Maximilian Hohenberg

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Maximilian "Max" Hohenberg (born September 29, 1902 at Belvedere Palace in Vienna ; † January 8, 1962 there ), Duke of Hohenberg from 1914 to 1919 , was an Austrian aristocrat and head of the Hohenberg family .

Maximilian Hohenberg (1930s, Raoul Korty Collection )

Life

Franz Ferdinand with his family, around 1908 (Max right)

Maximilian Karl Franz Michael Hubert Anton Ignatius Joseph Maria Fürst von Hohenberg was the eldest son of four children of the Austrian heir to the throne Franz Ferdinand, Archduke of Austria-Este (1863–1914) and his wife Countess Sophie Chotek, Duchess of Hohenberg (1868–1914) . Due to the morganatic marriage of his parents, he and his siblings were excluded from the line of succession. After the assassination attempt on his parents in 1914, he and his siblings came into the care of his maternal aunt, Countess Henriette Chotek. They were received only once by Emperor Franz Joseph I. After the death of his parents, Maximilian was the firstborn to receive the title of Duke and became head of the Hohenberg family . The Nobility Repeal Act abolished all titles of nobility in Austria in 1919; outside of Austria, however, Maximilian's descendants call themselves Prince or Princess von Hohenberg.

In 1919 a special law of the new Czechoslovak Republic determined the expulsion of Maximilian and his younger brother Ernst to Austria. Maximilian attended the Schottengymnasium in Vienna. He then studied law . In 1926 he received his doctorate from the University of Graz Dr. jur. In the same year Maximilian Elisabeth Bona married Countess von Waldburg zu Wolfegg and Waldsee. Professionally, he worked as a lawyer and managed the family's property. Like his brother, he appeared as a monarchist speaker and was in close contact with Otto von Habsburg . He was honorary chairman of the legitimist umbrella organization Eiserner Ring .

Registration card of Maximilian Hohenberg as a prisoner in the National Socialist concentration camp Dachau

On March 14, 1938, he and his brother Ernst, who had spoken out in favor of Austria's independence and against the "Anschluss" to the German Reich , were sent to the Dachau concentration camp . Both brothers were primarily used to clean the latrines. The later Chancellor Leopold Figl reported that the brothers endured the humiliation with cheerful dignity and always behaved in a comradely manner towards their fellow prisoners. Maximilian was released after six months through the intercession of his wife with Hermann Göring , while Ernst was transferred to other concentration camps and was only able to return home in 1943. After his release, Maximilian was assigned a forced residence at Artstetten Castle . In addition, the family's property was expropriated.

After the liberation, the residents elected him mayor of Artstetten with the consent of the Soviet occupying power . He held the position twice for five years. In addition, for many years he was Otto von Habsburg's agent in property negotiations between the House of Habsburg and the Austrian federal government. Maximilian declared these talks to have failed in 1958 because no compromise line emerged. Otto von Habsburg then commissioned Hohenberg to negotiate with the government about the return of the Habsburgs. When the Austrian Constitutional Court ruled this out, Maximilian resigned from his mandate.

Maximilian died on January 8, 1962 in Vienna of the long-term consequences of the abuse he suffered in the concentration camp and was buried next to his parents in the crypt under the church of Artstetten Castle in Lower Austria .

Marriage and offspring

On November 16, 1926, he married Elisabetha Bona Countess von Waldburg zu Wolfegg and Waldsee (1904–1993), a daughter of Prince Maximilian von Waldburg zu Wolfegg and Waldsee and Sidonie, born in Wolfegg , Württemberg . Princess of Lobkowicz. The marriage resulted in six sons:

  • Franz Ferdinand (1927–1977) ⚭ 1956 Princess Elisabeth of Luxembourg (1922–2011), eldest daughter of Grand Duchess Charlotte of Luxembourg
    • Anita ⚭ Count Romée de La Poeze d'Harambure
  • Georg (1929–2019), Austrian ambassador ⚭ 1960 Eleonore Auersperg-Breunner (* 1928)
  • Albrecht (* 1931) ⚭ 1962 Leontine Cassis-Faraone (* 1933)
  • Johannes (1933–2003), entrepreneur ( Gmundner Keramik ) ⚭ 1969 Elisabeth Meilinger-Rehrl (* 1947)
  • Peter (1936–2017) ⚭ 1970 Christine-Maria Meilinger-Rehrl (* 1945)
  • Gerhard (1941-2019)

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ All sorts of things. Austria. Dr. Max Hohenberg. In:  Badener Zeitung , June 9, 1926, p. 6 (online at ANNO ). Template: ANNO / Maintenance / bzt.
  2. ↑ Rotraut Hackermüller: Tragedy in Burgenland: Werfel as a "chronicler" of the horror . In: bridges. Germanistic Yearbook Czech Republic - Slovakia . Year 03 / 1–2, 1995, p. 79 ( Available online on the publication's website.).
  3. ^ Norbert Nemec: Archduchess Maria Annunziata (1876–1961). The unknown niece of Emperor Franz Joseph I Böhlau, Vienna 2010, ISBN 978-3-205-78456-2 , p. 264.

literature

  • Munzinger: Internationales Biographisches Archiv 09/1962 from February 19, 1962
  • Lucian O. Meysels : The prevented dynasty. Archduke Franz Ferdinand and the House of Hohenberg. Molden, Vienna 2000, ISBN 3-85485-051-4 .

Web links

Commons : Maximilian Hohenberg  - Collection of images, videos and audio files
personal data
SURNAME Hohenberg, Maximilian
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Hohenberg, Max; Hohenberg, Maximilian Karl Franz Michael Hubert Anton Ignatius Joseph Maria Fürst von (full name at birth); Hohenberg, Maximilian Herzog von (1914-1919)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Austrian nobleman, son of the Austrian heir to the throne Franz Ferdinand
DATE OF BIRTH September 29, 1902
PLACE OF BIRTH Vienna
DATE OF DEATH January 8, 1962
Place of death Vienna