Alfred III. to Windisch-Grätz

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Alfred (III.) August Karl Maria Wolfgang Erwin Prince of Windisch-Graetz , Baron von Waldstein and im Thal (born October 31, 1851 in Prague , † November 23, 1927 in Tachau , Czechoslovakia ), was an Austrian politician and Imperial and Royal Prime Minister . He was also Erblandstallmeister the Duchy of Styria and nobleman in the Kingdom of Württemberg .

Alfred III. to Windisch-Grätz

Life

Tachau Castle, the Bohemian residence of the Windisch-Graetz, who bought the estate in 1781
Seal mark Alfred Fürst zu Windisch-Graetz'sches Secretariat

His family owned large estates in western Bohemia, in a German-populated area near the German border. It was there that his grandfather began to transform Tachau Castle into a mansion. Some of his plans were not carried out.

Alfred was the son of Prince Alfred II zu Windisch-Grätz and his wife (Marie) Hedwig (1829–1852, daughter of Prince August Longin von Lobkowicz, 1797–1842). But his mother died a year after he was born.

Alfred attended the Schottengymnasium in Vienna . He was highly educated at a young age, a member of the state parliament of the Kingdom of Bohemia and a member of the manor house in the Austrian Imperial Council , where he appeared in the interests of understanding between the various peoples in Cisleithanien .

In 1884 he was awarded the Order of the Golden Fleece by Emperor Franz Joseph I , the house order of the dynasty and the highest ranking order in the monarchy.

From 11 November 1893 to 19 June 1895 he was the successor of Eduard Graf Taaffe had officiated, of more than 14 years, called to the emperor kk Prime Minister of the Austrian half. He was chairman of a coalition government, the first ever in the political history of Old Austria. This had to resign because of the ultimately irreconcilable contradictions between Czechs and Germans . His successor, Count Kasimir Badeni (see Badeni Ministry ), who took office after the interim cabinet, Erich Graf Kielmansegg , also failed. Of the 18 kk minister-presidents who followed Windisch-Graetz during the 23 years until the end of the monarchy , only five managed a longer term than him.

After he had been one of the vice-presidents of the manor from 1892 , the emperor appointed him president of the manor on March 25, 1897. Appointed again and again, most recently by Emperor Karl I on May 21, 1917, he retained this position until the end of the monarchy. Unbeknownst to him, on October 30, 1918, under his chairmanship, the House held its last meeting, which lasted only five minutes.

On November 11, 1918, the emperor resigned. The Provisional National Assembly for German Austria declared the manor on November 12, 1918 to be abolished .

He refused to accept Czechoslovak citizenship, thus remaining an Austrian, for whom the Nobility Repeal Act had been in force since April 10, 1919 , which also repealed his title of prince. In his country of residence, Czechoslovakia, he lost his lands in Bohemia and Moravia, but not his castle in Tachau, due to the land reform adopted on April 16, 1919.

Marriage and offspring

Since 1877 he was married to Maria Gabriela Eleonore Princess von Auersperg (born February 21, 1855 in Vienna, † June 1, 1933 in Tachov). The couple had seven children:

  • Maria Heduvige, Princess of Windisch-Graetz (born June 16, 1878 - † September 22, 1918)
  • Alfred Ludwig, Prince Windisch-Graetz (1879–1880) - Hereditary Prince
  • Christine, Princess of Windisch-Graetz (June 19, 1881 - December 4, 1895)
  • Vincenz Alfred, Prince of Windisch-Graetz (born September 3, 1882 - † March 26, 1913) - Hereditary Prince
  • Agnes Mathilde, Princess of Windisch-Graetz (* February 14, 1884 - May 21, 1959)
  • Wilhelmine, Princess of Windisch-Graetz (born September 19, 1885 - † March 23, 1886)
  • Maria Aglae, Princess of Windisch-Graetz (born January 11, 1887, † April 25, 1961)

The couple's Viennese residence was Palais Windisch-Graetz 1. , Renngasse 12. Both died in Tachau and were buried in the family crypt in the Kladruby monastery.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Website Chevaliers de la Toison d'Or
  2. ^ Vienna, November 11th. In: daily newspaper Neue Freie Presse. No. 10498, November 12, 1893, p. 1.
  3. ^ Vienna, June 19. In: Neue Freie Presse daily newspaper , Vienna, No. 11070, June 20, 1895, p. 1.
  4. ↑ Stenographic Protocol. Mansion. XXII. Session. 40th meeting (= p. 1268)
  5. ↑ Entry in Geneall.de

literature

Web links

Commons : Alfred III. zu Windisch-Grätz  - Collection of images, videos and audio files
personal data
SURNAME Windisch-Grätz, Alfred III. to
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Alfred 3er Prince of Windisch-Graetz
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Austrian politician and Prime Minister
DATE OF BIRTH October 31, 1851
PLACE OF BIRTH Prague
DATE OF DEATH November 23, 1927
Place of death Tachau