Johann II. (Liechtenstein)

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John II in 1908 (on a painting by John Quincy Adams )
Johann II. Prince of Liechtenstein, lithograph by Josef Kriehuber , around 1860

Johann II. Maria Franz Placidus (*  October 5, 1840 in Eisgrub Castle in the Austrian Empire ; †  February 11, 1929 in Feldsberg Castle in Czechoslovakia ), known as the Good , was Prince of Liechtenstein from November 12, 1858 until his death .

During his extraordinarily long reign - he took over the government when Friedrich Wilhelm IV ruled in Prussia , and was still ruler when Otto Braun was Prime Minister there - a constitutional constitution was put into effect in 1862 and the constitution became parliamentary in 1921 -democratic basis. The prince promoted art and science in his country and initiated the first modernization of the rural state.

biography

family

Prince Johann Maria Franz Placidus was born after five older sisters as the son of Prince Alois II. Josef (1796-1858) and his wife Countess Franziska Kinsky von Wchinitz and Tettau (1813-1881). In Franz he later had a brother thirteen years his junior. Johann Maria acquired knowledge of English, French, Italian and Czech at an early age. In his childhood his unstable health was often a cause for concern.

Prince Johann II remained unmarried throughout his life. His siblings were:

Domination

Johann II around 1870. Photography

After extensive training by selected private tutors and a visit to the University of Bonn and technical lectures in Karlsruhe, he took over the position of Majorate and sovereign Prince of Liechtenstein before completing his studies at the age of eighteen, but transferred the reign to his mother Franziska from 1859–1860 . He made extensive trips through Europe, expanded the Liechtenstein art collections, promoted botany, archeology and geography. In 1859 he also visited his country Liechtenstein, ordered compulsory schooling up to the age of 14 and signed the first constitution of the principality on September 26, 1862. At the Princely Congress of Frankfurt on August 16, 1863, he was present as a representative of his country, although he was considered almost pathologically shy of people. In 1866 he mobilized the Liechtenstein military for the last time and dissolved the contingent on February 12, 1868. On the 50th anniversary of his reign he had the anniversary commemorative medal issued.

Prince Johann II initiated the modernization of the agrarian principality in his 71-year reign: From 1869, Liechtenstein was connected to the world with the Morse telegraph, the most modern and fastest communication medium at the time. The telephone followed in 1898, and Liechtenstein received a rail connection in 1887. From 1905 to 1912 he had the previously leased and run-down Vaduz Castle extensively renovated and restored.

During the First World War from 1914 to 1918, the prince kept the principality in neutrality. In 1918 he saw how the Austro-Hungarian monarchy fell and parts of the Moravian-Silesian family property were incorporated into the new state of the Czechoslovak Republic . In 1919 he terminated the customs treaty of 1852 with Austria. On his 81st birthday on October 5, 1921, Prince Johann II issued a new constitution for the Principality, which has been in force ever since. After a postal contract in 1920 with the Swiss Confederation, he also concluded a customs contract with them in 1923. Since 1924, the Swiss currency has been the official currency in the Principality instead of the Austrian one. Postbus lines (bus lines) have been connecting the Liechtenstein landscapes since 1922.

However, his almost permanent absence from the principality was viewed increasingly critically: The prince came to the country five times in sixty years / What can we hope for from princely hands? it said in an anonymous script. Johann was an honorary member of the German Archaeological Institute and in this function donated the Winckelmann Medal on its 100th birthday in 1929 .

Title, salutation and coat of arms

The full title of the prince was Prince von und zu Liechtenstein , Duke von Troppau and Jägerndorf , Count zu Rietberg , ruler of the House of von und zu Liechtenstein . Since the imperial award of the title on June 3, 1760, all members of the house have had the salutation of Your Highness (written form: SD) and bear the coat of arms of the Princely Family . Since 1862 Johann II. Was the 974th Knight of the Order of the Golden Fleece , Austrian award.

tomb

Liechtenstein crypt in Wranau
Monument at the Schaan parish church

Prince Johann II was buried in the New Crypt of the Liechtenstein family crypt in Wranau , north of Brno.

The grateful population of the principality erected a monument at the parish church of Schaan , which was built with his help , which sums up how the people saw him:

To the father of the people -
To the helper of the poor -
To the friend of peace -
To the shepherd of art -
Prince Johann the Good 1840-1858-1929

ancestors

Pedigree of Prince Johann II von und zu Liechtenstein
Great-grandparents

Princely Hat.svg
Prince Franz Josef I
(1726–1781)
⚭ 1750
Countess Leopoldine von Sternberg
(1733–1809)

Landgrave Joachim Egon zu Fürstenberg-Weitra
(1749–1828)
⚭
Countess Sophia Theresia zu Oettingen-Wallerstein
(1751–1835)

Prince Joseph Ernst Kinsky von Wchinitz and Tettau
(1751–1798)
⚭ 1777
Countess Maria Rosália von Harrach (1758–1814)

Count Rudolf von Wrbna and Freudenthal
(1761–1823)
⚭ 1785
Countess Maria-Theresia von Kaunitz- Rietberg- Questenberg (1763–1803)

Grandparents

Princely Hat.svg
Prince Johann I. Josef (1760–1836)
⚭ 1792
Landgravine Josefa zu Fürstenberg-Weitra (1776–1848)

Count Franz de Paula Kinsky von Wchinitz and Tettau
(1784–1823)
⚭
Countess Therese von Wrbna and Freudenthal (1789–1874)

parents

Princely Hat.svg
Prince Alois II. (1796–1858)
⚭ 1831
Countess Franziska Kinsky von Wchinitz and Tettau (1813–1881)

Princely Hat.svg
Prince Johann II. (1840–1929)

literature

  • Evelin Oberhammer: Liechtenstein, Johann II. Von. In: Historical Lexicon of the Principality of Liechtenstein .
  • German Aristocratic Archives e. V. (Hrsg.): Genealogical manual of the nobility (GHdA). Genealogical manual of the Princely Houses. Princely Houses Volume XIV . CA Starke Verlag Limburg adLahn, 1991, (GHdA Volume 100), pp. 65-84.
  • Wilhelm Karl Prince of Isenburg: Family tables on the history of the European states. Volume I. The German States . 2nd improved edition. JAStargardt Verlag, Marburg 1953, plates 175–179.
  • Detlef Schwennicke (Ed.): European family tables. Family tables on the history of the European states. New episode (EST NF), Volume III / 1 . JAStargardt Verlag, Marburg, (EST NF III / 1) panels 30–39.
  • Norbert Jansen: Franz Josef II. Ruling prince from and to Liechtenstein. Festschrift for the 40th anniversary of the SD government . Official teaching material publisher, Vaduz 1978. (multilingual edition German-English-French).
  • Gregor Gatscher-Riedl: The last of his class: Prince Johann II von und zu Liechtenstein (1840–1929). In: Local history supplement [to the official gazette of the Mödling district administration], Volume 44, F. 1, (Mödling March 5, 2009), pp. 3–5.
  • Harald Wanger: The ruling princes of Liechtenstein . Frank P.van Eck Publishing House, Triesen 1995, ISBN 3-905501-22-8 .
  • Constitution of the Principality of Liechtenstein of October 5, 1921 . In: Liechtensteinisches Landesgesetzblatt, year 1921, No. 15, edition of October 24, 1921.
  • Evelin Oberhammer:  Liechtenstein, Johannes II .. In: New German Biography (NDB). Volume 14, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1985, ISBN 3-428-00195-8 , pp. 520 f. ( Digitized version ).
  • Peter Geiger: Liechtenstein, Johann II. Von. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .

Web links

Commons : Prince Johann II. Von und zu Liechtenstein  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Harald Wanger: The ruling princes of Liechtenstein . Frank P. van Eck Verlagsanstalt, Triesen 1995, p. 156
predecessor Office successor
Alois II. Prince of Liechtenstein
1858–1929 		Franz I.
personal data
SURNAME Johann II.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Johann Maria Franz Placidus
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Prince of Liechtenstein
DATE OF BIRTH October 5, 1840
PLACE OF BIRTH Eisgrub Castle
DATE OF DEATH February 11, 1929
Place of death Feldsberg Castle