Maximilian Joseph of Austria-Este

Maximilian Joseph of Austria-Este

Ebenzweier Castle, today a vocational school boarding school

Linz tower line Trial tower Freinberg

Altmünster cemetery - grave of Archduke Maximilian Joseph

Archduke Maximilian Joseph of Austria-Este (born July 14, 1782 in Milan , † June 1, 1863 at Schloss Ebenzweier in Altmünster on Lake Traunsee ) was an Austrian specialist in artillery and fortifications and Grand Master of the Teutonic Order .

Life

Maximilian was born as the third son of Archduke Ferdinand (son of Maria Theresa and Governor of Lombardy) and Maria Beatrix von Este . He spent his youth in Monza , from where his family had to flee from the French during the First Coalition War. After stops in Verona, Padua, Trieste and Laibach, the family finally settled in Wiener Neustadt.

Maximilian entered the Teutonic Order in 1801 and was knighted in 1804. At the same time he graduated from the Theresian Military Academy in Wiener Neustadt and was appointed major general in 1805.

Shortly after joining the order in 1801, Maximilian Joseph inherited a considerable fortune from his uncle Maximilian Franz of Austria .

In 1809 Maximilian fought against the French in Germany. After the defeat at Regensburg, he covered the retreat of the Austrian army and was supposed to make the city of Linz ready for defense by means of field entrenchments, which did not succeed due to lack of time. This event moved him to later - in the meantime appointed artillery brigadier - to deal with a suitable system of fortifications for strategic important points in the empire. However, his plans were only realized in Linz (see tower fortification Linz ).

In 1830 he bought Ebenzweier Castle near Altmünster on Lake Traunsee and had it expanded by two wings. From 1831 to 1839 Maximilian owned two houses in Linz in order to be able to supervise the construction of the tower line.

In 1835 he was elected Grand Master . In this role he does a lot for the medal. So he managed to increase the number of novices. He also supported other orders financially or in kind, such as the Jesuits , the Sisters of Mercy , the Redemptorists and the Sisters of the Poor of St. Francis . He also acted as a sponsor of schools and hospitals and supported workers and craftsmen by buying their products or preventing the closure of businesses.

In 1858 he had to witness the abandonment of the Linz fortifications. Nevertheless, he developed a fortification project for Vienna. Only one test tower was built at Rothneusiedl .

In 1863 Maximilian fell ill with dropsy , of the consequences of which he died on June 1st at his castle in Ebenzweier . He was buried in the Altmünster cemetery.

Fonts

• Attempt of a war system of the Austrian Empire. Dorfmeister, Vienna 1850.

literature

• Constantin von Wurzbach : Este, Maximilian Joseph Johann Ambros Karl . In: Biographisches Lexikon des Kaiserthums Oesterreich . 4th part. Typogr.-literar.-artist publishing house. Establishment (L. C. Zamarski, C. Dittmarsch & Comp.), Vienna 1858, p. 88 f. ( Digitized version ).
• Constantin von Wurzbach : Habsburg, Maximilian von Este . In: Biographisches Lexikon des Kaiserthums Oesterreich . 7th part. Imperial and Royal Court and State Printing Office, Vienna 1861, p. 108 f. ( Digitized version ).
• Oscar Criste:  Maximilian Joseph . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 52, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1906, p. 270 f.
• Erich Hillbrand :  Maximilian Josef Archduke of Austria-Este. In: Austrian Biographical Lexicon 1815–1950 (ÖBL). Volume 6, Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, Vienna 1975, ISBN 3-7001-0128-7 , p. 168 f. (Direct links on p. 168 , p. 169 ).
• Brigitte Hamann:  Maximilian Joseph. In: New German Biography (NDB). Volume 16, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1990, ISBN 3-428-00197-4 , p. 512 f. ( Digitized version ).

Web links

Commons : Maximilian Joseph von Österreich-Este  - Collection of images, videos and audio files