Joseph, Frederick should “not interfere” with the action of the main supporter of the war - Chief of the 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 Serbian army, which was many times inferior in numbers, and the crushing defeat from the Russian army in the Battle of Galicia completely forced the military leaders to subsequently conduct operations only together with Germany, and not on their own.
The further the war went, the more obvious its disastrous consequences for Austria-Hungary became. However, Franz Joseph I did not see the last act of the drama of his empire. His health deteriorated, and on November 21, 1916, at the height of the war, the 86-year-old emperor died.
German king in 1745--1764. Emperor of the Holy Roman
empire in 1745 -1765. Son of Duke Leopold of Lorraine and Elizabeth
(future Queen of Hungary and the Czech Republic), daughter of Emperor Charles VI (born 1717)
Franz belonged to an ancient French family. On his father's side he was
grandson of the glorious Duke Charles of Lorraine, who shared with Jan Sobieski
the glory of the famous victory over the Turks near Vienna in 1683. His mother was
niece of Louis XIV, daughter of his brother, Duke of Orleans. He was born in
France, and at the age of thirteen he was brought to Vienna, where he grew up before his eyes.
future wife. In 1729, upon the death of his father, Franz became Duke
Lorraine. Seven years later Charles VI married him to his daughter Mary
Theresa, who was supposed to eventually inherit all his possessions. IN
1737, after the War of the Polish Succession, the young prince ceded
Lorraine of France, and in return received the Duchy of Tuscany, in which
The glorious Medici family was extinguished. Finally, his wife, having become a ruler
Austria, gave him the title of Roman Emperor in 1745.
In his habits and in his communication, Franz loved great freedom. WITH
he treated those close to him easily, and in everything that concerned him personally,
forever abandoned all etiquette. He introduced at the Austrian court, where before
prim Spanish customs, French manners, French
taste, French costumes and the French language (he himself could never
learn to speak German well, so that high society will inevitably
I had to learn the emperor’s native language). Unfortunately he was so bad
to passion, billiards, ball game, dice and pharaoh. During the Turkish wars
1737 and 1738, in which he took a personal part, Franz got used to
appreciate the valor of the Hungarians and since then have always distinguished them and patronized them
them. He had negligible influence on political affairs. Maria Theresa was very
power-hungry and did not want to share her rights with anyone. Although she
forced to choose Franz as emperor and declared him her co-ruler, this
was nothing more than a courtesy on her part. Franz, however, was so timid
that he obediently endured his position. According to the Prussian diplomat Count
Podevilier, the emperor had a very vivid imagination, excellent memory and
common sense, but by nature he was so inert that he could not
do something thoroughly. He hated work and was completely deprived
ambition. In life, Franz valued pleasures most of all, and the hardships of rule
willingly provided it to his wife. He usually remained silent at state councils.
They say that he once dared to express an opinion contrary to Mary's opinion
Teresia. The arrogant empress ordered her husband to be silent, adding that “he
there is a reason to get involved in matters about which he has not the slightest idea.”
Although Franz was not always faithful to his wife, she tenderly and passionately
loved him. When the Emperor suddenly died of a heart attack at the age of 57
during the wedding celebrations of his son Leopold, it was a terrible blow for
Maria Theresa. We can say that after that she no longer lived, but only
eked out an existence.
Emperor of Austria Franz IThe last Holy Roman Emperor and 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 (the future Joseph II) and his father Archduke Leopold. He could take the throne only if his uncle died 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 began raising him. According to the Emperor, Franz was incapable and lazy and was very poorly suited to the role of the future sovereign.
In 1788 he married Elisabeth Princess of Württemberg, who died two years later and their first marriage was childless.
In 1789, at the age of 21, Franz, then holding the title of Archduke, was the nominal commander in chief in the war with Turkey, where Austria was fighting in alliance with Russia. The actual commander-in-chief at that time was Field Marshal Loudon.
In 1790, after the death of Elizabeth of Württemberg, Franz remarried. His second wife was Maria Theresa of Sicily from the Neapolitan Bourbon family. She bore him 13 children, including the future heir to the throne and Emperor Ferdinand I and Napoleon's future second wife, Empress Marie-Louise.
Also in 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 congress of monarchs in Pillnitz, where the first coalition against France took shape. Its main participants were Austria and Prussia, and England and Russia promised financial support.
On March 1, 1792, Franz's father Leopold II died and Franz assumed the throne of Austria, which he held for 43 years.
Already the first year of his reign was marked by the beginning of the war with revolutionary France.
Franz, despite the many defeats of his army, fought this war with enviable persistence. Even the defeats of Valmy, Jemappe 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 it concluded the Basel Peace Treaty with France, did not stop him.
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 the Tyrol, threatening Vienna.
As a result, Franz was forced to sign peace in Campo Formio in 1797, where he ceded all of northern and central Italy, except Venice.
But this peace turned out to be only a short 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, in alliance with the Austrians, invaded Italy. The main fighting force was the Russian troops, who defeated the French and cleared of them 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 didn't last long.
In 1800, Bonaparte, who returned from Egypt and became the first Consul, invaded Italy and on June 14, 1800, at Marengo, he again defeated the Austrians. All of northern and central Italy again fell firmly into French hands.
But Austria again did not reconcile and thirsted for revenge. Its leading role in the German world was shaken, because the French ruled there as if they were at home. The same thing happened in Italy, from where Austria seemed to be removed forever.
This became especially noticeable in 1804-1805, when Bonaparte became Emperor Napoleon, he placed his relatives and marshals on the thrones of the German principalities, completely ignoring the influence of Austria.
And in 1805, Austria entered the third coalition, hoping that, as in 1799, it could win with Russian hands.
But soon hopes were dashed to dust. Napoleon's Grand Army encircled and destroyed General Mack's best army at Ulm.
Then the French, steadily advancing, took Vienna. The commander of the Russian army, M.I. Kutuzov, miraculously avoided the fate of Macca, took the army to Bohemia (now the Czech Republic), where he met with the Russian guard, led by Emperor Alexander the First himself.
And on December 2, 1805, the battle of three Emperors, Napoleon, Franz and Alexander, took place at Austerlitz. Kutuzov was against this battle and offered to go even to Galicia (now western Ukraine), which Austria received after the divisions 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 put up with and lose his provinces again.
In 1806, Franz declared the end of the Holy Roman Empire, since Napoleon reigned supreme in Germany.
Franz remained only Emperor of Austria. At the same time, the great Joseph Haydn wrote the Austrian anthem, which began with the words, “God save the Emperor Franz.” Interestingly, the melody of this anthem, but with different words, is now the anthem of Germany.
But, despite another failure, Austria was still waiting for the moment for revenge.
And this moment, according to Franz, came in 1809, when Napoleon, mired in a people's war in Spain, could act at half-heartedness.
In addition, Alexander, who concluded 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 Archduke Charles, who was considered a talented commander.
And then in 1809 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, Lannes.
But soon after Essling at Wagram, all the hopes of the Austrians crumbled. Napoleon won again. Austria again lost 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 the end has come for Austria.
But suddenly hope for deliverance came from the same Napoleon.
He asked for the hand of Franz's daughter, Archduchess Marie Louise, and the delighted Franz agreed.
He was inspired to do this by the new chancellor Clementius Metternich, who believed that in a close alliance with Napoleon, Austria would be able to rise after humiliation, and over time, subjugate Napoleon.
In 1811, Franz gave birth to a grandson, Napoleon's heir - the future Duke of Reichstadt, Karl Napoleon Franz.
And in 1812, Franz allocated the corps of Prince Schwarzenberg to the Napoleonic “great army” that went to Russia. This corps operated on the flanks, but Napoleon even gave Schwarzenberg the title 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 a truce 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 to make peace through small concessions. A congress was even convened for this purpose in Prague. But Napoleon did not make any concessions, and in August 1813 Austria joined the war, sending Schwarzenberg’s corps to the Allied army.
After the defeat at Dresden and a series of private battles, the allies defeated Napoleon near Leipzig on October 16-19, 1813 and by mid-November 1813 cleared almost all of Germany from the French.
Then Metternich and Franz tried again to persuade Napoleon to make peace by sending him a proposal that if he agreed to peace, northern and central Italy, Holland and 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.
Napoleon agreed for the sake of appearance, but again gathered troops and in the winter of 1814 the campaign in France began.
In February 1814, Austria offered Napoleon peace for the last time, leaving him the borders of France proper. Peace negotiations began in Chatillon, but they led nowhere. Napoleon did not want to give in.
Meanwhile, on March 31, 1814, the Allies occupied Paris, and on April 6, 1814, Napoleon abdicated the throne and went to the island of Elba for 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.
However, Napoleon's son knew well about his father and was his ardent admirer.
After the overthrow of Napoleon, a congress of the victorious powers met 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 had returned to power in France.
By the beginning of spring 1815, the winners 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 regarding Saxony and Poland.
But unexpectedly Napoleon reconciled everyone, who began his legendary “Hundred Days”.
Austria took almost no 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. At the same time, on behalf of the victorious countries, he declared that the allies would not put up with Napoleon as the “enemy of humanity.”
Everything was decided by the disaster of Napoleon's army at Waterloo, his second abdication and the Allied occupation of France, in which the Austrians took part.
At the same time, the Austrians tried to save some figures from Napoleonic times, for example, Marshal Murat, but to no avail.
In 1815, the Congress of Vienna ended. Germany and Italy fell completely under Austrian rule. The Holy Alliance of Monarchs was formed, in which Russia and Austria played the leading role.
In 1816, Franz's third wife, Maria Louis of Modena, died, whom he married in 1807 after the death of Maria Theresa of Sicily, the mother of his children.
And in 1817, the Emperor married for the fourth time 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 instilled throughout Europe.
On May 5, 1821, Franz's son-in-law Emperor Napoleon died on the island of St. Helena. On this occasion, Franz wrote a short letter to his daughter, the former Empress and now the Duchess of Parma, with words of sympathy. Here is a quote: “... He died as a Christian. I deeply sympathize with your grief..” To this, Maria Louise responded with a letter that completely reveals her attitude towards Napoleon: “You are mistaken, father. I never loved him.. I I didn’t wish him harm, much less death.. Let him live happily ever after, but away from me..”
In 1825 (according to the official version), the inspirer of the Holy Alliance, Emperor Alexander the First, died, after which the congresses of the union, one of which at Aachen in 1818 liberated France from occupation, were no longer convened.
In 1830, the July Revolution took place in France. She overthrew the Bourbons and brought to power the Duke of Orleans, Louis Philippe, 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 Alliance did nothing to prevent this.
At the same time, there was an uprising in the Russian part of Poland and Franz moved troops to his part of Poland, but everything worked out there.
In addition, within the framework of the Holy Alliance, he participated in the suppression of uprisings in Italy and the Riego uprising in Spain, which earned him, even more than the Russian Nicholas I, the title of “all-European gendarme.”
Also in 1830, a son, Franz Joseph, was born to the second son of Franz, Archduke Franz-Karl, in Vienna. 18 years later, this man became Emperor of Austria and during his 68 years of reign he led the once great power to complete collapse.
In 1832, Napoleon's son and Franz's grandson, the Duke of Reichstadt, died in Vienna at the age of 21. He remembered his great father well 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 proposed to nominate him to the throne of independent Belgium, which was formed in 1830, but the countries of the Holy Alliance categorically refused.
Also in 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 upon by all the people, and did not want to come with bayonets and start civil strife.
Apparently, these meetings reached Franz and Metternich, and in 1832 the Duke of Reichstadt, whom the Bonapartists called Napoleon the Second, suddenly died under unclear circumstances. According to one version, he was poisoned.
The Duke's body was buried in the Habsburg tomb of the Kapuzienkirche 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, moved the Duke's body to Paris and buried it in the Invalides next to his great father.. This did not bring sympathy, but since then father and son have rested side by side..
Franz himself lived for three more years and died on March 2, 1835 and was also buried in the Kapucinenkirche in Vienna. He reigned for 43 years, at that time longer than all Austrian monarchs. But soon this record will be broken by his great-nephew Franz Joseph, who will reign for 68 years.
At the same time, in the 30s of the 19th century, a portrait gallery was created in St. Petersburg in the Winter Palace in memory of the heroes of the wars with Napoleon. 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.
However, 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.
The backpack belonged to an ancient French family. On his father's side, he was the grandson of the glorious Duke, who shared the glory of the famous victory over the Turks near Vienna in 1683. His mother was his niece. He was born in France, and at the age of thirteen he was brought to Vienna, where his future wife grew up before his eyes. In 1729, upon the death of his father, Franz became Duke of Lorraine. Seven years later, he married him to his daughter, who was supposed to eventually inherit all his possessions.
The unsuccessful war of 1733, the enmity of France and Spain, as well as the claims of the Bavarian Wittelsbachs to the Austrian inheritance after death, made one think that the establishment of a pragmatic sanction by the European powers would encounter enormous difficulties; therefore, in Vienna, a plan was drawn up for a double marriage - as the heiress of the Austrian, Czech and Hungarian crowns, with the Bavarian crown prince, and her sisters with the Spanish infanta Don Carlos. Due to the fact that Bartenstein, the chief minister and favorite, and Prince Eugene of Savoy were not particularly favorable to the Habsburg-Lorraine marriage, its success was doubtful; however, after the Peace of Vienna in 1735, he again came to the fore, but Franz Stefan was forced, at the very conclusion of his marriage, to give Bar to France, abandon Lorraine in favor of the father-in-law of the French king, the former king of Poland, and in return for Lorraine receive Tuscany, after the death of the last of the Medici. The appointment of Franz Stephen as governor of the Netherlands and the promise to his brother of the hand of Maria Anna, sister, was a reward for the sacrifice made by the house of Lorraine in abandoning their native country.
In 1737, after the War of the Polish Succession, the young prince ceded Lorraine to France, and in return received the Duchy of Tuscany, in which the glorious Medici family was extinguished. Franz Stefan and his young wife went to Florence to take possession of Tuscany, but soon returned to Vienna. Finally, his wife, having become the ruler of Austria, gave him the title of Roman Emperor in 1745.
In his habits and in his communication, Franz loved great freedom. He treated those closest to him easily, and in everything that concerned him personally, he forever abandoned all etiquette. He introduced French manners, French taste, French costumes and the French language into the Austrian court, where prim Spanish customs had previously dominated (he himself was never able to learn to speak German well, so high society inevitably had to learn the emperor’s native language ). Unfortunately, he was so poorly educated that he could barely read or write, so the French influence did not go beyond fashion. His main pleasures were hunting, which he loved to a passion, billiards, playing ball, dice and pharaoh.
During the Turkish wars of 1737-1738, in which he took a personal part, Franz became accustomed to appreciating the valor of the Hungarians and since then has always distinguished them and patronized them. He had negligible influence on political affairs. She was very power-hungry and did not want to share her rights with anyone. Although she forced Franz to be chosen as emperor and declared him her co-ruler, this was nothing more than a courtesy on her part. Franz, however, was so timid that he obediently endured his position. According to the Prussian diplomat Count Podeville, the emperor had a very vivid imagination, excellent memory and common sense, but by nature he was so inert that he was completely unable to do anything thoroughly. He hated work and was completely devoid of ambition. In life, Franz valued pleasure most of all, and willingly left the hardships of rule to his wife. He usually remained silent at state councils. They say that he once dared to express an opinion contrary to opinion. The arrogant empress ordered her husband to shut up, adding that “there is no reason for him to interfere in such matters about which he has not the slightest idea.”
Franz, easily yielding to his wife's involvement in politics, willingly took up the financial affairs of the House of Habsburg (which did not prevent him personally from becoming a millionaire). In addition to money, Franz I was also interested in science. He collected insects, minerals and had a substantial coin collection. Thanks to his efforts, a zoo was created at the Schönbrunn summer residence, which still exists today and is considered the oldest zoo in Europe. The emperor was also interested in agriculture, creating model farms on his estates.
Franz Stefan stood for an alliance with the maritime powers, as opposed to the new system - an alliance with France, towards which Kaunitz began to lean since 1749. The strengthening of Kaunitz and his huge role in domestic and foreign policy generally led him to clashes with the emperor. In 1764, Franz Stefan arranged for his eldest son, Joseph, to be elected king of Germany.
Although Franz was not always faithful to his wife, she loved him tenderly and passionately all her life. When the emperor, at the age of 57, suddenly died of a heart attack during the wedding celebrations of his son Leopold, it was a terrible blow for. We can say that after that she no longer lived, but only eked out an existence.
