| Archduke Rainer | |
|---|---|
 Archduke Rainer (right) with his mother and his younger brotherArchduke Leopold (left) | |
| Born | (1895-11-21)21 November 1895 Agram,Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia,Austria-Hungary |
| Died | 25 May 1930(1930-05-25) (aged 34) Vienna,Austria |
| House | Habsburg-Tuscany |
| Father | Archduke Leopold Salvator of Austria, Prince of Tuscany |
| Mother | Princess Blanca of Bourbon |
Archduke Rainer of Austria (German:Rainer, Erzherzog von Österreich-Toskana; 21 November 1895 – 25 May 1930) was a member of theHouse of Habsburg-Lorraine, a member of the Tuscan branch of the ImperialHouse of Habsburg, an Archduke of Austria and Prince of Tuscany by birth. He was the eldest sonArchduke Leopold Salvator of Austria, Prince of Tuscany. He served as officer in the Austrian army duringWorld War I.[1] At the fall of the Habsburg dynasty, he remained in Vienna and worked for a time as taxi driver. He died unmarried at the age of 34 from blood-poisoning.[1]
Archduke Rainer was born in Agram (the historic Austrian-German name for what is now the city ofZagreb inCroatia), the fourth child and eldest son ofArchduke Leopold Salvator of Austria, Prince of Tuscany andPrincess Blanca of Bourbon (daughter ofCarlos, Duke of Madrid).[2] He received the names Rainer Karl Leopold Blanka Anton Margarete Beatrix Peter Joseph Raphael Michael Ignaz Stephan.
During World War I Rainer served as a lieutenant of artillery in theAustro-Hungarian Army.[3] After the fall of theHabsburg monarchy and the establishment of theFirst Austrian Republic, he renounced his rights to the Austrian throne in order that he could remain inAustria.[3][4] Henceforward he used the nameRainer Habsburg.[5] He lived in an apartment in thePalais Toskana,[6] but also retained properties in Zagreb,[3] and inGalicia,[5] and atSchloss Hernstein.[5]
In Vienna, Rainer operated a garage.[6] He also organized a system for film reels to be transported by motorcycle from one theater to another enabling more than one theater to share the same film.[7]
In May 1921 it was reported that there had been protests against Rainer at Schloss Hernstein.[5] In August 1921 he was arrested inLjubljana (then inYugoslavia, now inSlovenia) on a charge of forging a passport.[3]
On 6 April 1922, Rainer and his father were present at therequiem mass celebrated inSt. Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna for the soul of the EmperorCharles I of Austria.[8] They reportedly led a demonstration with cries of "Down with the Republic", and marched to theAustrian Parliament Building demanding that the flag be lowered tohalf-staff in honour of Austria's former sovereign.915
In 1930 Rainer died in the Wiedner Hospital in Vienna from the effects ofblood poisoning; he was 35.[7][9] His remains were buried in theImperial Crypt of theCapuchin Church in Vienna.[10] He was the first member of the Habsburg family to be buried in the crypt since the EmperorFranz Joseph I in 1916.[4] Among those present for the funeral were his parents, Archduke Leopold Salvator and Archduchess Blanca, his father's brotherArchduke Franz Salvator of Austria with his sonsHubert and Klemens, his mother's uncleInfante Alfonso Carlos of Spain and his wifeInfanta Maria das Neves of Portugal, and Dr.Ignaz Seipel (former Chancellor of Austria).[11]
In 1962 Rainer's sarcophagus was moved to the Neue Gruft (New Crypt) where it lies next to the sarcophagus of his father.
| Ancestors of Archduke Rainer of Austria (1895–1930) |
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