Franz Joseph I and his family. Franz I Stephen Holy Roman Emperor - All monarchies of the world Franz Emperor of Austria war and peace

On August 18, 1830, Franz Joseph I, the Austrian Emperor who reigned for 68 years, was born. He found himself at the head of the multinational Habsburg power at the age of 18. During the seven decades of the reign of Franz Joseph I, the Austrian Empire came to complete collapse as a result of the First World War.

The life of the imperial family has repeatedly become the subject of gossip and scandals.

Unsuccessful marriage

In 1854, Franz Joseph I married the Bavarian Princess Elisabeth, known at home as Sisi. Her relationship with the Emperor's mother, Archduchess Sophia of Bavaria, did not work out, which soon turned into a nervous breakdown for Elizabeth. Since the 1860s, the Empress spent her time traveling, rarely seeing her husband and almost never seeing her children.

Cece mostly traveled, rarely seeing her husband and children

The Emperor's Mistresses

At least two long-term love affairs of the emperor are known: with Anna Nagowski and Katharina Schratt.

Franz Joseph I met the first by chance during a morning walk in the park of Schönbrunn Palace. Their relationship lasted 14 years. From time to time, Nagowski received an envelope tightly stuffed with money from the Emperor.

Anna Nagowski's relationship with Franz Joseph I lasted 14 years

It is believed that Franz Joseph I was the father of Nagowski's two children. Daughter Helena married composer Alban Berg. And son Franz, on the day of the emperor’s centenary, cut off the little finger of his left hand and laid it on the grave of Franz Joseph I, after which he was declared crazy and placed in a clinic.

Illegitimate son Franz Joseph I cut off his little finger in honor of his father

The relationship between Nagowski and the Emperor was put to an end by Franz Joseph I’s acquaintance with actress Katharina Schratt at an industrialists’ ball in 1885. After theatrical production in honor of the Russian Tsar Alexandra III the troupe was invited to the monarchs for a dinner party. There, Katharina Schratt first met Empress Elizabeth, who decided to facilitate the actress’s communication with the emperor. Katharina Schratt and Emperor Franz Joseph I had a close and trusting relationship with some interruptions until his death in 1916.

Katharina Schratt loved to live large and was passionate about gambling, and the emperor constantly provided the actress financial assistance to pay off her debts. The Emperor also presented her with valuable jewelry as a gift, gave her a villa on the Gloriettengasse in Vienna and the three-story Königswarter Palace on the Kärntner Ring opposite the opera house.

Shooting of brother

Early 1860s younger brother Franz Joseph I Maximilian, with the support of the French Emperor Napoleon III, received the title and crown of Emperor of Mexico. Very soon, Maximilian faced opposition from the Republicans led by Benito Juarez. Maximilian wrote a letter to Juarez with a proposal to join forces in leading the country out of the crisis, but was refused. And subsequently a very strong political opponent, supported by the United States.

After Napoleon III was forced to withdraw the French Expeditionary Force from Mexico, Maximilian's fate was sealed. The military confrontation with Juarez that began ended in the latter's victory.
The emperor was captured. Despite the requests of all European monarchs, US President Andrew Johnson, G. Garibaldi and Victor Hugo, Juarez, in accordance with legal order, left Maximilian's fate in the hands of a military court, which sentenced him to death.

Brother is homosexual

Archduke Ludwig Victor Joseph Anton of Austria was the younger brother of Franz Joseph I. He abandoned claims to expand the power of the dynasty and devoted himself to collecting art and building palaces. The most famous are the Renaissance palace of Ludwig Victor on Schwarzenbergplatz in Vienna, designed by the architect Heinrich von Ferstel, and the Klesheim Palace near Salzburg. In his palace, Ludwig Victor held feasts, preferring male company.

Franz Joseph I's brother was expelled from Vienna for having relations with homosexuals

Ludwig Victor is credited with numerous extravagant antics. For his participation in a fight between homosexuals in the central baths of Vienna, Ludwig Victor was exiled by his brother-emperor to Salzburg in 1864. There, Ludwig Victor continued to build palaces and was involved in charity work and philanthropy. IN last years Throughout his life, Ludwig Victor suffered from mental illness.

Murder of Elizabeth

Elizabeth did not care about her personal safety; she refused protection, which drove her ladies-in-waiting and police officers into despair. Fate, in the person of the anarchist Luigi Lucheni, lay in wait for her on the morning of Saturday, September 10, 1898, when Elizabeth, accompanied by one of her ladies-in-waiting, Countess Irma Sharai, walked along the Geneva embankment. The blow of the anarchist's sharpener knocked her down, but Elizabeth did not feel the wound in the heart area and did not understand true meaning what happened.

Deciding that the attacker simply wanted to snatch her jewelry, she stood up and tried to continue her walk. Only a few minutes later she felt acute weakness, sank to the ground and lost consciousness. Her wish, expressed after the death of her son, came true: “I, too, would like to die from a small wound in my heart through which my soul will fly away, but I want this to happen far from those I love.”

Suicide of the heir

The only son and heir of Franz Joseph I, Crown Prince Rudolf, according to one version, shot himself in 1889 at Mayerling Castle, having previously killed his beloved Baroness Maria Vechera, and according to another version, he became the victim of a carefully planned political murder.

The son of Franz Joseph I, according to one version, shot himself

After the strange death of Rudolf, the emperor's nephew Franz Ferdinand became the new heir to the throne. In 1914, the new heir to the throne was killed along with his wife in Sarajevo by the Serbian terrorist Gavrilo Princip. The heir to the throne was the son of Otto Franz, the younger brother of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, Karl Joseph, who was Franz Ferdinand's nephew.

Ivan Stychinsky

Franz Joseph I ( Franz Josef I) was born on August 18, 1830 in Laxenburg. His father, Archduke Franz Karl, was a rather insignificant and ordinary figure. Franz Joseph owes many of his qualities, as well as his succession to the throne, to his mother, the Bavarian Princess Sophia. This intelligent and extremely energetic woman, “ the only male in the imperial family", gave her son a very good, well-thought-out education, dreaming of later elevating him to the throne. From childhood, the young Archduke showed remarkable abilities, especially for foreign languages. In addition to French, English and Latin, he knew Hungarian very well and spoke fluent Polish, Czech and Italian. Much attention in his education was paid to military sciences. This left a certain imprint on his character: all his life Franz Joseph maintained a love of order, discipline, uniform and strict observance of chain of command. On the contrary, music, poetry, and art played an insignificant role in his life.

Emperor Franz Joseph I The Emperor wears the white “festive” uniform of German generals. Among the awards are the Military Medal, the Officer's Badge for Service, the Russian Military Order of St. George IV degree, stars higher degrees Military Order of Maria Theresa, Order of St. Stephen, Order of Leopold and Order of the Iron Crown. The ribbon of the Military Order of Maria Theresa is worn over the shoulder

By nature, Franz Joseph had a sociable, cheerful disposition, and loved the simplicity of life and relationships. In the field of state and legal sciences, he did not have time to gain fundamental knowledge, since his studies were interrupted by the revolution.

In December 1848, Emperor Ferdinand was forced to abdicate in favor of his nephew. From this moment on, Franz Joseph becomes emperor. His full title as follows: His Imperial and Apostolic Majesty Franz Joseph I, by the grace of God Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary and Bohemia, King of Lombardy and Dalmatia, Croatia, Galicia and Illyria, King of Jerusalem, etc.; Archduke of Austria; Grand Duke of Tuscany and Krakow; Duke of Lorraine, Salzburg, Styria, Carinthia, Carniol and Bukovina; Grand Duke Transylvanian; Margrave of Moravia; Duke of Upper and Lower Silesia, Modena, Parma, Piacenza and Guastal, and Zatora; Teshinsky, Friulian, and; sovereign count of Habsburg and Tyrolean, Kyburg, Goriz and Gradis; Prince of Trent and Brixen; Margrave of Upper and Lower Lusatia and Istria; Count, Feldkirch, Bregenz, Sonneber, etc.; sovereign of Trieste, Kotor and the Vendian mark; Great, and so on, and so on, and so on.

After becoming emperor, he married his cousin Elizabeth, daughter of King Maximilian I of Bavaria.

The long reign of Franz Joseph was filled with many upheavals, both external and internal. He took the helm of a huge empire, torn apart by social and national contradictions. For the first three years of his reign, the emperor had to reckon with the Constitution, but after 1849, Russian troops suppressed the Hungarian revolution and the Habsburg position became so strong that in December 1851, Franz Joseph abolished the constitution and restored absolutism. After the death in 1859 of Prime Minister Prince Alfred Windischgrätz, who headed the liberal cabinet and played important role At the beginning of the emperor's reign, power was finally concentrated in the hands of Franz Joseph. He saw his main task during these years in maintaining the unity and strengthening the power of the empire, in creating a strong centralized state, in which the boundaries between different lands Habsburg monarchy. To this end, Franz Joseph tried to introduce a unified administrative, judicial and customs system throughout the state, to unify finances, taxation and the education system. However, many insurmountable difficulties finally forced the emperor to abandon this policy.

The Crimean War was the first for his system serious test. Franz Joseph stood firmly against Russia during these years. He wrote to his mother: “ Our future is in the east and we will drive the power and influence of Russia into the limits beyond which it has gone only because of weakness and discord in our camp. Slowly, preferably unnoticed by Tsar Nicholas, but surely we will bring Russian politics to collapse. Of course, it’s not good to oppose old friends, but in politics it’s impossible to do otherwise, and our natural enemy in the east is Russia" From this letter it is clear that Franz Joseph was hardly aware of how fundamental the old "Holy Alliance" was to the preservation of his own empire. The Italian War, which began in 1859, turned out to be a bitter epiphany for the emperor. In three battles, the Austrian army was defeated by French and Sardinian troops. The emperor himself found himself in the same position in which he had shortly before placed Nicholas I. His former allies abandoned him in the most insidious way: France fought on the side of Sardinia, and Prussia “ didn't even lift a finger", calmly watching " gross trampling» rights of Austria. In November, a peace was signed in Zurich, according to which Lombardy came under the rule of the Savoy dynasty; but it turned out that the emperor had not yet completely drunk the cup of humiliation. In 1866, Austria suffered a crushing defeat from Prussian troops at Sadovaya. She had to leave Germany, which a few years later was united under the leadership of Prussia. Immediately after this, a powerful uprising began in Hungary, threatening the final collapse of the Habsburg monarchy. Franz Joseph realized that his previous course would bring him nothing but defeat. To preserve the unity of the state, significant concessions had to be made to the national and liberal movement.

Back in 1861, Franz Joseph agreed to the introduction of a constitution in Austria. In 1867, a very liberal constitution was given to the Hungarians. She granted them complete autonomy, equalized their rights with the Austrians, organized everything internal management country on a national basis and allowed them to have their own army. That same year, Franz Joseph was crowned King of Hungary in Budapest. Following this, full autonomy was introduced in Galicia and partial autonomy in the Czech Republic. Throughout the empire, jury trials were established and the irremovability of judges was recognized. Subsequent years showed that the reform policy, despite all its moderation, gives good results. With the introduction of universal conscription, the army became stronger. Finances have strengthened. The construction of numerous railways led to an industrial boom. Equality of religions was declared. Great strides have been made in the field of education. Vienna and other cities expanded and were decorated with beautiful buildings. The estrangement with Prussia that occurred after 1866 was overcome in 1878, when Austria-Hungary received at the Berlin Congress the right to temporarily occupy Bosnia and Herzegovina.

In these and subsequent years, Franz Joseph strengthened his reputation as a balanced, tactful, benevolent monarch. He never imposed his will, but on the contrary, he tried to be a sensitive and skillful administrator. The emperor dealt with administrative matters himself. He tried to cover the whole range of problems and delve into every detail, devoting a lot of time to looking through papers. His favorite residence throughout his life was Schönbrunn. The emperor got up very early - already at four o'clock in the morning he was on his feet, put on his general's uniform, drank a cup of coffee and got down to business, which he did until 10 o'clock with remarkable diligence and accuracy. This was followed by audiences and meetings with ministers. He never held collegial meetings of the Council of Ministers, but always communicated with each minister separately. At one o'clock in the afternoon it was time for breakfast. It was served right in his office so that the emperor would not be distracted from his business. At three o'clock work was interrupted. After the walk, Franz Joseph went to Vienna. At 6 o'clock he returned to Schönbrunn and dined with a narrow circle of invitees. At half past eight the emperor went to bed. This measured routine was not disturbed for many years. Now they say that Austrians, Hungarians and Czechs get up early and go to bed early, so life in cities begins and ends earlier. Franz Joseph, who was a “lark”, accustomed the entire empire to his routine.

The emperor's personal life was unhappy. He never had many friends, and he was close to his wife only in the first years after their wedding. Subsequently, Elizabeth almost never lived in Austria, preferring Hungary and other countries. In 1898, she was killed by an Italian anarchist, who did not even know who he was attacking. The emperor's eldest son and heir, Rudolf, a bright but nervous character, unexpectedly committed suicide in 1889. The younger brother Maximilian, having become the Mexican emperor, was shot by rebels in 1867. The Emperor's second brother, Karl Ludwig, died in 1896. His son Franz Ferdinand was declared heir to the throne. The emperor treated his nephew with detachment, did not approach him and did not seek to involve him in state affairs. In 1908, Franz Joseph celebrated the sixtieth anniversary of his reign.

On June 28, 1914, Franz Ferdinand and his wife were killed in Sarajevo. The killer was Serbian Gavrila Princip. As you know, this murder marked the beginning of the First World War. Despite his reluctance to get involved in international conflict(especially since he was extremely pessimistic about the prospects for war), Franz Joseph agreed with the representatives of the “war party” - c. including the Chief of the General Staff, General. Franz Conrad von Hetzendorf and L. Berchtold - and began the escalation of the conflict. In the first days the emperor said: “ If the monarchy is destined to die, then it should at least die with dignity" At the outbreak of war, the emperor did not take charge of the army, but appointed his brother Archduke Frederick as commander. For another two years, the emperor tried to keep all the threads of government in his hands, but then his condition deteriorated sharply and on November 21, 1916, Franz Joseph I died in Schönbrunn.

The now owned one was named in his honor. Russian Federation archipelago in the Arctic Ocean - “Franz Josef Land”, discovered by Austrian explorers in 1873.

Age of Reign Franz Joseph, which lasted almost seven decades, became the period of decline of the great Austrian Empire.

Franz Joseph ascended to the throne of the Austrian Empire at the age of eighteen, during the period when the 1848 revolution was raging in the country. His uncle Emperor Ferdinand I, abdicated the throne, and the father, Archduke Franz Karl, renounced the rights of inheritance, which opened the way for Franz Joseph to the imperial crown.

Portrait of the family of Franz Joseph I (1861). Commons.wikimedia.org

The position of the Austrian Empire during this period was critical, and only the intervention of Russian troops, who assisted in suppressing the revolution in Hungary, helped to prolong the existence of the Habsburg monarchy as a whole.

The weakness of power in the Austrian Empire forced Franz Joseph I to make political compromises, giving national regions more and more rights.

In 1866, Austria was defeated in the war with Prussia, thus losing the opportunity to become the center of unification of the German world.

In March 1867, the Austrian Empire became the Austro-Hungarian Empire, a constitutional dualist monarchy. This decision was reached as a result of a compromise with the powerful national movement in Hungary.

Franz Joseph I was extremely skeptical of parliamentarism and adhered to conservative views, but the situation forced him to make more and more concessions. The Emperor considered the most important task to be to avoid military conflicts that could completely destroy the monarchy.

Franz Joseph I (1851). Commons.wikimedia.org

Time for big problems

Franz Joseph managed to achieve this goal: from 1866 until the outbreak of the First World War, Austria did not participate in military conflicts. The emperor tried to support the development of industry, science and culture, and preserved the external splendor of the ancient monarchy.

In the 1870s, Austria-Hungary entered into military-political union with Germany, which allows it to somewhat restore its influence in European politics. After Russian-Turkish war 1877-1878 Austria-Hungary makes its last territorial acquisition, first occupying and in 1908 annexing Bosnia and Herzegovina.

These actions of Austria-Hungary spoiled the country's relations with Russia and especially Serbia. On the territory of residence Slavic peoples In Austria-Hungary, Serbian-supported pan-Slavic organizations were active in seeking independence from Vienna.

Franz Joseph in 1855. Photo: Commons.wikimedia.org

An additional problem in relations with the Slavic population of the empire was that Franz Joseph I was devout Catholic, who had close relations with the papal throne, and many of his subjects professed Orthodoxy. Keeping the situation under control under these conditions was extremely difficult.

The fact that Franz Joseph had no direct heirs did not add to the stability of the monarchy. In 1889 he The only son,Crown Prince Rudolf, committed suicide. Died even earlier Franz Joseph's brother, Maximilian, proclaimed Emperor of Mexico.

Became heir to the throne Franz Joseph's nephew, Archduke Franz Ferdinand. The emperor treated his nephew with detachment, did not bring him closer to him and did not seek to involve him in state affairs.

Assassination attempt on Franz Joseph I (1853). Photo: Commons.wikimedia.org

Franz Joseph was not close to the ideas of Franz Ferdinand about transforming Austria-Hungary into the “United States of Austria-Hungary” with the expansion of the rights of the nations living within the state.

In addition, Franz Ferdinand was a categorical opponent of a military conflict with Russia, and at that time a “war party” formed around Franz Joseph, which believed that a military solution to the conflict with Serbia was possible, as well as a military clash with Serbia’s ally Russia with the help of Germany.

Craving for war

The Austrian "War Party" was headed by boss General Staff Austria-Hungary Conrad von Hetzendorff, who called for war with Serbia, despite possible Russian intervention back in 1908, immediately after the annexation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Franz Joseph I and Hungarian Prime Minister István Tisza (1905). Photo: Commons.wikimedia.org

This position was strengthened after Russia, in 1909, wanting to avoid war with Germany and Austria-Hungary, actually forced Serbia to recognize the annexation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The smoldering Balkan crisis erupted in June 1914, when heir to the throne Franz Ferdinand and his wife were killed at the hands of a Serbian nationalist in Sarajevo.

84-year-old Franz Joseph, who outlived another of his heirs, supported the “war party,” which intended to use the murder in Sarajevo as a pretext for a military solution to the “Serbian problem.” Despite the fact that immediately after the death of Franz Ferdinand, the Austrian government and Emperor Franz Joseph personally hastened to assure Russia that they did not intend to take any military action, three weeks later Serbia was presented with an obviously impossible ultimatum. After Serbia rejected a number of his points, Franz Joseph I declared war on Serbia on July 28, 1914 and began mobilizing the army.

A few days later the subsequent chain reaction the allies of both sides resulted in the outbreak of the First World War.

Thank you for not making it

Emperor Franz Joseph, formally retaining the reins of power in his hands, appointed his commander-in-chief of the Austro-Hungarian troops brother, Archduke Frederick. According to Franz Joseph, Frederick should “not interfere” with the action of the main supporter of the war - Chief of the General Staff Konrad von Hetzendorff.

However, the first months of the war showed that the Austro-Hungarian military leaders overestimated the power of their army. For a long time, Austria-Hungary could not defeat the Serbian army, which was many times inferior in numbers, and the crushing defeat from the Russian army in the Battle of Galicia completely forced the military leaders to subsequently conduct operations only together with Germany, and not on their own.

The further the war went, the more obvious its disastrous consequences for Austria-Hungary became. However, Franz Joseph I did not see the last act of the drama of his empire. His health deteriorated, and on November 21, 1916, at the height of the war, the 86-year-old emperor died.

The head of the dual state of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy, the Emperor of the Austrian Empire and the King of Bohemia, Franz Joseph 1, during the years of his reign did not distinguish himself with any particular greatness of affairs, but took an honorable place in European history due to... long reign - he was on the throne for 68 years! The Russian island of Franz Josef Land, discovered in 1873 by an Austrian polar expedition, is named in honor of the emperor in the Arctic Ocean.

The conservative emperor had a habit of going to bed early and getting up early, for which the common people nicknamed him “the early bird.” Behind long years During his reign, this habit of his was well adopted by the Hungarians, Czechs and Austrians. The Germans adopted it from the latter. For which everyone was grateful to him - active life in cities it starts early and ends early, leaving more free time for family and personal life. This habit has continued to this day.

The emperor was a pedant in everything: in clothes, ceremonies, etiquette. He was stingy and conservative, did not want a telephone to be brought into his palace, and had difficulty agreeing to electricity. He knew his weaknesses and called himself "the last monarch of the old school." Franz Joseph loved the army, parades, and uniforms. You will love our Japanese tea sets of various colors and configurations. And in everything he tried to maintain strict order and subordination, but by nature he was cheerful and sociable among those closest to him.

Franz Joseph was a decent, intelligent and educated man. Since childhood, he showed excellent abilities for languages, he was fluent in French, English, spoke Hungarian, Polish, Czech and Italian...

Franz Joseph I began to rule in 1848. During the Austrian revolution, his uncle abdicated the throne and his father renounced his rights of inheritance, and 18-year-old Franz Joseph 1 found himself at the head of the multinational Habsburg power. At this time, there was turmoil in Austria, Hungary, the Czech Republic and neighboring countries, including, first of all, Italy. Somewhere they were brewing social revolutions, somewhere people, like in Italy, tried to get rid of the alien conquerors of the Austrians.

Franz Joseph was not a strategist, although he studied military science. But it was necessary to find a place for Austria among European states, create military alliances, enter into conflicts, and achieve victories for their subjects. He didn't do any of this. He saw his main enemy... in Russian Empire. It was his big mistake. Neither France nor Prussia became his reliable allies. He lost previously conquered territories, in particular Lombardy in Italy. The Habsburg monarchy was in danger of collapse.

The bitter experience of war and uprising in Hungary and the Czech Republic forced him to make liberal concessions; Franz Joseph declared freedom of religion, began to become more active in economics, and to build railways, contributed to the education of the population. In 1878, at the Congress of Berlin, Austria-Hungary received a substantial increase - Bosnia and Herzegovina.

It is quite possible that Franz Joseph would have achieved more significant results during his reign if not for family troubles. He had a young and beautiful wife, the Bavarian Princess Elizabeth - Sissi, whom the Austrians adored, but the spouses lost interest in each other. In 1867, his younger brother, Maximilian, Emperor of Mexico, was shot and killed in Mexico. In 1872, his mother Sophia of Bavaria, whom he revered very much, died, and six years later his father Franz Karl died. In 1889, his only son and heir Rudolph shot himself, having previously killed his bride. In 1898, an Italian anarchist murdered his wife, Elisabeth. And in 19N, the new heir to the throne, Franz Joseph’s nephew, Franz Ferdinand, was shot dead in Sarajevo, which was the reason for the First World War. These were heavy losses for the emperor. They ruined his health. Two years later, Franz Joseph died at the age of 86.

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The incredibly long reign (68 years) of the Austrian Emperor Franz Joseph became the period of the collapse of the once great empire. Franz Joseph became Emperor of Austria at the age of 18 (he was born in 1830). At that time, the country was in the throes of the 1848 Revolution, as a result of which Emperor Ferdinand I (Franz Joseph's uncle) was forced to abdicate and his brother (and Franz Joseph's father), Archduke Franz Karl, did not succeed him, resulting in the crown passed directly to the emperor's nephew.

Ascension to the throne

The young man was not too surprised by this turn of events, since his mother, Princess Sofia, was more in charge of their family. ex-daughter Bavarian King Maximilian I and Caroline of Baden. The mother raised the boy in accordance with her own ideas about what a monarch should be. He had to go through various military drills, so subordination, discipline, endurance and punctuality were ingrained in him for the rest of his life. But the civil sciences (history, jurisprudence) were taught to the young man much more modestly, so he had to make up for their deficiency already as an emperor. But “bohemian things” like music, painting, poetry were considered completely unnecessary, so in this area the emperor was a complete amateur, which cannot be said about his wife, Empress Elizabeth.

Love-match

Among the crowned heads, Franz Joseph was incredibly lucky to marry for love. His chosen one was Sisi - that was the name of the Bavarian Princess Elizabeth in her family. The wedding in 1854 was incredibly magnificent, but the life of the imperial couple took a bad turn. Elizabeth did not have a good relationship with her mother-in-law, which caused her nervous breakdown. Sofia even took her daughter away from her daughter-in-law immediately after birth, trying to raise her according to her own rules. She repeated the same trick with her second daughter, but then, finally, Franz Joseph himself became indignant and forbade his mother to interfere in the personal life of his family. True, even after this closeness in the family was not restored. Because of such a life, the young empress began to strive to spend as little time as possible in Vienna: she lived in distant residences, visited her homeland, and traveled a lot. The old love faded away imperceptibly.

Habits of a Monarch

The emperor, meanwhile, preferred to work hard. He woke up at 4 in the morning, but already went to bed at half past eight in the evening. His every day was scheduled strictly to the minute. He was a fairly capable person - he could speak many languages ​​fluently, regularly performed the duties of a monarch, was never late for meetings, and worked hard to govern the state. Franz Joseph hated various meetings, preferring to meet one-on-one with a specific minister who was in charge of the problem being discussed. This took him a lot of time, and at this time the beautiful and young empress was bored, so a couple of weeks after the wedding she was already yearning for freedom.

Franz Joseph was a famous conservative, loved simple life, traditions, was strict in etiquette, considered himself the last of the monarchs old school. He barely agreed to electrify his palace, but never decided to install telephones. His son died under vague circumstances reminiscent of suicide. Reporting this to other European monarchs, Franz Joseph called the cause of his son’s death an accidental shot during a hunt, but Pope Leo XIII could not lie and wrote about suicide, which he himself was personally sure of.

There is even a historical joke about the Hungarians, Austrians, Slovaks and Czechs - that they are still accustomed by their lark-emperor over the decades of his reign to get up very early and go to bed just as early.

Liberalization of the Empire

Europe was restless: in the east there was the main enemy, in the emperor’s opinion, Russia, in the south Italy was just thinking about how to get out from under the heavy Austrian heel, and nearby Prussia grew and became stronger, which after the defeat Austrian army in the Battle of Sadovaya she grabbed a significant piece of Germany. And then even its own Hungary began to show signs of discontent, as a result of which it had to make concessions and reformat the power into Austria-Hungary with more liberal laws, carry out administrative, military and judicial reforms in it. Galicia and partly the Czech Republic received autonomy. The reforms had a positive impact: the economy began to develop, the combat effectiveness of the army increased, which was especially important against the backdrop of the failures of Germany and Italy.

The emperor himself could not tolerate any parliamentarism, being an ardent conservative in these matters, but the realities modern life forced him to make increasingly significant concessions. He considered his most important task to be avoiding military confrontation, which could quickly finish off the remnants of the empire.

Geographical discoveries of Franz Joseph

Sciences, especially geography, were successfully developing in the empire, since the emperor was jealous of his neighbors - the maritime powers, who were successfully dividing the rest of the world at that time. In 1872, an Austrian expedition even managed to discover Arctic Ocean archipelago, which was given the name “Franz Josef Land”. After World War I, however, these islands became part of Russia. But these islands of little use with an unsuitable climate for life were the only territory that Franz Joseph was able to add to his empire.

Franz Joseph's relationship with the Vatican

When a conclave of cardinals met in 1903 to elect a new pontiff, Franz Joseph vetoed the candidacy of Cardinal Rampollo del Tindaro, which was voiced on behalf of the emperor by the Krakow Cardinal Puzina. The conclave did not dare to contradict the emperor, because he was the only monarch who did not conflict with the popes, so he elected Giuseppe Sarto. During his 68-year reign, Franz Joseph used such a veto for the only time, which Pope Pius X later completely abolished.

The last years of the monarch's life

In general, despite his long stay in power, this emperor did not make friends among his equals, nor did he gain love and devotion among his own subjects. The Czechs openly hated him, and for some reason even the kindly treated Hungarians did not show gratitude.