Markus von Spiegelfeld

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Markus Graf Spiegelfeld 1909.jpg

Markus Graf von Spiegelfeld (born February 16, 1858 in Innsbruck ; † May 6, 1943 there ) was governor of Tyrol and Vorarlberg.

Origin and education

Markus Graf Spiegelfeld came from the Spiegelfeld family , whose members were civil servants and officers in the service of the monarchy for centuries and who were raised to the nobility in 1620, barons in 1765 and finally counts in 1917. He was the second of nine children born of the marriage of the Privy Councilor and governor of Upper Austria, Franz von Spiegelfeld , to Countess Bussy-Mignot, born Maria Katharina (born August 24, 1831).

After studying law and political science in Paris, Vienna and Innsbruck, he was accepted into the civil service in 1880 as a concept intern at the Lieutenancy in Innsbruck. From 1888 to 1894 he worked as a commissioner for the district authorities in Innsbruck, Trient and Kitzbühel. In 1894 he was assigned to the Lieutenancy Department in Trento for service, with which he remained until its dissolution in 1896. A year later he was appointed district captain of Merano. In 1901 Spiegelfeld became chairman of the presidential office of the Lieutenancy in Innsbruck. He only held this position for a short time, as he was appointed to serve in the Ministry of the Interior the following year. After the incumbent governor Erwin von Schwartzenau repeatedly announced his resignation and put this announcement into practice in March 1906, Spiegelfeld was sent to Innsbruck as a councilor with the title and character of Lieutenancy Vice-President. In October of the same year he was promoted to real Lieutenancy Vice-President and entrusted with the management of the Lieutenancy with all the rights of a Lieutenant. On August 28, 1907, he was officially appointed governor of Tyrol and Vorarlberg.

Governor of Tyrol and Vorarlberg

Liechenthurn residence in Schneeburggasse
Grave slab at the foot of the Tschiderer epitaph

The first years of his term of office were overshadowed by the increasing radicalization in the nationality question, the obstructionism of the Italian members of parliament in the Tyrolean state parliament and by conflicts between the liberals and conservatives. Spiegelfeld soon got caught between the fronts of the parties to the dispute. In this time, which was marked by social disputes, even more well-trained political personalities than the governor who had just been raised to the office would have had trouble asserting themselves. Spiegelfeld, however, did not have the foresight that was necessary to cope with the task assigned to him. After he had repeatedly changed his point of view on a delicate question concerning the relationship with Italy, rumors began to emerge in the summer of 1911 that the governor might be replaced. The weakening of his position was the result of a rash reaction to the election of Count Maximilian Manci as mayor of Trento, who was a thorn in the side of the German-Tyroleans because of his irredentist tendencies. Since he did not want to be held jointly responsible for the fact that the management of the largest city in South Tyrol would be placed in the hands of a former imperial Italian, Spiegelfeld refused the mayor to issue the imperial confirmation required for the assumption of the office. When there were demonstrations against Austria in Welschtirol , he had the unfortunate idea of ​​recommending that the government in Vienna restrict the autonomous rights of the city of Trento and place them under state supervision. Prime Minister Gautsch , who himself was obviously not clear about the consequences of such a reprimand, took up the suggestion of the governor and had a corresponding declaration of intent distributed when he suddenly turned around and withdrew his proposal. The realization that the implementation of his proposal would only fuel the nationality conflict came too late, however, because the Prime Minister's intention had already leaked out and was already expressing its disastrous effects. With this, the governor had put the ministry in an embarrassing position and lost much of its reputation. The plan to put the city of Trento under a curator had been abandoned, but the mayor's question had still not been decided. When Spiegelfeld finally canceled the mayoral election in August 1912, the matter escalated again. The German nationalists, who basically approved the edict, were not formulated sharply enough; the other parties, even those close to the governor, considered his approach to be excessive and legally open to attack. The "Allgemeine Tiroler Anzeiger" did not hide the fact that Italian municipalities were dealt with in a way that cities of other nationalities would not do. Only the fact that no suitable successor could be found in such a short time and the impending resignation of Prime Minister Gautsch prevented Spiegelfeld from losing his office earlier.

In January 1913 the governor's crisis was revived by reports in the Italian press. This brought the fall of the governor, considered inevitable, into connection with his attitude to the so-called "Fiemme Valley Railway Question" . In the euphoria of the preparations for the centenary celebrations in 1909, Spiegelfeld had promised the Italians in the so-called "Bozner Compromise" that the Fiemme Valley Railway would run as a kind of "double railway" with a German and an Italian line to Bolzano and Trento, but was now able to do so no longer comply, as the Stürgkh cabinet did not feel bound by the resolution. As a result, there were protests by the Italian MPs in the Tyrolean state parliament, which resulted in its complete incapacity for work. The blame for this debacle was placed on the governor, whose political will had been limited to staying overnight and taking advantage of the momentary advantage. After Spiegelfeld realized that he had gambled away the parties' trust and found himself unable to break the blockade in the state parliament, he handed over his resignation in Holy Week 1913, which was accepted on March 27, exceptionally quickly. Count Friedrich von Toggenburg was appointed his successor .

Personal and family

Tschiderer-Spiegelfeld grave site

Markus von Spiegelfeld was married twice. With his first wife, Albertine Tschiderer von Gleifheim (1862–1935) from Innsbruck, he had five children: Magdalena Maria Catharina (1888–1973), Martha (1889–1970), Sibylle (1892–1926), Maria (1897–1973 ) and Franz Xaver Matz (1900–1965). The family lived in the Liechtenthurn residence at Schneeburggasse 15. Four years after the death of his wife Albertine, at the age of 82, he married Duchess Leonarda (Leonie) Bianchi von Casalanza (1905–1982), who was 47 years younger.

He is buried in the cemetery in Hötting, grave field 5, grave no. 251-253, at the side of his first wife.

His third daughter, Sibylle Spiegelfeld, married Klinger von Klingerstorff, passed away voluntarily after her lover, the impostor Cyrill Constantin Orlow, was shot by her husband during a reconstruction in the hunting forest of Raabs Castle. She is buried in the Klinger mausoleum , which her husband had built for the deceased. The press reported in great detail at the time about the incident, which went down in history as the “Raabs tragedy”.

Spiegelfeld was very socially inclined. During World War I he worked for the Red Cross in the welfare of prisoners of war. He was a knight of the Franz Joseph Order (since 1899) and has received several prestigious awards, including the Commander's Cross 1st Class of the Duke of Saxony-Ernestine House Order and the Serbian Takovo Order .

He wrote an obituary for the heir to the throne Archduke Franz Ferdinand who was murdered in Sarajevo.

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Innsbrucker Nachrichten August 25, 1911, p. 5
  2. ↑ Allgemeine Tiroler Anzeiger, August 28, 1911
  3. ^ Neue Freie Presse, March 30, 1913, p. 7
  4. ↑ Innsbrucker Nachrichten, July 2, 1914, p. 1 f [1]
personal data
SURNAME Spiegelfeld, Markus von
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Spiegelfeld, Markus Graf von (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Governor of Tyrol and Vorarlberg
DATE OF BIRTH February 16, 1858
PLACE OF BIRTH Innsbruck , Tyrol
DATE OF DEATH May 6, 1943
Place of death Innsbruck, Tyrol