Ferdinand I was Emperor of Austria from March 1835 until his abdication in December 1848. He was also King of Hungary, Croatia and Bohemia, King of Lombardy–Venetia and holder of many other lesser titles. Due to his passive but well-intentioned character, he gained the sobriquet The Benign or The Benevolent.
Portrait by Eduard Edlinger (1843)
Coronation of King Ferdinand V in 1836 in Prague
Portrait of Ferdinand I in the ceremonial robes of the Order of the Golden Fleece, by Leopold Kupelwieser, c. 1847
Photograph of the aged Ferdinand by the 1860s
The emperor of Austria was the ruler of the Austrian Empire and later the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The hereditary imperial title and office was proclaimed in 1804 by Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor, a member of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine, and continually held by him and his heirs until Charles I relinquished power in 1918.
Imperial Crown of Austria
Crown Jewels of Austria
Emperor Franz Joseph I and his great-grandnephew and second-in-line to the throne Otto von Habsburg, in 1914
Image: Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor by Friedrich von Amerling 003