Franz Josef II.
Franz Josef II., Prince von und zu Liechtenstein ( Franz Josef Maria Aloys Alfred Karl Johannes Heinrich Michael Georg Ignatius Benediktus Gerhardus Majella von und zu Liechtenstein , Duke of Troppau and Jägerndorf , Count of Rietberg ; * August 16, 1906 at Frauental Castle , Styria , Austria ; † November 13, 1989 in Grabs , Canton St. Gallen , Switzerland ), was head of state of the Principality of Liechtenstein .
biography
He was the first son of Prince Alois von und zu Liechtenstein and Archduchess Elisabeth Amalie of Austria . His godfather was Emperor Franz Joseph I. Franz Josef II, a great-great-grandson of Prince Johann Josef I , spent his youth mainly in castles of the Princely House of Liechtenstein in Austria, including 1911–1914 in Groß Ullersdorf Castle in Moravia , where he found his love for Nature that determined his future studies.
In 1925 he passed the Matura at the Schottengymnasium in Vienna . The nature-loving prince then studied at the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences in Vienna, became a forest engineer and devoted himself to the family's own estates in Czechoslovakia . (His title Duke of Troppau and Jägerndorf referred to the former Austrian Silesia , now part of the Czech Republic .)
After various official missions on behalf of the prince, e.g. For example, when the Rhine broke in 1927 near Schaan , Prince Franz I entrusted him constitutionally on April 17, 1930 with the exercise of sovereign rights due to me in the event of an extended absence on my part from the country . From March 12, 1938, the Austrian possessions of the royal family were under National Socialist rule . On March 30, 1938 he was appointed Prince Regent of the Prince.
On July 25, 1938, Franz Josef II took over the reign of his deceased predecessor Prince Franz I and settled in Liechtenstein. The Nazi rule was extended to all of Bohemia and Moravia in autumn 1938 and spring 1939 ; In the light of these and other developments, the prince's decision was a far-sighted one. He was the first prince to have his main residence in Liechtenstein. The royal family's permanent residence was Hohenliechtenstein Castle above Vaduz , which the Prince had converted into a homely place.
On May 29, 1939, in the face of the threat from the German Reich, the Liechtenstein people paid homage to their princes: a visible declaration of intent to maintain the independence of the state. Shortly before the end of the Second World War , the prince had the majority of his works of art that had remained under Nazi rule brought to the Principality of Liechtenstein; the German government could not forbid this to a foreign sovereign.
During the Second World War, on March 7, 1943, he married Georgina Wilczek (1921–1989) from Austria, who belonged to the Wilczek family until 1919, in Vaduz . Their children together are:
- Prince Hans-Adam II (* 1945)
- Prince Philipp Erasmus (* 1946)
- Prince Nikolaus Ferdinand (* 1947)
- Princess Nora (* 1950)
- Prince Franz Josef Wenzel (1962–1991)
The prince's lands in Bohemia and Moravia , including the Eisgrub and Feldsberg castles in South Moravia, were expropriated with all their inventory in 1945 after Czechoslovakia was rebuilt . Since then all Germans in the country were expropriated without compensation and most of them were expelled, President Edvard Beneš claimed that the Liechtensteiners were Germans. The Fürst Liechtenstein Foundation is now suing the Czech district courts for restitution. The Liechtenstein City Palace in Vienna was badly damaged in a bomb attack in February 1945. (From 2013, further parts of the Liechtenstein art collections will be shown here.)
After the war, Franz Josef II's concern was the economic, social and cultural progress of Liechtenstein. A modern and highly viable Liechtenstein , which has broken away from Switzerland's “piggyback” (economic model) and gained international reputation as a member of the EEA and the UN, testified to the success of his efforts . The founding of the Liechtenstein Red Cross in 1945, the establishment of a children's home and an educational facility for mentally handicapped children go back to the prince and his wife.
In 1956 he had a commemorative medal minted for his 50th birthday . In his 45th year of reign, in 1984, Prince Franz Josef II appointed Hereditary Prince Hans-Adam II as permanent deputy in accordance with Article 13 of the constitution and entrusted him with the performance of state affairs. On November 13, 1989, after the death of Prince Franz Josef II, his son became head of state as Prince Hans-Adam II.
Franz Josef II was honorary protector of the Liechtenstein Academic Association Rheinmark, former lord of the Catholic (today academic) student union Glanzenburger in Zurich and since 1927 a member of the Catholic Austrian University Association Nordgau Vienna in the ÖCV and owner of the Catholic German student union Nordgau Prague to Koblenz in the CV and the Catholic German student union Algovia Augsburg in the CV. He was also a member of the Corps Brandenburgia-Berlin in Cleveland / Ohio since 1954 , and since 1984 he was also a member of the AKV Rauracia Basel in the Schw.-StV . Since 1948, appointed by Otto von Habsburg , in 1240 he was a knight of the private order of the Golden Fleece in Austria. On March 19, 1982, Grand Duke Jean accepted him into the Nassau House Order of the Golden Lion .
Franz Josef II. And his wife Gina were members of the Knightly Order of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem with the rank of Grand Cross Knight and Grand Cross Lady.
Humanitarian mission 1945
Prince in May 1945 granted Franz Josef II. The fighting in German uniforms against Soviet Russia troops of the 1st Russian National Army of the German army under the command of Major General Arthur Holmston (aka Boris Graf Smyslowsky) asylum and did not deliver it on pressure to the Soviet Union from . The neutral Liechtenstein had neither seen nor signed the secret repatriation agreements of the allies from Yalta . This saved these soldiers from captivity and another tragedy like the Cossacks on the Drava. International reprisals against Liechtenstein were not taken:
“If you speak harshly to the Soviets, they are quite satisfied. After all, that's the only language they understand. "
tomb
Prince Franz Josef II and Princess Gina von und zu Liechtenstein were married for 46 years. Then Princess Gina died on October 18, 1989 at the age of 68 after suffering from cancer for a long time. She once said: My husband and I have become one, everyone believes that they can no longer be without the other. Only 26 days after the death of his wife, Prince Franz Josef II died on November 13, 1989 in the hospital in Grabs in Switzerland, a few kilometers west of the principality's border . Prince Franz Josef II and his wife were buried in the Princely Crypt, which was completed in 1960, at the Catholic cathedral and parish church of St. Florin in Vaduz. The graves are only open to the public once a year, on All Saints' Day (November 1st).
ancestors
| Pedigree of Prince Franz Josef II from and to Liechtenstein | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Great-great-grandparents |
|
Count Alfred Wojciech Potocki |
Prince Johann I Josef von Liechtenstein |
Count Franz de Paula Joseph Kinsky von Wchinitz and Tettau |
Emperor |
King Maximilian I Joseph (Bavaria) |
King |
Hereditary Prince |
| Great-grandparents |
Prince |
Prince |
Archduke |
King Michael I (Portugal) |
||||
| Grandparents |
Prince Alfred von und zu Liechtenstein (1842–1907) |
Archduke Karl Ludwig of Austria (1833–1896) |
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| parents |
Prince Alois von und zu Liechtenstein (1869–1955) |
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literature
- Arthur Charles Addington: Genealogical manual of the nobility (GHdA). Genealogical manual of the Princely Houses. Princely Houses Volume XIV . In: Deutsches Adelsarchiv e. V. (Ed.): GHdA . tape 100 . Starke, Limburg an der Lahn 1991, ISBN 3-7980-0700-4 , p. 65-84 .
- Wilhelm Karl Prince of Isenburg: Family tables on the history of the European states . Volume I. The German States. 2nd, improved edition. Stargardt, Marburg 1953 (plates 175-179).
- Norbert Jansen: Franz Josef II, ruling prince from and to Liechtenstein . A portrait with a brief history of the country and the House of Liechtenstein. On the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the reign of His Highness Prince Franz Josef II von und zu Liechtenstein. Lehrmittelverlag, Vaduz 1978 (German, English, French).
- European family tables . Family tables on the history of the European states. New episode. In: Detlef Schwennicke (Ed.): EST NF . Volume III: Dukes and Counts of the Holy Roman Empire, other European royal houses . Klostermann, Frankfurt am Main 1984 (panels 30–39).
- Nikolai Tolstoy: The betrayed of Yalta . Ullstein Taschenbuch, Frankfurt am Main 1987, ISBN 3-548-33079-7 , pp. 543-551 (Original title: The victims of Yalta . Translated by Elke Jessett).
- Henning von Vogelsang, Prince Hans-Adam II. Von und zu Liechtenstein (preface): The army that was not allowed to exist. Russians in German uniforms and their rescue in Liechtenstein . Hess, Ulm 1995, ISBN 3-87336-213-9 .
- Harald Wanger: The ruling princes of Liechtenstein . van Eck, Triesen FL 1995, ISBN 3-905501-22-8 .
- Constitution of the Principality of Liechtenstein of October 5, 1921 . In: Liechtensteinisches Landesgesetzblatt . No. October 15 , 24, 1921.
- Constitutional Act of June 28, 1984 supplementing and amending the Constitution of October 5, 1921 . Establishment of a representative. In: Liechtensteinisches Landesgesetzblatt . No. 28 , August 18, 1984.
Web links
- Harald Wanger: Liechtenstein, Franz Josef II. Von. In: Historical Lexicon of the Principality of Liechtenstein .
- Literature by and about Franz Josef II in the catalog of the German National Library
- Portal of the Princely House of Liechtenstein - Prince Franz Josef II.
- Peter Geiger: Liechtenstein, Franz Josef II. Von. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .
Individual evidence
- ↑ Günther Meier: Prince Franz Josef II. And the people swear loyalty . In: Liechtensteiner Volksblatt . May 29, 2019 ( online [accessed July 7, 2019]).
- ^ The history of the princely collections. Retrieved September 14, 2018 .
- ^ Till Janzer: Radio Prague. The Prince Liechtenstein Foundation is suing the Czech Republic for expropriations after 1945. In: radio.cz. Český rozhlas, October 20, 2018, accessed on October 21, 2018 .
- ↑ Liechtenstein city palace as splendid museum , ORF website, 19. October 2011
- ↑ Kösener Corpslisten 1971, 146 , 67
- ↑ Jean Schoos : The medals and decorations of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and the former Duchy of Nassau in the past and present. Verlag der Sankt-Paulus Druckerei, Luxembourg 1990, ISBN 2-87963-048-7 . P. 345.
- ↑ Investiture and Chapter Assembly , OESSH, accessed on July 6, 2011
- ↑ Tolstoy 1987, p. 551
| predecessor | Office | successor |
|---|---|---|
| Franz I. |
Prince of Liechtenstein 1938–1989 |
Hans-Adam II. |
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Franz Josef II. |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Franz Josef II from and to Liechtenstein; Prince Franz Josef II from and to Liechtenstein, Duke of Troppau and Jägerndorf, Count of Rietberg |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Liechtenstein nobleman, prince and count of Liechtenstein |
| DATE OF BIRTH | August 16, 1906 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Frauental Castle , Styria , Austria |
| DATE OF DEATH | November 13, 1989 |
| Place of death | Grabs |