1.
House of Habsburg
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The House of Habsburg, also called House of Hapsburg, or House of Austria, was one of the most influential royal houses of Europe. The throne of the Holy Roman Empire was continuously occupied by the Habsburgs between 1438 and 1740, from the sixteenth century, following the reign of Charles V, the dynasty was split between its Austrian and Spanish branches. Although they ruled distinct territories, they maintained close relations. The House takes its name from Habsburg Castle, a built in the 1020s in present-day Switzerland, in the canton of Aargau, by Count Radbot of Klettgau. His grandson Otto II was the first to take the name as his own. The House of Habsburg gathered dynastic momentum through the 11th, 12th, by 1276, Count Radbots seventh generation descendant Rudolph of Habsburg had moved the familys power base from Habsburg Castle to the Duchy of Austria. Rudolph had become King of Germany in 1273, and the dynasty of the House of Habsburg was truly entrenched in 1276 when Rudolph became ruler of Austria, which the Habsburgs ruled until 1918. A series of dynastic marriages enabled the family to expand its domains to include Burgundy, Spain and its colonial empire, Bohemia, Hungary. In the 16th century, the separated into the senior Habsburg Spain and the junior Habsburg Monarchy branches. The House of Habsburg became extinct in the 18th century, the senior Spanish branch ended upon the death of Charles II of Spain in 1700 and was replaced by the House of Bourbon. It was succeeded by the Vaudemont branch of the House of Lorraine, the new successor house styled itself formally as the House of Habsburg-Lorraine, although it was often referred to as simply the House of Habsburg. His grandson Radbot, Count of Habsburg founded the Habsburg Castle, the origins of the castles name, located in what is now the Swiss canton of Aargau, are uncertain. There is disagreement on whether the name is derived from the High German Habichtsburg, or from the Middle High German word hab/hap meaning ford, the first documented use of the name by the dynasty itself has been traced to the year 1108. The Habsburg Castle was the seat in the 11th, 12th and 13th centuries. The Habsburgs expanded their influence through arranged marriages and by gaining political privileges, in the 13th century, the house aimed its marriage policy at families in Upper Alsace and Swabia. They were also able to high positions in the church hierarchy for their members. Territorially, they often profited from the extinction of other families such as the House of Kyburg. By the second half of the 13th century, count Rudolph IV had become one of the most influential territorial lords in the area between the Vosges Mountains and Lake Constance
2.
Karl von Habsburg
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Born in Starnberg, Germany in 1961, he is the son of Otto von Habsburg and Princess Regina of Saxe-Meiningen, and the grandson of the last Austrian emperor, Charles I. He served as a Member of the European Parliament for the Austrian Peoples Party 1996–1999, like his father, he is known as an advocate for the Pan-European movement. Since 1986, Karl von Habsburg has been president of the Austrian branch of the Paneuropean Union, after studying law for 12 years, in 1992/1993, he hosted a TV game show with Austrian public TV broadcaster ORF, called Who Is Who. In October 1996, he was elected to the European Parliament for the Austrian Peoples Party and his father exacerbated the controversy when he complained that his son was being attacked unfairly and drew a parallel between the name Habsburg and a yellow badge. ÖVP did not nominate Karl von Habsburg again for the 1999 elections, in 2004, Karl von Habsburg paid 37,000 euros to the new World Vision Austria branch. On 19 January 2002, he was appointed Director General of UNPO by the UNPO Steering Committee, since 7 December 2008, he is the President of the Association of National Committees of the Blue Shield. In 1961, his father Otto von Habsburg renounced all claims to the Austrian throne, as a necessary legal condition to being allowed to return to Austria. On 30 November 2000, Karls father transferred over to him the position of head and sovereign of the Order of the Golden Fleece and in 2008 he also became the Grand Master of the Order of St. George. In 2005, Karl von Habsburg filed a lawsuit before Austrias constitutional court after a failed attempt to have former properties of the Habsburg family returned. The familys estates had been expropriated by the First Republic, this had in part been reverted under Austrofascism, the family tried to get their former property returned under rules for victims of the Nazi regime. The attempt failed because the law of expropriation still has constitutional status, on 1 January 2007, his father relinquished his position as the head of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine, a status which then devolved on Karl. Karl von Habsburg is one of the three co-founders of BG Privatinvest, a Vienna-based investment company, in December 2010 the company acquired the two most important Bulgarian daily newspapers, Dneven Trud and 24 Chasa. After ongoing conflicts with Bulgarian partners, BG Privatinvest sold the newspapers in April 2011, since 2009, Karl von Habsburg is a shareholder in a media group in the Netherlands, consisting of radio stations, a magazine and a music television channel. Karl von Habsburg was born in Germany and he was baptised in Pöcking, Bavaria, as Archduke Karl of Austria, the name entered in the baptismal records. At the time of his birth, his father was de facto stateless and possessed a Spanish diplomatic passport, like his father and siblings, he was banished from Austria for the first years of his life. The Austrian Republic was later forced to repeal the banishment of him and his family and he has lived in Salzburg, Austria, since 1981. He resides in Casa Austria, formerly called Villa Swoboda, in Anif, Karl and Francesca separated in 2003. The diadem belonged to his wife who intended to wear it at a wedding ceremony
3.
Order of the Iron Crown (Austria)
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The Austrian Imperial Order of the Iron Crown was re-established in 1815 by Emperor Franz I of Austria. The original Order of the Iron Crown had previously been an order of the Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy, the Holy Roman Empire, ruled by the Habsburg dynasty, gave way to the Empire of Austria between 1804 and 1806. The last Holy Roman Emperor, Franz II, was proclaimed Emperor Franz I of Austria and his daughter, the Archduchess Maria Louise, was Napoleon’s second wife and Empress Consort, and the mother of Napoleon’s only legitimate son and heir, Napoleon, Duke of Reichstadt. With the collapse of Napoleon’s empire, Imperial Austria regained its control of Lombardy as the Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia. The Austrian order was divided into three distinct classes of knighthood, recognized as the First, Second, and Third Classes. Investment of this carried a Imperial patent of nobility. With the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, in 1918, all, grand Cross and First Class knights wore a sash and badge over the right shoulder, with an eight-pointed star on the left breast. Imperial French knight commanders wore a military style medal on the left chest. Imperial Austrian Second Class knights wore the medal suspended from a ribbon about the neck, French ordinary knights and Austrian Third Class knights wore a traditional military medal on the left chest. From 1908 for First Class knights, and from 1917 for Second Class knights, First Class knights were authorized to wear a Third Class military medal on the left breast, with an addition of a device known as a Kleine Dekoration. The pin device was a version of the First Class breast star. Variations in the star matched the details of the specific award, including the war decoration wreath. The Second Class Kleine Dekoration was a depiction of the Iron Crown of Lombardy. During World War I, awards with swords were given to symbolize personal valour of the knight that led to his award, hence, ordinary knights medals were also frequently adorned with crossed swords, pinned to the tri-fold ribbon. Alajos Hauszmann von Velencze, architect baron vitéz Sándor Szurmay von Uzsok Ányos Jedlik Baron Samu Hazai Mihály Munkácsy Blom, to Have and to Hold, An Intimate History of Collectors and Collecting. Leipzig, Kingdom of Saxony, Georg Joachim Goeschen,1819
4.
Order of Elizabeth
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The Imperial Austrian Order of Elizabeth, founded in 1898 by Francis Joseph, Emperor of Austria and King of Hungary was an order created for women. The Order was the namesake of Saint Elisabeth of Hungary, but was created to honor and memorialize Franz Josephs recently slain wife, Empress-Queen Elisabeth. The order, which existed until the end of the monarchy in 1918, was divided into three classes, The Grand Cross, first and second classes. There was also an Elizabeth Medal for civil merit, Saint Elisabeth was a Hungarian princess, the daughter of King Andrew II of Hungary. Married at age thirteen to Louis IV, Landgrave of Thuringia, she spent her life giving alms to the poor, after her husbands death, she gave away the vast majority of his estate to build hospitals and to aid in the relief of her starving subjects. After dying of causes in 1231, she was canonized by Pope Gregory IX. She is considered the saint of bakers, beggars. Nee Duchess Elisabeth in Bavaria, Sisi was a cousin of King Ludwig II of Bavaria and she married the 24-year-old Emperor Francis Joseph in 1854. Despite a cold start to their marriage, the two reconciled, and fell in love. Theirs was a classic, mid-19th century, courtly relationship, where occasional infidelity by one or both parties was discreetly accepted and they were, for the most part, happy by the standards of the day, and were married for over 44 years. When Elisabeth was assassinated in 1898, the emperor was devastated by the loss. Creating the Order of Elisabeth was as much a show of affection as his memorial to her as it was to honor Saint Elisabeth. According to medal expert and collector Yuri Yashnev, The award was intended for ladies, regardless of status or religion, for merits in religious. The award had four degrees - the Grand Cross, I Degree and II Degree, awards were made, personally, by the emperor. The badges and insignia of the Order were to be returned to the state upon the death of the member, Archduchess Gisela of Austria Archduchess Marie Valerie of Austria Princess Regina of Saxe-Meiningen The Catholic Encyclopedia. 1909, On the Internet, http, //www. newadvent. org/cathen/05389a. htm Yashnev, orders and Medals of the Austro-Hungarian Empire
5.
Order of Elizabeth and Theresa
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The Imperial and Royal Decoration of Elizabeth and Theresa was a decoration of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, created in 1750 by Empress Consort Elizabeth Christine in her testament. It was later revised in 1771 by her daughter Empress Maria Theresa I, Holy Roman Empress, the order must not be mistaken with the all female Order of Elizabeth, established by Franz Joseph I of Austria in 1898 to commemorate the memory of his late assassinated wife Sissi. Originally the number of awarded officers was hardly 20, the Order was granted with 16,000 florins of annuity to be divided among the recipients. There was originally three grades of annuity,1000,800 and 500 florins, in 1771 Maria Theresa settled a maximum number of 21 members, after having rejected several petitions to modify the access to the Order. The yearly pension amount was also revised, six times 853 florins and 76 kreuzers, eight timles 683 florins, the religion of the recipients didnt mater. The catholic officers were expected to pray three times Pater Noster and Ave Maria for the founder and the reigning sovereign, the Protestants were free from this but they were expected to offer each year three ducats to the Invalides Institute. In the 18th century, there was no retirement pension yet, in France, a similar institution was an Institute founded as the Order of Military Merit by Louis XV in 1759. The Order was cancelled by the Austrian Republic in 1918, the Order only has one rank, Knight. The ribbon of the Order is black, the decoration was hanging from a tringular knot of that black ribbon on the left chest. The religious feast with knights was determined on the 19 November and it was never celebrated, but in the Augustinian Court Church in Vienna, a solemn High Mass was held
6.
German language
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German is a West Germanic language that is mainly spoken in Central Europe. It is the most widely spoken and official language in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, South Tyrol, the German-speaking Community of Belgium and it is also one of the three official languages of Luxembourg. Major languages which are most similar to German include other members of the West Germanic language branch, such as Afrikaans, Dutch, English, Luxembourgish and it is the second most widely spoken Germanic language, after English. One of the languages of the world, German is the first language of about 95 million people worldwide. The German speaking countries are ranked fifth in terms of publication of new books. German derives most of its vocabulary from the Germanic branch of the Indo-European language family, a portion of German words are derived from Latin and Greek, and fewer are borrowed from French and English. With slightly different standardized variants, German is a pluricentric language, like English, German is also notable for its broad spectrum of dialects, with many unique varieties existing in Europe and also other parts of the world. The history of the German language begins with the High German consonant shift during the migration period, when Martin Luther translated the Bible, he based his translation primarily on the standard bureaucratic language used in Saxony, also known as Meißner Deutsch. Copies of Luthers Bible featured a long list of glosses for each region that translated words which were unknown in the region into the regional dialect. Roman Catholics initially rejected Luthers translation, and tried to create their own Catholic standard of the German language – the difference in relation to Protestant German was minimal. It was not until the middle of the 18th century that a widely accepted standard was created, until about 1800, standard German was mainly a written language, in urban northern Germany, the local Low German dialects were spoken. Standard German, which was different, was often learned as a foreign language with uncertain pronunciation. Northern German pronunciation was considered the standard in prescriptive pronunciation guides though, however, German was the language of commerce and government in the Habsburg Empire, which encompassed a large area of Central and Eastern Europe. Until the mid-19th century, it was essentially the language of townspeople throughout most of the Empire and its use indicated that the speaker was a merchant or someone from an urban area, regardless of nationality. Some cities, such as Prague and Budapest, were gradually Germanized in the years after their incorporation into the Habsburg domain, others, such as Pozsony, were originally settled during the Habsburg period, and were primarily German at that time. Prague, Budapest and Bratislava as well as cities like Zagreb, the most comprehensive guide to the vocabulary of the German language is found within the Deutsches Wörterbuch. This dictionary was created by the Brothers Grimm and is composed of 16 parts which were issued between 1852 and 1860, in 1872, grammatical and orthographic rules first appeared in the Duden Handbook. In 1901, the 2nd Orthographical Conference ended with a standardization of the German language in its written form
7.
Franz Joseph I of Austria
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Franz Joseph I or Francis Joseph I was Emperor of Austria and King of Hungary, and many others from 2 December 1848 until his death on 21 November 1916. From 1 May 1850 to 24 August 1866 he was also President of the German Confederation, in December 1848, Emperor Ferdinand abdicated the throne at Olomouc as part of Ministerpräsident Felix zu Schwarzenbergs plan to end the Revolutions of 1848 in Hungary. This allowed Ferdinands nephew Franz Joseph to accede to the throne, largely considered to be a reactionary, Franz Joseph spent his early reign resisting constitutionalism in his domains. Franz Joseph was troubled by nationalism during his entire reign and he concluded the Ausgleich of 1867, which granted greater autonomy to Hungary, hence transforming the Austrian Empire into the Austro-Hungarian Empire under his dual monarchy. After the Austro-Prussian War, Austria-Hungary turned its attention to the Balkans, the Bosnian crisis was a result of Franz Josephs annexation of Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1908, which had been occupied by his troops since the Congress of Berlin. On 28 June 1914, the assassination of his nephew Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo resulted in Austria-Hungarys declaration of war against the Kingdom of Serbia and this activated a system of alliances which resulted in World War I. Franz Joseph died on 21 November 1916, after ruling his domains for almost 68 years and he was succeeded by his grandnephew Charles. His name in German was Franz Joseph I and I and his names in other languages were, Croatian and Bosnian, Franjo Josip I. Ukrainian, Фра́нц Йо́сиф I, Romanian, Francisc Iosif Slovene, serbian, Фрања Јосиф Franz Joseph was born in the Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna, the eldest son of Archduke Franz Karl, and his wife Princess Sophie of Bavaria. Franzl came to idolise his grandfather, der Gute Kaiser Franz, at the age of thirteen, Franzl started a career as a colonel in the Austrian army. From that point onward, his fashion was dictated by army style, Franz Joseph was soon joined by three younger brothers, Archduke Ferdinand Maximilian, Archduke Karl Ludwig, and Archduke Ludwig Viktor, and a sister, Maria Anna, who died at the age of four. Instead, Franz was sent to the front in Italy, joining Field Marshal Radetzky on campaign on 29 April, by all accounts he handled his first military experience calmly and with dignity. Around the same time, the Imperial Family was fleeing revolutionary Vienna for the setting of Innsbruck. Soon, the Archduke was called back from Italy, joining the rest of his family at Innsbruck by mid-June. It was at Innsbruck at this time that Franz Joseph first met his cousin Elisabeth, his bride, then a girl of ten. Following victory over the Italians at Custoza in late July, the court felt safe to return to Vienna, but within a few months Vienna again appeared unsafe, and in September the court left again, this time for Olomouc in Moravia. By now, Prince Alfred I of Windisch-Grätz, the military commander in Bohemia, was determined to see the young Archduke soon put on the throne. By the abdication of his uncle Ferdinand and the renunciation of his father, at this time he first became known by his second as well as his first Christian name
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The Head of the House of Habsburg
Media related to Imperial Order of Franz Joseph at Wikimedia Commons
