Franz von Holbein-Holbeinsberg

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Franz von Holbein-Holbeinsberg (born July 14, 1832 Hanover ; † February 7, 1910 Merano ) was an Austrian Lieutenant Field Marshal , for some time head of the Spanish Riding School and author of the so-called "Directives".

origin

The son of the stage poet and theater director Franz Ignaz von Holbein and the actress Johanna Göhring came from an important family of artists. His ancestors included an unusually large number of artistic personalities. The best-known member of the family is the court painter to King Henry VIII of England, Hans Holbein the Younger . Franz was born in Hanover, but a few years after his birth the family moved to Vienna , where the father had been given the management of the Hofburgtheater . The Schottengymnasium on the Freyung was chosen for the son's schooling .

Military career

However, the young Franz did not strive for an artistic career like his parents, but joined the ranks of the imperial army in 1848. Here he visited the Zentralequitationsinstitut in Vienna, a training center for military riding instructors. In 1877 he became the commandant of the Dragoon Regiment No. 10. Holbein had already dealt with horses to an extraordinary extent since the beginning of his military career. His specialist knowledge, which he had acquired in the field of horse studies, was certainly the main reason why he was installed in 1878 as President of the Remonten Assent Commission No. 1 in Budapest (horse procurement office for the army).

Holbein was not only a horse connoisseur, but also an excellent rider himself. He already took part in the first race of the Campagne Rider Society in 1873 in Pressburg . This society was founded specifically to promote the skills of the officers as well as the horses of the Austro-Hungarian army with a prominent prize horse . When he first took part, Holbein was only able to achieve fourth place, but three years later he came first, receiving an honorary award from Emperor Franz Joseph I and a commendation from Empress Elisabeth, who was present at the race .

His achievements in the Austro-Hungarian Army meant that he rose to the rank of Lieutenant Field Marshal . As such, he made an application for retirement in 1891, which was granted. At the end of his military career, the general was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Leopold Order in recognition of his services .

Holbein in Vienna

Holbein now enjoyed his retirement and was a member of the Vienna Society. The Wiener Abendblatt reported on him as follows in the obituary: "Holbein was a well-known and extremely popular personality in society." His fame also led to his being immortalized in a painting by Gustav Klimt : When the old Hofburgtheater on Michaelerplatz was to be demolished , the order was previously given to capture the interior of the theater. Franz Matsch and Gustav Klimt were given this task and members of Viennese society were to be shown as spectators. In Klimt's painting, which is now in the possession of the Wien Museum , one of the portrayed people is Field Marshal Lieutenant von Holbein.

Spanish Riding School

Directives from 1898

It was not until 1898, when Holbein had already been in retirement for a few years, that he was selected again for an important task: he was made head of the Spanish Riding School . The Obersthofmeister of Emperor Franz Joseph, Rudolf von Liechtenstein , was also the Oberststallmeister, in which function he also headed the Spanish Riding School as director. Due to the double burden, he was probably not able to fulfill all of the tasks and finally he decided to entrust Franz von Holbein-Holbeinsberg, who still had an excellent reputation as a horse expert, with the overall management of the institute.

In the same year Holbein, together with the chief rider Johann Meixner, wrote the directives for the implementation of the methodical process in the training of rider and horse in the kuk Spanish Riding School , as the full title reads. It is an extremely important script, which is to be regarded as the only written instruction at the Spanish Riding School and is still fully valid today. His Excellency Holbein, as he was reverently called at the Vienna Riding Institute for a long time, set himself a monument with the directives.

In 1901 he finally retired at his own request. On this occasion, Emperor Franz Joseph awarded him the dignity of a Privy Councilor .

Private life and circle of friends

Now he could devote himself entirely to his private life. He was married twice. With his first wife Auguste von Noé-Nordberg (through whom he became the great-great-uncle of the actress Maria Schell and her brother Maximilian Schell ), Holbein had a daughter who, however, died early. The marriage with his first wife was not to last; many years later the general remarried to Ernestine Trebisch, who survived him and did not die until 1918.

The von Miller-Aichholz family of industrialists had a very special place in Holbein's life. Holbein had a lifelong friendship, especially with Victor and Olga von Miller-Aichholz. The two were very interested in art and often hosted famous people in their palace on Heumarkt or in their summer residence in Gmunden. Holbein made the acquaintance of many interesting personalities there and his passion for playing the violin brought him into closer contact with some musicians. In the Miller-Aichholz house there were always music evenings where Holbein played with famous musicians of the time - for example with the famous composer Johannes Brahms , who even praised Holbein's violin playing on a correspondence card. The general got to know many other people here, such as the composer Carl Goldmark , the violinist Joseph Joachim , the critic Eduard Hanslick , the surgeon Theodor Billroth and the painter Heinrich Angeli.

Another important family with which Holbein was in close contact was the royal house of Hanover - here he had a close friendship, especially with Queen Marie. The royal family stood on Austria's side in the war between Austria and Prussia in 1866 and had to go into exile after the Austrian defeat, as their kingdom was annexed by Prussia . Emperor Franz Joseph took in the royal family and made the so-called Schönbrunner Stöckl available to them. The family later moved into a palace in Penzing, which today houses the Reinhardt seminar and the Czech embassy. The royal family also spent the summer months in Gmunden and had their own property there, the Queen's Villa. Cumberland Castle was later built .

Holbein was probably already in contact with this family through his father and was then very often the guest of Queen Marie. This was extremely musical, which is why, like Miller-Aichholz, she often organized music evenings in her property. Here Holbein sometimes made music with the same people he already knew from his friends Olga and Victor, but he also got to know numerous other personalities such as King Christian IX. from Denmark or the Sudan experts Slatin Pascha .

death

Holbein, who had spent the summer months in Gmunden for many years, decided in 1904 to move his winter residence from Vienna to Merano. He died there in 1910, but was transferred to Gmunden because he wanted to be buried here. He found his final resting place at the Evangelical Cemetery in the Traunseestadt.

Awards

literature

  • Bernhard A. Macek , Franz von Holbein-Holbeinsberg: "Directives" of the Spanish Riding School. 19th Century Equestrian Art, Military, and Society. Vienna 2007 (= Historica-Austria vol. 7).
  • Army album to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the reign of Emperor Franz Joseph I. Vienna in 1888.
personal data
SURNAME Holbein-Holbeinsberg, Franz von
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Austrian field marshal lieutenant
DATE OF BIRTH July 14, 1832
PLACE OF BIRTH Hanover
DATE OF DEATH February 7, 1910
Place of death Meran