Albrecht of Austria-Teschen

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Archduke Albrecht of Austria-Teschen at the age of 37 (1854, portrait by Miklós Barabás , HGM )
Field Marshal Archduke Albrecht
Archduke Albrecht, around 1880

Archduke Albrecht Friedrich Rudolf von Österreich-Teschen (born August 3, 1817 in Vienna , † February 18, 1895 in Arco , Tyrol , today Trentino , Italy ) was Archduke of Austria , Duke of Teschen and Field Marshal and General Inspector of the Austro-Hungarian Army.

Life

Albrecht was the eldest son of Archduke Karl von Österreich-Teschen (1771-1847), the victor in the Battle of Aspern , and Henriette von Nassau-Weilburg . On his father's side, he was a grandson of Emperor Leopold II . He went through the military ladder early and was appointed colonel in 1830 , but did not enter practical military service until 1837 as the second colonel in the Wimpffen infantry regiment . In 1839 transferred to the cuirassier regiment Mengen in the same capacity , he was promoted to major general in 1840 , to field marshal lieutenant in 1843 and to commanding general in Austria above and below the Enns as well as in Salzburg.

In the course of the revolution , on March 13, 1848, he had given the order to use firearms against the people.

In the course of further fighting, he joined Radetzky's army , where he distinguished himself in the battle of Santa Lucia . In 1849 he received a command in the corps of Feldzeugmeister Konstantin d'Aspre and fought with distinction at Gravellona , Mortara and especially in the Battle of Novara , where his division held up the overpowering enemy until the rest of the Austrian army could approach. After the end of the campaign, he became the commanding general of III. Army corps in Bohemia and appointed governor of the Mainz fortress . In 1851 he received the important post of governor general and commanding general in Hungary . There his position was very difficult: he did not do enough for the heightened national hopes of the Magyars , but in the opinion of the court he was already giving in to them too much, and so he spoiled it with both and left this post in 1860.

A confidential mission to the Berlin court in the spring of 1859 in order to obtain Prussia's support or certain promises for the impending Italian war was unsuccessful, and a similar mission in the spring of 1864 was no better. In 1860/61 Albrecht was Commanding General of the VIII Army Corps in Vicenza , then became Feldzeugmeister and in 1863 Field Marshal . In the war of 1866 he commanded the army in Italy, proved himself as a general through the victory in the battle of Custozza on June 24th and after the battle of Königgrätz received the supreme command against Prussia instead of Benedeks . His preparations for the continuation of the fight became irrelevant because of the defeat of Austria.

Placed at the head of the reorganization commission established after the war and the Inspector General of the Imperial Army appointed Albrecht acquired the formation of the Austrian army made great contributions and practiced until his death in 1895 a decisive influence on the development of the army. As a military writer, he wrote several works. Albrecht also held an excellent position in the economic field: He was one of the first large landowners and industrialists of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy.

His possessions, distinguished by the diversity of their nature and their products, included u. a. the Teschener Kammer and the Saybusch region , located in the West Beskids in the Teschner Kreis of Austrian Silesia and the adjoining Wadowice District in western Galicia , the Hungarian Altenburg dominion between Lake Neusiedl and the Kleine Schütt, the Bellye dominion in the angle between the Danube and the Drau , finally the smaller lordship of Seelowitz in Moravia , together with an area of ​​approx. 2070 km². In his palace in Vienna there is the excellent collection of copperplate engravings and hand drawings by famous masters, known as the Albertina , which was created by Albert Kasimir von Sachsen-Teschen . His equestrian statue of Kaspar von Zumbusch (1899) stands in front of the palace on the Albrecht ramp named after him . The Albrecht barracks in Leopoldstadt is named after him.

Archduke Albrecht of Austria-Teschen was laid to rest in the Imperial Crypt with the Capuchins .

After his death, Archduke Albrecht's extensive possessions passed to his nephew and adoptive son Archduke Friedrich , who had also embarked on a military career.

As a commemoration, the year of retirement from the Theresian Military Academy in Wiener Neustadt in 2009 chose the name "Archduke Albrecht".

Wife and offspring

Year badge "Archduke Albrecht" of the Theresian Military Academy in Wiener Neustadt
Archduke Karl Ferdinand (right in the picture) with his brother Archduke Albrecht
Archduke Albrecht's villa in Arco (Trentino) , around 1880
Archduchess Hildegard born Princess of Bavaria

Albrecht had been married since 1844 to Hildegard , a daughter of King Ludwig I of Bavaria , who died on April 2, 1864 at the age of 38 as a result of pleurisy and was buried in the imperial crypt with the Capuchins . The descendants are:

  • Marie Therese (born July 15, 1845 in Vienna, † October 8, 1927 in Tübingen) was married to Duke Philipp von Württemberg on January 18, 1865 .
  • Karl Albrecht Ludwig (born January 3, 1847 , † July 19, 1848 ), died of smallpox as an infant .
  • Mathilde Marie Adelgunde (born January 25, 1849 in Vienna, † June 6, 1867 in Schloss Hetzendorf near Vienna), died at the age of 18 from the effects of the burns that she suffered two weeks earlier on May 22 as her dress It caught fire because she smoked in the imperial apartments. The yellow room and other rooms were destroyed.

In 1878 Albrecht adopted Archduke Friedrich, the eldest son of his brother Karl Ferdinand of Austria, and made him his universal heir. As a result, Friedrich became the owner of the Albertina after Albrecht's death .

Museum reception

Personal items and memorabilia in the Army History Museum

In the Viennese Army History Museum there is a showcase in room V ("Franz-Joseph-Saal") in which Archduke Albrecht's personal belongings can be found, such as his grand cross and breast star of the Maria Theresa Order , his bandage , field cap and gloves; his ring with a portrait of Albrecht, made on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of his Infantry Regiment No. 44 (Hungarian Infantry Regiment "Archduke Albrecht" No. 44); his top hat for generals ; Marshal's baton and his infantry officer sabers . The Archduke Albrecht March is named after him.

Fonts

  • First official report on the battle of Custozza on June 24, 1866. In: Österreichische Militärische Zeitschrift, year 1866, no. 2
  • Instruction for the generals and higher officers of the Imperial and Royal Army in Italy. In: Österreichische Militärische Zeitschrift 3/1866, pp. 33–60.
  • How should Austria's army be organized? Vienna 1868.
  • About responsibility in war. Vienna 1869 (2nd edition Vienna 1870).
  • Thoughts on the military spirit. Vienna 1869.
  • The year 1870 and the defensive strength of the monarchy. Vienna 1870.

literature

Web links

Commons : Albrecht von Österreich-Teschen  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Johann Christoph Allmayer-Beck : The Army History Museum Vienna. Hall VI - The k. (U.) K. Army from 1867–1914 , Vienna 1989, p. 23.
personal data
SURNAME Albrecht of Austria-Teschen
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Albrecht Friedrich Rudolf von Habsburg
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Archduke of Austria and general
DATE OF BIRTH August 3, 1817
PLACE OF BIRTH Vienna
DATE OF DEATH February 18, 1895
Place of death Arco , Italy