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House of Habsburg-Lorraine

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House of Habsburg-Lorraine
Haus Habsburg-Lothringen
Genealogical arms since 6 August 1806
Parent houseHouse of Habsburg (enatic)
House of Lorraine (agnatic)
Country
Founded1736; 288 years ago (1736)
FounderMaria Theresa and Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor
Current headKarl von Habsburg
Final ruler
Titles
List of titles
Style(s)
MottoA.E.I.O.U. and Viribus Unitis
DepositionAustria-Hungary: 1918 (Charles I & IV relinquished participation in state affairs following the end of World War I)
Cadet branches

The House of Habsburg-Lorraine (German: Haus Habsburg-Lothringen) originated from the marriage in 1736 of Francis III, Duke of Lorraine and Bar, and Maria Theresa of Austria, later successively Queen of Bohemia, Queen of Hungary, Queen of Croatia and Archduchess of Austria. Its members form the legitimate surviving line of both the House of Habsburg and the House of Lorraine, and they inherited their patrimonial possessions from the female line of the House of Habsburg and from the male line of the House of Lorraine.

The House of Lorraine's branch of Vaudémont and Guise become the main branch after a brief interlude in 1453–1473, when the duchy passed in right of Charles de Bourbon's daughter to her husband, John of Calabria, a Capetian. Lorraine reverted to the House of Vaudémont, a junior branch of the House of Lorraine, in the person of René II, who later added to his titles that of Duke of Bar.

The House of Habsburg takes its name from Habsburg Castle, a fortress built in the 1020s by Count Radbot of Klettgau in Aargau (now in Switzerland). His grandson, Otto II, was the first to take on the name of the fortress as his own, adding Graf von Habsburg ("Count of Habsburg") to his title. The House of Habsburg gathered dynastic momentum during the 11th, 12th and 13th centuries, and in 1273, Radbot's seventh-generation descendant, Rudolph of Habsburg, became Roman-German King. He moved the family's power base to the Duchy of Austria, which the Habsburgs ruled until 1918.

The House of Habsburg-Lorraine still exists today, and the head of the family is Karl von Habsburg.[1] The current house orders are the Order of the Golden Fleece, the Imperial and Royal Order of Saint George and the Order of the Starry Cross.

History of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine

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See also: House of Habsburg

The first member of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine to rule over the Holy Roman Empire was Joseph II, a sovereign raised during the Enlightenment. By the new ideals he brought, he implemented many reforms, most of which were to the detriment of the clergy. Upon his death in 1790, he was succeeded by his brother Leopold II, who in 1791 invited Europe's powers to help the French royal family stifle the ideals of the revolution without military intervention. He died a few days before France declared war on Austria.

In 1792, Leopold II's son Francis II was crowned emperor in Frankfurt. After the beheading of the French sovereigns, he – along with the other European sovereigns – created the First Coalition against Revolutionary France. The coalition initially recorded some success but soon began to withdraw, especially in Italy, where the Austrians were repeatedly defeated by the Corsican general Napoleon Bonaparte.

With the Treaty of Campo Formio in 1797, the Duchy of Milan was handed over to France, while the Austrians gained Veneto, Istria and Dalmatia. This pact was followed by others that reduced the dominion of the Habsburgs to Austria, Bohemia and Hungary. Francis II was also forced to dissolve the Holy Roman Empire, but he had already proclaimed himself Emperor of Austria, in order to retain his imperial status.

After the defeats at Leipzig (1813) and Waterloo (1815), Napoleon was exiled to the island of Saint Helena, where he died. In the same year as Waterloo, the Congress of Vienna was established, with which the Restoration began. The Congress demanded the restoration of the old regimes. Austria recovered all the Italian, Slavic and German territories that it had lost during the Napoleonic Wars, and the Holy Alliance was also established between Austria, Russia and Prussia, which had the task of suppressing all the pro-French or independence revolutionary movements that would have erupted in Europe.

In the years that followed, Francis II pursued a centralization policy on the advice of Chancellor Metternich; but precisely because of it, and emerging ideals of independence, the Revolutions of 1848 broke out, which wracked all of Europe. This led to the expulsion of Metternich from the Imperial Chancellery and the rise of Franz Joseph, replacing Ferdinand I, who was forced to abdicate in favour of the 18-year-old man.

End of the dynasty's rule in Europe

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Franz Joseph (1830–1916) was the last member of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine to hold any significant political or military authority in Europe. At the beginning of his reign (1848–1916), Austria was the dominant power in Central Europe, whilst Vienna emerged as one of the greatest metropolitan cities on the continent. The emperor, however, waged the Second Italian War of Independence and the Austro-Prussian War. Both ended in defeats, which put an end to Austrian supremacy in Italy and Germany, as well as accelerating the gradual decline of the dynasty.

In 1867, Franz Joseph granted effective autonomy to the Kingdom of Hungary within the Austrian Empire under the terms of the Ausgleich; politically and militarily they were united, but in terms of internal policy and administration, they became separate entities. The title of the head of state became "Emperor of Austria and King of Hungary", although he was also referred to as "Emperor of Austria-Hungary".

With the growing interest of Austria-Hungary and Russia in the Balkans, strong tensions were created between the Habsburgs and Russia, eventually leading Austria-Hungary to enter into an alliance with Germany and Italy.

In 1914, with the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo, the First World War broke out between the Central Powers (Austria-Hungary, Germany, Bulgaria and the Ottoman Empire) and the Entente Powers (the British Empire, France, Russia and others).

In 1916, Franz Joseph died and was succeeded by his grandnephew, Charles I. Charles (the last sovereign), upon losing the war, renounced the exercise of power but did not abdicate. He was forced into exile on April 3, 1919. The Habsburg dominions were subsequently divided into independent republics.

The House of Habsburg-Lorraine refused to swear its allegiance to the new Republic of Austria, therefore family members were forced into exile and their property was confiscated. The law of exile still applies to the descendants of Emperor Charles under the same conditions. In 1961, Otto von Habsburg, the late head of the house and formerly a member of the European Parliament, relinquished the monarchy and the succession rights of his descendants in exchange for an end to exile. He was known in the Republic of Austria as Dr. Otto Habsburg-Lothringen, since the Republic does not officially recognise titles of nobility.[citation needed]

The dynasty today

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The current leader of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine is Karl von Habsburg, who succeeded his father Otto as head of the imperial house after his father renounced the role in 2007. Karl is the eldest grandson of the last emperor of Austria-Hungary, Charles I.

Male-line family tree

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  • Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor (1747–1792)
    • Emperor Francis I (1768–1835)
    • Ferdinand III, Grand Duke of Tuscany (1769–1824), founder of the Tuscany branch of the imperial house.
      • Leopold II, Grand Duke of Tuscany (1797–1870)
        • Ferdinand IV, Grand Duke of Tuscany (1835–1908)
          • Archduke Peter Ferdinand (1874–1948)
            • Archduke Gottfried (1902–1984)
              • Archduke Leopold Franz (1942–2021)
                • (45) Archduke Sigismund, Grand Duke of Tuscany (b. 1966); married to Elyssa Edmonstone
                  • (46) Archduke Leopold, Grand Prince of Tuscany (b. 2001)
                  • (47) Archduke Maximilian (b. 2004)
                • (48) Archduke Guntram (b. 1967); morganatically (in Tuscany) married to Debora de Sola, recognised as Countess von Habsburg[2]
                  • (49) Tiziano Leopold, Count von Habsburg (b. 2004), keeps his Austro-Hungarian dynastic rights.[2]
            • Archduke Georg (1905–1952)
              • (50) Archduke Radbot (b. 1938); morganatically married to Caroline Proust, with issue.
              • (51) Archduke Georg (b. 1952).
        • Archduke Karl Salvator, Prince of Tuscany (1839–1892)
          • Archduke Leopold Salvator, Prince of Tuscany (1863–1931)
            • Archduke Anton (1901–1987)
              • (52) Archduke Dominik (b. 1937)
                • (53) Count Sandor von Habsburg (b. 1965), keeps his Austro-Hungarian dynastic rights.
                  • (54) Count Constantin von Habsburg (b. 2000), keeps his Austro-Hungarian dynastic rights.
                • (55) Count Gregor von Habsburg (b. 1968), keeps his Austro-Hungarian dynastic rights.
          • Archduke Franz Salvator, Prince of Tuscany (1866–1939)
            • Archduke Hubert Salvator (1894–1971)
              • Archduke Friedrich Salvator (1927–1999)
                • (56) Archduke Leopold (b. 1956)
                • (57) Archduke Alexander Salvator (b. 1959); married to Countess Maria-Gabriele von Waldstein
                  • (58) Archduke Constantin Salvator (b. 2002)
                  • (59) Archduke Paul Salvator (b. 2003)
              • (60) Archduke Andreas Salvator (b. 1936); married to (1) [divorced 2001 (and annulled 2002)] Maria de la Piedad Espinosa de los Monteros y Rosillo (2) 2001 (civilly) and 2003 (religiously) Countess Valerie Podstatzky-Lichtenstein. Issue by the second marriage only.
                • (61) Archduke Thadeus Salvator (b. 2001)
                • (62) Archduke Casimir Salvator (b. 2003)
              • (63) Archduke Markus (b. 1946); married morganatically to Hildegard (Hilde) Maria Jungmayr, with issue.
              • (64) Archduke Johann (b. 1947); married morganatically to Anne-Marie Stummer, with issue.
              • (65) Archduke Michael (b. 1949); married in 1992 to Eva Antonia von Hofmann, with one daughter.
            • Archduke Theodore Salvator (1899–1978)
              • Archduke Carl Salvator (1936–2023); married to Edith Wenzl Frn von Sternbach[2]
                • Count Matthias of Habsburg (1971–2024), keeps his Austro-Hungarian dynastic rights
                  • (66) Count Nikolaus of Habsburg (b. 2000), keeps his Austro-Hungarian dynastic rights.[2]
                  • (67) Count Jakob of Habsburg (b. 2001), keeps his Austro-Hungarian dynastic rights.[2]
                  • (68) Count Martin of Habsburg (b. 2011), keeps his Austro-Hungarian dynastic rights.[2]
                • (69) Count Johannes of Habsburg (b. 1974), keeps his Austro-Hungarian dynastic rights;[2] married to Katharina Lieselotte Riedl Edle von Riedenstein
                • (70) Count Bernhard of Habsburg (b. 1977), keeps his Austro-Hungarian dynastic rights.[2]
                • (71) Count Benedikt of Habsburg (b. 1983), keeps his Austro-Hungarian dynastic rights.[2]
            • Archduke Clemens Salvator (1904–1974); married to Elisabeth Gfn Rességuier de Miremont [marriage retroactively approved as dynastic (only in Austria)][2]
              • Clemens, Prince von Altenburg (1932–2022), retroactively integrated into the dynasty;[2] married to Laurence Costa de Beauregard
                • (72) Philipp, Prince von Altenburg (b. 1966), retroactively integrated into the dynasty.[2]
              • (73) Georg, Prince von Altenburg (b. 1933), retroactively integrated into the dynasty.[2]
              • Peter, Prince von Altenburg (1935–2008), retroactively integrated into the dynasty;[2] married to Juliane Gfn von Waldstein-Forni
                • (74) Friedrich, Prince von Altenburg (b. 1966), retroactively integrated into the dynasty;[2] married to Gabriele Gfn von Walterskirchen
                  • (75) Emanuel, Prince von Altenburg (b.2002)
                  • (76) Nikolaus, Prince von Altenburg (b. 2008)
                • (77) Leopold, Prince von Altenburg (b. 1971), retroactively integrated into the dynasty.[2]
              • (78) Johannes, Prince von Altenburg (b. 1949), retroactively integrated into the dynasty.[2]
    • Archduke Joseph, Palatine of Hungary (1776–1847)
      • Archduke Joseph Karl (1833–1905)
        • Archduke Joseph August (1872–1962)
          • Archduke Joseph Francis (1895–1957)
            • Archduke Joseph Árpád (1933–2017)
              • (79) Archduke Joseph Karl (b. 1960); married to Princess Margarete von Hohenberg
                • (80) Archduke Joseph Albrecht (b. 1994); married to Countess Sophie von Schaesberg
                • (81) Archduke Paul Leo (b. 1996)
              • (82) Archduke Andreas-Augustinus (b. 1963); married to Countess Marie-Christine von Hatzfeldt-Dönhoff
                • (83) Archduke Friedrich-Cyprian (b. 1995)
                • (84) Archduke Pierre (b. 1997)
                • (85) Archduke Benedikt-Alexander (b. 2005)
              • (86) Archduke Nikolaus (b. 1973); married to Eugenia de Calonje y Gurrea
                • (87) Archduke Nicolás (b. 2003)
                • (88) Archduke Santiago (b. 2006)
              • (89) Archduke Johannes (b. 1975); married to María Gabriela Montenegro Villamizar
                • (90) Archduke Johannes (b. 2010)
                • (91) Archduke Alejandro (b. 2011)
                • (92) Archduke Ignacio (b. 2013)
            • (93) Archduke Géza (b. 1940); married morganatically twice to (1) [divorced] Monika Decker and (2) [civilly] Elizabeth Jane Kunstadter. Issue by both marriages.
            • (94) Archduke Michael (b. 1942); married to Princess Christiana of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg, his brother's sister-in-law.
              • (95) Archduke Eduard (b. 1967); married to Baroness Maria Theresia von Gudenus
                • (96) Archduke Paul Benedikt (b. 2000)
              • (97) Father Paul Habsburg (b. 1968), a priest of the Legion of Christ

Heraldry

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Arms of Archdukes & Archduchesses before 11 February 1896 Arms of Archdukes & Archduchesses after 11 February 1896 Arms of Archdukes & Archduchesses of the Tuscan branch

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Kaiser zu sein, ist kein Job, den man anstrebt"[full citation needed] (German: "To be emperor is not a job to strive for")
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Genealogisches Handbuch des Adels, Fürstliche Häuser XVI. "Haus Österreich". C.A. Starke Verlag, 2001, pp. 87–90, 119–120, 563, 568–569, 577. ISBN 978-3-7980-0824-3.

Sources

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  • C. A. Macartney, The Habsburg Empire, 1790–1918, Faber & Faber, 2014, 900 pages. ISBN 0571306292
  • Jean Bérenger, Histoire de l'empire des Habsbourg, 1273–1918, Fayard, 1990, 810 pages. ISBN 978-2-213-02297-0
  • Hans Bankl, Mal d'Asburgo. Vizi, vezzi, malanni e manie della Casa Imperiale d'Austria , traduzione di Flavia Foradini, Trieste, mgs press, 1998, pp. 202
  • Flavia Foradini, "Otto d'Asburgo. L'ultimo atto di una dinastia", mgs press, Trieste, 2004. ISBN 88-89219-04-1
  • Martha e Horst Schad, La prediletta. Il diario della figlia di Sissi, traduzione di Flavia Foradini, Trieste, mgs Press 2001, ISBN 88-86424-78-7
  • Sigrid-Maria Größing, Rodolfo d'Asburgo. Libero pensatore, rubacuori, psicopatico, traduzione di Flavia Foradini, Trieste, mgs Press 2006, ISBN 88-89219-17-3
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