Otto zu Windisch-Graetz

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Otto and Elisabeth Marie zu Windisch-Graetz (wedding photo, 1902)

Otto zu Windisch-Graetz (born October 7, 1873 in Graz as Otto Weriand Hugo Ernst Prinz zu Windisch-Graetz, from 1902 Prince zu Windisch-Graetz; † December 27, 1952 in Lugano ) was an Austrian nobleman who was married to Archduchess Elisabeth Marie of Austria , the so-called "red Archduchess", became known.

After the First World War , Otto zu Windisch-Graetz became a Yugoslav citizen, which means that he was no longer subject to the Austrian nobility abolition law of April 1919.

Life

Origin and military career

Otto, from the Windisch-Graetz family, was the second son of Ernst Ferdinand Weriand Prinz zu Windisch-Graetz (1827–1918) and Kamilla, nee. Princess of Oettingen-Oettingen and Oettingen-Spielberg (1845–1888).

In 1891 he entered the kuk cavalry cadet school in Mährisch-Weißkirchen as a pupil , which he completed in two years with moderate success. From 1894 to 1895 he attended the brigade officer school in Olomouc and was promoted to lieutenant on May 1, 1895. After a two-year stationing in Brno , he was appointed first lieutenant in 1899 and entered the war school, which he completed in 1901 with good success.

During the First World War he commanded a battalion of Tyrolean hunters.

Marriage to Archduchess Elisabeth

In September 1900, Archduchess Elisabeth Marie of Austria (1883–1963), daughter of Crown Prince Rudolf and Crown Princess Stephanie and granddaughter of Emperor Franz Joseph I and Empress Elisabeth , fell in love with Otto Prince zu Windisch-Graetz. This, however, was not fully equal to Elisabeth, as he came from high nobility , but only from a noble family. Nevertheless, the emperor agreed to the marriage of his granddaughter and raised the bridegroom to the personal prince status on the occasion of the marriage on January 23, 1902 in Vienna , while at the same time his wife had to renounce all claims to the throne.

The couple separated after an unhappy marriage in 1919 or 1924, and in 1948 the marriage was divorced. A custody dispute that had lasted for years broke out around the four children they shared.

Sporting commitment

He was an excellent rider, very good swimmer, gymnast and fencer. In 1911 he became president of the Austrian Central Association for Common Sports Interests, which also took on the role of the Olympic Committee . In this capacity he was appointed to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in 1911 . He opened the Olympic Congress in Paris in 1914 as the highest ranking noble member of the IOC.

Because of Austria's role in World War I, however, his IOC membership was suspended. When the IOC decided in the 1921 season to revive Windisch-Graetz's membership, he refused on the grounds that he no longer lived in Austria (see below).

From 1918 until death

After the First World War (1914-1918) he became a Yugoslav citizen and lived on his lands near Bled (in today's Slovenia ), which he had acquired from the King of Yugoslavia. He spent the Second World War with his sister Marie Eleonore, Countess von Paar in their palace in Bohemia . After the war they moved to Switzerland , where they lived in Lausanne .

In 1952 Windisch-Graetz died in Lugano and is buried in the cemetery in Lugano-Castagnola .

progeny

  1. Franz Josef Windisch-Graetz (* 1904 in Prague , † 1981 in Nairobi ), b. and until 1919 as Franz Josef Marie Otto Antonius Ignatius Oktavianus Prinz zu Windisch-Graetz:
    1. ⚭ (1934 in Brussels ) Ghislaine Windisch-Graetz (* 1912 in Ixelles / Elsene ; † 1997 in Namur ), b. Countess d'Arschot Schoonhoven.
  2. Ernst Windisch-Graetz (* 1905 in Prague, † 1952 in Vienna), b. and until 1919 as Ernst Weriand Maria Otto Antonius Expeditus Anselmus Prinz zu Windisch-Graetz:
    1. ⚭ (1927 in Vienna) Ellen Windisch-Graetz (* 1906 in Scheibbs ; † 1982 in Vienna), b. Ellen Skinner; Gesch. 1938, canceled 1940;
    2. ⚭ (1947 in Schwarzenbach an der Pielach ) Eva Windisch-Graetz (* 1921 in Vienna), b. Eva Isbary.
  3. Rudolf Johann Windisch-Graetz (* 1907 in Ploschkowitz ( Ploskovice ), † 1939 in Vienna), b. and until 1919 as Rudolf Johann Maria Otto Joseph Anton Andreas Prinz zu Windisch-Graetz.
  4. Stephanie Björklund, ad. Countess d'Alcantara de Querrieu (* 1909 in Ploschkowitz (Ploskovice), † 2005 in Uccle / Ukkel ), b. and until 1919 as Stefanie Princess zu Windisch-Graetz Eleonore Maria Elisabeth Kamilla Philomena Veronika zu Windisch-Graetz:
    1. ⚭ (1933 in Brussels) Count Pierre d'Alcantara de Querrieu (* 1907 in Bachte-Maria-Leerne / Deinze ; † 1944 Oranienburg concentration camp );
    2. ⚭ (1945 in Brussels) Carl Axel Björklund (* 1906 in Högsjö ; † 1986 in Anderlecht ).

literature

  • Friedrich Weissensteiner : The red archduchess. The unusual life of Elisabeth Marie, daughter of Crown Prince Rudolf . Piper, Munich / Berlin 1993, ISBN 978-3-492-24538-8 , pp. 77, p. 123 f., P. 223–227 (original title: Die rote Erzherzogin. The unusual life of the daughter of Crown Prince Rudolf . First edition: Österreichischer Bundesverlag, Vienna 1984).
  • Ghislaine Windisch-Graetz: Imperial eagle and red carnations. The life of the daughter of Crown Prince Rudolf . Amalthea, Vienna / Munich 1992, ISBN 3-85002-264-1 .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c footnote 209: “Otto Prinz v. Windisch-Graetz (Graz, October 7th, 1873-25th December 1952, Lugano). “In: Peter Broucek (Ed.): A General in the Twilight. The memories of Edmund Glaise von Horstenau . Volume 1: K. u. K. General Staff Officer and Historian. (= Publications of the Commission for Modern History of Austria, Volume 67). Böhlau, Wien / Köln / Graz 1980, ISBN 3-205-08740-2 , p. 200 ( limited preview in the Google book search).
  2. ↑ a b c Buchanan / Lyberg: 72. Prince Otto Hugo Ernest de Windisch-Grätz. In: JoH Special: The biographies of all IOC Members - Part IV Journal of Olympic History 18, April 2010, Number 1, pp. 56–57 (English; full text online ( Memento from September 12, 2016 in the Internet Archive ). PDF; Pp. 8-9).
  3. ↑ a b c d e Friedrich Weissensteiner: The red archduchess. The unusual life of Elisabeth Marie, daughter of Crown Prince Rudolf. Piper, Munich / Berlin 1993, ISBN 978-3-492-24538-8 , p. 77, p. 123 f., P. 223-227.
  4. ↑ a b Petznek, Elisabeth Archduchess Elisabeth Marie. In: dasrotewien.at - Web dictionary of the Viennese social democracy. SPÖ Vienna (ed.); accessed on August 17, 2019
  5. ^ A b Elisabeth Marie Petznek in the Vienna History Wiki of the City of Vienna
  6. ^ Arnd Krüger : Forgotten Decisions: The IOC on the Eve of World War I. In: OLYMPIKA: The International Journal of Olympic Studies. Volume VI, 1997, pp. 85-98. Here: Chaos at the Sessions, p. 90 (English; full text online ( memento from October 7, 2018 in the Internet Archive ). PDF; p. 6).
  7. ↑ a b c d With the Nobility Repeal Act of April 1919 in the Republic of Austria founded in 1918, the Windisch-Graetz lost their titles of nobility and that too.
  8. ↑ See: Stefanie Windisch-Graetz, Maturajahrgang 1927. In: Gradinnen GRG1 Stubenbastei 1010 Vienna. ( Memento of June 7, 2011 in the Internet Archive ). The parlor bastion. Gymnasium und Realgymnasium (Ed.), Accessed on August 17, 2019.
personal data
SURNAME Windisch-Graetz, Otto too
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Windisch-Graetz, Otto Fürst zu (from 1902); Windisch-Graetz, Otto Weriand Hugo Ernst Prinz zu (full name at birth)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Austrian nobleman
DATE OF BIRTH October 7, 1873
PLACE OF BIRTH Graz
DATE OF DEATH December 27, 1952
Place of death Lugano