[History] The Last Hapsburg

[Perikles]

Author: Tony83
Original Thread: The Last Hapsburg

The Last Hapsburg

The Habsburg family, and its impact on European history, has long fascinated me. Whilst there have been many far better known members of the monarchy (Charles V; Maria Theresa; Franz Joseph etc.) this essay is a brief appreciation of the last Habsburg monarch, Karl I.

The Habsburgs (in English, usually spelt as Hapsburg) were one of the major ruling houses of Europe. The name is derived from the Swiss Habichtsburg (Hawk Castle), the family seat in the 11th, 12th and 13th centuries at Habsburg in the former duchy of Swabia, in present-day Switzerland. Between 1278 and 1382 the family extended its influence and holdings from southwest Germany to the south eastern reaches of the Holy Roman Empire, roughly today's Austria. Furthermore, within two or three generations, the Habsburgs had managed to secure a hold on the imperial throne that would last for centuries.


Habsburg Domains, 1547

Karl Franz Josef Ludwig Hubert Georg Maria von Habsburg-Lothringen (1887 – 1922) was the last: Emperor of Austria; King of Hungary and Bohemia; and the last monarch of the Habsburg Dynasty. He reigned as Emperor Karl I of Austria, King Charles III of Bohemia and King Charles IV of Hungary from 1916 until 1918.

Karl was the son of Archduke Otto Franz of Austria (1865-1906) and Princess Maria Josepha of Saxony (1867-1944); he was also a nephew of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, whose assassination triggered World War I. In 1911, he was married to Princess Zita of Parma. They had eight children (six boys and two girls)


The Imperial couple and their son, Crown Prince Otto, December 1916

Karl became heir-presumptive to the Habsburg monarchy when his uncle Franz Ferdinand was assassinated and his reign began in 1916, on the death of his grand-uncle, Franz Joseph. In 1916,

After his accession he put out peace feelers and vainly tried to save the Austro-Hungarian monarchy. Karl entered into secret negotiations with France, suggesting his willingness to break with Germany and make a separate peace. Although he denied involvement, when news of the overture leaked out, the French published letters signed by him. This resulted in the resignation of his foreign minister, Ottokar Czernin, and forced Austria-Hungary into an even more dependent position with respect to its seemingly wronged German ally.


Karl I of Austria, Károly IV of Hungary, Karel III of Bohemia

On the 11th November 1918, Karl formally proclaimed that "I relinquish every participation in the administration of the State" but he did not abdicate, and in 1919, with his family, went into exile in Switzerland. He died in 1922 of pneumonia, on the island of Madeira, after spending the remaining years of his life attempting to regain his thrones.

Historians have mixed views on Karl. Some see him as a courageous and admirable figure who tried as emperor-king to halt World War I, but others describe him as a weak dilettante who was out of his depth.

Subsequently, Karl was beatified by Pope John Paul II on 3rd October 2004. This was as a result of a campaign begun in 1949 citing Karl as putting his Christian faith first in making political decisions, and for his perceived role as a peacemaker during the war. However, his beatification has caused controversy because the belief that Karl may have authorized his army's use of poison gas during World War I.

Karl's Official Title

His Imperial and Apostolic Majesty,

Karl the First,

By the Grace of God, Emperor of Austria, Apostolic King of Hungary, of this name the Fourth, King of Bohemia, Dalmatia, Croatia, Slavonia, and Galicia, Lodomeria, and Illyria; King of Jerusalem etc., Archduke of Austria; Grand Duke of Tuscany and Cracow, Duke of Lorraine and of Salzburg, of Styria, of Carinthia, of Carniola and of the Bukovina; Grand Prince of Transylvania; Margrave of Moravia; Duke of Upper and Lower Silesia, of Modena, Parma, Piacenza and Guastalla, of Auschwitz and Zator, of Teschen, Friuli, Ragusa and Zara; Princely Count of Habsburg and Tyrol, of Kyburg, Gorizia and Gradisca; Prince of Trent and Brixen; Margrave of Upper and Lower Lusatia and in Istria; Count of Hohenems, Feldkirch, Bregenz, Sonnenberg, etc.; Lord of Trieste, of Cattaro, and in the Wendish Mark; Grand Voivode of the Voivodship of Serbia.