Franz von Rapp

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Franz von Rapp - picture in the rococo hall of the old country house in Innsbruck

Franz Xaver Rapp, Freiherr von Heidenburg (born November 21, 1823 in Innsbruck ; † September 20, 1889 ibid), was Governor of Tyrol from 1871 to 1876 and 1881 to 1889 .

Life

Franz von Rapp was born as the son of the lawyer and historian Josef Rapp and Anna Stolz. After studying law, he opened a practice in Lower Austria and then became a notary in Innsbruck. In 1856 he was included in the list of defenders of the Innsbruck Higher Regional Court at his request.

From 1863 to 1866, Rapp held the office of Vice Mayor of Innsbruck, in 1867 he succeeded Josef von Peer as Mayor of the state capital. Rapp was a staunch conservative who stuck to the tried and tested, historically grown tradition and tried to strengthen the position of the Catholic Churches wherever possible. When, following the entry into force of the ordinance of the Minister for Culture and Education of February 10, 1869, which deprived the clergy of the supervision of the elementary schools, he was asked to exercise his right to supervise the elementary schools in the district, he could not reconcile this measure with his conscience and therefore declared his resignation.

His political career did not end there, on the contrary, it really got going. On March 22, 1864, Rapp was elected to the state parliament by the Innsbruck rural community, and in 1865 he was appointed deputy governor. When, after the dissolution of the state parliament in August 1871, the position of governor had to be filled and the abbot of Wilten, Sales Blaas, surprisingly declared that he would not be available for this office, Rapp was accepted by the imperial resolution of September 11th Governor of Tyrol appointed.

When Rapp wanted to pay his respects to the Empress, who was "in the strictest incognito" in Merano at the time, with some MPs, he was unexpectedly rejected by the latter: she would be happy to be able to welcome the deputation at a later date , Elisabeth informed the holder of the high political office, but at the moment she could not receive any visitors.

As governor, Rapp continued his church-friendly policy. In spite of the council that is often said to him, which is expressed in his motto “The arc is too tight,” and his friendly relationship with the liberal-minded Prime Minister Eduard Graf Taaffe , he remained unyielding on religious issues. When the minister of culture approved the establishment of Protestant parishes in Innsbruck and Meran in March 1876 and thus practically suspended the Tyrolean provincial law from 1866, which was sanctioned by the emperor in the war year 1866, Rapp could and wanted to join the conservatives on March 9, 1876 the scandal provoked the move out of the meeting room, which resulted in the dissolution of the state parliament by the emperor. This also ended his first term as governor.

Even though Emperor Franz Josef was very angry about the behavior of "the majority of the members of the state parliament", he does not seem to have identified Franz von Rapp as the ringleader of this action, at least he became after the resignation of his successor, the liberal Wilhelm von Bossi -Fedrigotti reappointed governor on July 19, 1881. He held this office until his death on September 19, 1889 in Innsbruck.

In the two terms of office as governor, the emperor paid five visits to the state of Tyrol. During his first stay on February 7, 1872, he also visited the country house on Maria-Theresien-Straße. This was the first time in the centuries-old connection between Tyrol and the House of Habsburg that a sovereign prince entered the Tyrolean estate. On the occasion of this visit, a memorial plaque was put up in the country house and a detailed documentary description of the visit was written. Nothing is known about the whereabouts of the memorial plaque, which is said to have been placed in the staircase of the country house according to this document, the document is still kept in the Tyrolean Provincial Archive , Landscape Archive, Document 231 (large format).

The opening of the Arlbergbahn falls during the governor's second term of office.

During this tenure, extensive restoration work was carried out in the country house and a new heating system was installed.

For several years, Rapp also represented the state of Tyrol in the Imperial Council. His work as director and board member (1867 to 1888) and committee member (1882 to 1886) of the Sparkasse der Stadt Innsbruck is also of particular importance. His work has received numerous awards. In 1871 Rapp was knighted and given the title of “von Heidenburg”, in 1883 he was promoted to the rank of baron and in 1887 he was appointed a lifelong member of the manor house. Rapp belonged to numerous associations, among other things he was a member of the academic association Austria and the Catholic parent association.

During his tenure, Rapp was involved in traffic accidents twice due to shy horses, with injuries to his head and foot in the second accident on August 28, 1883, which were, however, only minor.

On September 20, 1889, Franz von Rapp died unexpectedly of a heart attack.

literature

Web links

Commons : Governors of Tyrol  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Innsbrucker Nachrichten , May 16, 1856
  2. ^ Innsbrucker Nachrichten , October 28, 1871
  3. ^ Innsbrucker Nachrichten , February 8, 1872
  4. ^ Message from the Tyrolean Provincial Archives of September 7, 2007 (TLA-0507 / 2160-2007)
  5. ^ Report on the 6th session of the Landtag on December 10, 1887, Innsbrucker Nachrichten , December 12, 1887
  6. ^ Richard Schober: History of the Tyrolean Parliament in the 19th and 20th centuries
  7. ↑ Innsbrucker Nachrichten , August 30, 1883
personal data
SURNAME Rapp, Franz von
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Rapp, Franz; Rapp Freiherr von Heidenburg, Franz Xaver
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Austrian politician
DATE OF BIRTH November 21, 1823
PLACE OF BIRTH innsbruck
DATE OF DEATH September 20, 1889
Place of death innsbruck