Ludwig Viktor of Austria

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Archduke Ludwig Viktor in his younger years

Archduke Ludwig Viktor Joseph Anton of Austria (born May 15, 1842 in Vienna ; † January 18, 1919 in Kleßheim ) was the youngest son of Archduke Franz Karl of Austria and his wife Sophie Friederike of Bavaria and the youngest brother of Emperor Franz Joseph I. of Austria .

Life

Ludwig Viktor, lithograph by Franz Eybl after a painting by Anton Einsle
Group picture of the imperial brothers around 1860, Archduke Ludwig Viktor is on the far right
Archduke Ludwig Viktor's palace on Schwarzenbergplatz, his Viennese city residence
Ludwig Viktor spent his last years in isolation at Klessheim Castle

After the early death of Maria Anna Karolina (who died at the age of four), the next child in the family was to be a girl after there were already three sons. With Ludwig Victor, called "Luzi-Wuzi", another boy was born. The boy played himself in the center of attention early on at every opportunity, whereby his ironic to cynical remarks were often ridiculed as witty at the expense of others and he was given a certain freedom of fooling for a long time as the baby boy.

During the revolution of 1848 he fled with the imperial family to Innsbruck in March 1848 and after the outbreak of the Vienna October Uprising in 1848 to Olomouc . The six-year-old is said to have asked for their release when he saw revolutionaries sentenced to death. Later he went through the traditional military career for members of the imperial family, he became general of the infantry and he was entrusted with the management of a regiment that bore his name.

He rejected the plan of his brother Maximilian , the Emperor of Mexico , to become his successor there. Maximilian even had a suitable political marriage in mind for him - Isabel , the heir to Emperor Pedro II , who had led Brazil to an unexpected prosperity due to his prudent government. This marriage would unite the countries of Mexico and Brazil. Instead, Ludwig Viktor mainly dealt with art collections and built palaces. Above all , the palace of Archduke Ludwig Viktor on Schwarzenbergplatz, built by Heinrich von Ferstel in the Renaissance style , and the furnishings of the Klessheim Palace that he selected are well known . He held parties in his palace, preferring the presence of men to women. His homosexual orientation was an open secret, but Ludwig also had a long relationship with the dancer Claudia Couqui. However, this did not affect his relations with his imperial brother and his family, as his private correspondence shows.

After moving to Salzburg in 1864, he continued to devote himself to new buildings (for example, the construction of the Klessheim Cavalier House at Klessheim Palace in 1879), charitable donations and art sponsorship (he was a patron of the Salzburg Art Association ). In 1896 the emperor appointed him to supervise the Austrian Red Cross , which arose after the battle of Solferino (1859).

Ludwig Viktor's 60th birthday in 1902 was celebrated on a grand scale in Vienna; there are countless official press reports about it.

On August 24, 1902, he opened the "Archduke Ludwig Viktor Bridge" over the Salzach, which was then named after him . In addition, the Salzburgers, who sometimes affectionately and sometimes condescendingly called the Archduke Luziwuzi , also renamed the Old Market to "Ludwig-Viktor-Platz".

In his final years he showed signs of mental confusion. In the meantime placed under curate, he died in 1919 at the age of 76 as the last of the sons of Archduke Franz Karl at Klessheim Castle and is buried in the Siezenheim cemetery on the east side of the Siezenheim parish church .

The contemporary Princess Nora Fugger described the Archduke in her memoirs:

“He was fundamentally different from his brothers, was neither military nor artful, weak, unmanly, graceful and nasty in appearance. He was feared because of his medisance [French defamation]. He led a very worldly life, was informed about everything - not always correctly - and his tongue was sharp like that of a venomous snake. He got involved in everything, spun intrigues out of it and was happy when it turned into little scandals. There was every reason to fear his indiscretions and gossip; but he was the emperor's brother. But he had a good side: he was the friend of his friends - more than his girlfriends - he defended them when they were attacked by the world and showed them all kinds of amabilities. Old - more than young women - he was of the greatest attention and kindness. He made a note of all birthdays and names and sent them flowers. He was, of course, very adored by these old ladies. He was not very popular in the imperial family; because even then he always knew something to criticize or to defend against. "

Trivia

Kikeriki Vienna (June 9, 1904)

Ludwig Viktor was said to have had numerous escapades throughout his life: He is said to have worn women's clothes at times and even had himself photographed in them. In addition, the emperor had transferred him to Salzburg because of a fight between homosexuals. In fact, Ludwig Viktor was involved in this affair in the Centralbad (today Kaiserbründl), but this was not discussed in the Austrian press. Only the foreign "Jewish press" seems to have made allusions to this "scandal", as the Viennese satirical newspaper Kikeriki wrote in mid-1904. The only source used to this day is the “court gossip”, which Countess Nora Fugger rumored as follows:

“There was no swimming pool in his palace in Vienna. And so he made it a habit to appear twice a week in the company of his adjutant in a public bathing establishment. How often did I see his court carriage parked in Weihburggasse. The question arose as to how it could be reconciled with the strict etiquette at the Austrian court that an archduke could swim in a public swimming pool with n'importe qui. The matter seemed strange to me, not harmless. And I wasn't so wrong; because one fine day there actually was a major scandal, even a scuffle in the bathing establishment. It was said that the Archduke was slapped in the face and had to flee. This scandalous affair was described to the emperor - in the brightest colors, of course. He was extremely indignant and ordered his brother to leave Vienna immediately and retire to his Klesheim palace. The Archduke remained interned there until the end of his life. "

literature

Web links

Commons : Ludwig Viktor von Austria  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Sigrid-Maria Großering : To crown and love. Amalthea Verlag, Vienna 2008, ISBN 978-3-85002-649-9 , p.
  2. ^ Sport and Salon , May 24, 1902.
  3. ↑ a b Nora Fugger: In the splendor of the imperial era . Amalthea Verlag, Vienna 1932, pp. 126–128.
  4. ^ Kikeriki , June 9, 1904.
personal data
SURNAME Ludwig Viktor of Austria
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Luziwuzi of Austria
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Austrian Archduke, brother of Emperor Franz Joseph I.
DATE OF BIRTH May 15, 1842
PLACE OF BIRTH Vienna
DATE OF DEATH January 18, 1919
Place of death Klessheim