Josef Franz of Austria

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Josef Franz of Austria

Archduke Josef Franz of Austria (born March 28, 1895 in Brno , Austria-Hungary , † September 25, 1957 in Carcavelos , Portugal ) belonged to the Hungarian line of the House of Habsburg , which was founded by Archduke Joseph .

Life

Archduke Josef Franz Leopold Anton Ignatius Maria von Habsburg-Lothringen was the eldest son of Archduke Joseph August and his wife, Princess Augusta Maria Luise of Bavaria (* May 4, 1875, † February 8, 1964). He spent his childhood on the home estate in Alcsút . He later completed his education at a Catholic high school in Budapest II. District to which a study of the rights at the Budapest University joined. He received further training at the kuk Ludoviceum , an elite academy in which career officers were trained.

In 1915 he volunteered for military service and joined the kuk "Hussar Regiment Wilhelm II. German Emperor and King of Prussia" No. 7 as an ensign . He took part in several battles of World War I and earned services under the command of Field Marshals Arthur Arz von Straussenberg and Svetozar Boroević . Because of his bravery, he was promoted to Rittmeister . After the war he stayed in Hungary and retired to the family estate in Alcsút.

When the Soviet Republic broke out in Hungary in 1919 , he was taken hostage by the communists . He was taken to an internment camp, where the rulers of the time regarded him as a " class enemy " and sentenced him to death. He was only released in July 1919 after the intervention of the English royal family. After his release, he continued his studies at Budapest University and received his doctorate in law in 1923.

Archduke Joseph Franz of Austria and Anna Monika Pia

In 1924 he married Princess Anna Monika Pia of Saxony (* 1903, † 1976), the (officially) youngest daughter of the Saxon King Friedrich August III. of Saxony and the scandalous Luise of Austria-Tuscany . Between 1927 and 1930 he studied economics at the Economics Faculty of the Budapest Technical University , where he received his doctorate in economics for the second time on June 16, 1930.

Between 1927 and 1945 he was a member of the House of Lords in the Hungarian Reichstag, he also held numerous influential offices in post-war Hungary and was the recipient of the highest awards. From 1927 he was an honorary member of the Hungarian Petőfi Society . Josef Franz was a highly educated man, but he was also interested in art. He was also active in literature and was a gifted painter.

In late 1944 emigrated he along with his family from Hungary. He first went to Regensburg , where he was the guest of the Prince of Thurn und Taxis . In 1948 he went to Portugal and settled in Porto . After the Second World War , the communists came to power in Hungary and Hungary was declared a “people 's democracy ”. In March 1947, the then Hungarian Minister of the Interior, László Rajk , demanded that the Allies of World War II surrender him and transfer him to Hungary because he was to be tried as a war criminal before a Hungarian court. However, this request was rejected by the Western powers .

Archduke Josef Franz died on September 25, 1957 in Carcavelos, his remains were transferred to Germany and buried in the Feldafing cemetery.

Awards (selection)

Literary work (selection)

  • Magyarföld dalai (German songs of Hungary, poems), Budapest 1930
  • A költő és a halál (German: The poet and death, poems), Budapest 1932
  • Columbus Mystery Play, 1935 (performed in several cities in Hungary and also in the USA )
  • Szavak a tó fölött . Versek, (German words over the lake, poems), Budapest, 1940.
  • Anyák himnusza, (German: The Hymn of the Mothers, verse), Budapest 1942

progeny

The following children emerged from the marriage with Anna Monika Pia von Sachsen:

  • Margarethe (* 1925; † 1979) ∞ in August 1944 Alexander Cech (* 1914; † 2008)
  • Ilona (* 1927; † 2011) ∞ on April 30, 1946 with Georg Alexander Herzog zu Mecklenburg (* 1921, † 1996)
  • Anna Theresia (* 1928; † 1984)
  • Josef Arpád (* 1933; † 2017) ∞ on September 12, 1956 with Maria Aloisia Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg (* 1935)
  • István (* 1934; † 2011)
  • Maria Kinga (* 1938)
  • Géza (* 1940)
  • Michael (* 1942)

literature

Web links

Commons : Josef Franz von Austria  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Princess Augusta was the daughter of Gisela of Austria and granddaughter of Emperor Franz Joseph .
  2. ↑ The Hungarian Petőfi Society ( ung . Petőfi Társaság ) was a literary society in honor of the Hungarian national poet Sándor Petőfi was founded in 1876. Its first chairman was Maurus Jókai . Her main task was to promote Hungarian literature. The Hungarian Petőfi Literature Museum was founded on her initiative. It existed until 1944.
  3. ↑ Gazeta Lwowska , December 5, 1917, No. 277, p. 1.
personal data
SURNAME Josef Franz of Austria
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Josef Franz Leopold Anton Ignatius Maria of Austria
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Austrian archduke and officer
DATE OF BIRTH March 28, 1895
PLACE OF BIRTH Brno
DATE OF DEATH September 25, 1957
Place of death Carcavelos , Portugal