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| Archduke John | |
|---|---|
 Portrait byLeopold Kupelwieser, 1828 | |
| Imperial Regent of theGerman Empire | |
| In office | 12 July 1848 –20 December 1849 |
| Predecessor | Ferdinand I of Austria (President of theGerman Confederation) |
| Successor | Francis Joseph I of Austria (President of the German Confederation) |
| Born | (1782-01-20)20 January 1782 Florence,Grand Duchy of Tuscany |
| Died | 11 May 1859(1859-05-11) (aged 77) Graz,Styria,Austrian Empire |
| Burial | |
| Spouse | |
| Issue | Franz, Count of Meran |
| House | Habsburg-Lorraine |
| Father | Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor |
| Mother | Maria Luisa of Spain |
| Signature |  |
| Military career | |
| Allegiance | Austria |
| Branch | |
| Battles / wars | |
| Awards | See§ Honours |
Archduke John of Austria (German:Erzherzog Johann Baptist Joseph Fabian Sebastian von Österreich,IPA:[ˈɛʁt͡sˌheʁt͡sokˈjoːhan];Slovene:Nadvojvoda Janez Habsburško-Lotarinški (or simplyNadvojvoda Janez); 20 January 1782 – 11 May 1859), a member of theHouse of Habsburg-Lorraine, was anAustrianfield marshal andimperial regent (Reichsverweser) of the short-livedGerman Empire during theRevolutions of 1848.
John was born inFlorence, the thirteenth child of theHabsburgGrand DukeLeopold I of Tuscany (Archduke of Austria and later Emperor) andMaria Louisa of Spain. He was baptized with the name of John Baptist Joseph Fabian Sebastian,[1] after the patron saint of the Tuscan capital. In 1790, Leopold succeeded his brotherJoseph II as theHoly Roman Emperor and his family moved from theGrand Duchy of Tuscany to theImperial court in Vienna. Only two years later, John's elder brotherFrancis II ascended the Imperial throne.
John's native language wasItalian, though he learned to speakFrench andGerman fluently. Educated by the Swiss historianJohannes von Müller, he developed wide-ranging skills and interests, especially in the history and geography of theAlpine countries.
During theNapoleonic Wars, John was given command of theAustrian army in September 1800, despite his personal reluctance to assume the position. John was only 18 at the time. He showed personal bravery in theWar of the Second Coalition, but his troops were crushed at theBattle of Hohenlinden on 3 December. Demoralized by defeat, the army nearly disintegrated in the subsequent retreat, which was only stopped by an armistice arranged on 22 December. After thePeace of Lunéville in 1801, Archduke John was made General Director of the Engineering and Fortification Service, and later commander of theTheresian Military Academy inWiener Neustadt.
In theWar of the Third Coalition, John again fought theFrench andBavarian forces. From 1805 he directed an able defence of severalTyrolean passes against the French and was awarded the Commander Cross of theMilitary Order of Maria Theresa. However, according to thePeace of Pressburg, Austria had to cede Tyrol andVorarlberg to Bavaria. John remained obliged to Tyrol and maintained friendly contact with BaronJoseph Hormayr who forged a resistance movement against the Bavarian occupation. In 1808, John pressed for the creation of TyroleanLandwehr forces based on the success of the Prussian Landwehr, which played a vital role in theTyrolean Rebellion led byAndreas Hofer.
At the commencement of theWar of the Fifth Coalition in 1809 he became commander of the Army ofInner Austria, fighting against the French forces ofEugène de Beauharnais in Italy. Under his command were the VIII Armeekorps led byAlbert Gyulai and the IX Armeekorps headed by Albert's brotherIgnaz Gyulai. After winning a significant victory at theBattle of Sacile on 16 April 1809, his army advanced almost toVerona. Having detached forces to besiegeVenice and other fortresses, John's army was soon outnumbered by Eugène's heavily reinforced host. Worse, news of the Austrian defeat at theBattle of Eckmühl reached him and compelled him to order a retreat. Before withdrawing, he fought off Franco-Italian attacks at theBattle of Caldiero between 27 and 30 April. Attempting to blunt the Franco-Italian pursuit, he stood to fight on 8 May and was beaten at theBattle of Piave River. Trying to defend the entire border, he sent Ignaz Gyulai to defendLaibach inCarniola, while holdingVillach inCarinthia with his own forces. Eugène's pursuit overran the frontier defenses at theBattle of Tarvis and wrecked a column of hoped-for reinforcements at theBattle of Sankt Michael. Forced to flee northeast intoHungary, John offered battle again but, having mostly poorly trained and militia forces, was defeated atRaab on 14 June 1809. Ordered to join his brother ArchdukeCharles at theBattle of Wagram on 5 and 6 July, John's small army arrived too late to avert an Austrian defeat. His brother criticized him for tardiness.
After the conclusion of the campaign, John again evolved plans for a widespread rebellion. However, upon theTreaty of Schönbrunn Austrian policies under MinisterKlemens von Metternich sought a rapprochement to France. John's friend BaronJoseph Hormayr and other conspirators were arrested, the Archduke himself effectively was sidelined and retired to his estates inThernberg. For many years thereafter, rumors dogged him that he and Hormayr had evolved plans to create a Kingdom ofRhaetia from out of Austrian and Bavarian Alpine possessions.[2] These rumors increased his isolation from the Court.[3]
Tired of warfare, John turned away from the military and developed a great interest for nature, technology and agriculture. He collectedminerals and was active as analpinist andhunter in theDuchy of Styria. In his early days Archduke John and his brotherLouis had the habit of travelling to France, where the latter marriedMadame de Gueroust. In 1815, on his visit to theBritain, John received aDoctor honoris causa degree from theUniversity of Edinburgh.[1]
In the history of Styria, he is remembered as a great modernizer and became an important figure of identification for Styrians. His proximity to the people is given evidence to by his many contacts with the common man, by wearing the localTracht, theSteireranzug, and by collecting and promoting the material and spiritual culture of the country.
In 1811, he founded theJoanneum Museum inGraz and the predecessor ofGraz University of Technology. Some other foundations were initiated by him, such as the Styrian State Archive 1817, theSteiermärkisch-Ständische Montanlehranstalt, which was founded in 1840 inVordernberg and later became theUniversity of Leoben, the Styrian Society for Agriculture 1819, the Mutual Fire Insurance, the Styrian Building Society, theLandesoberrealschule in 1845 and the Society for Styrian History in 1850. His routing of theAustrian Southern Railway fromVienna toTrieste over theSemmering Pass and through theMura andMürz valleys to Graz is particularly notable. The inheritance of his maternal uncleAlbert Casimir, Duke of Teschen enabled him to acquire atin factory in Krems nearVoitsberg and coal mines nearKöflach, thereby he also became an industrialist. In 1840, he bought theStainz dominion. He was already the lord of the Brandhof manor inMariazell.
In 1829, he marriedAnna Plochl (1804–1885), the daughter of Jakob Plochl,postmaster ofAussee, and his wife Maria Anna Pilz, during a nocturnal ceremony in Brandhof. By thismorganatic marriage, John was excluded from succession to the throne. Emperor Francis elevated Anna to a "Baroness of Brandhofen" in 1834 and in 1839 she gave birth to a son,Franz, the only child from the marriage. His descendants were styled "Counts of Meran" and "Barons of Brandhofen", Proprietors of Stainz and Brandhofen.
John was also a passionate mountaineer in theEastern Alps and attempted to be the first to climb theGroßvenediger. For that reason, the Erzherzog-Johann-Hütte (Adlersruhe) at theGrossglockner, and theArchduke John's Vanilla Orchid (Nigritella rubra subsp.archiducis-joannis), anorchid growing on mountain meadows, are named after him.
On 4 September 1842, KingFrederick William IV of Prussia inaugurated new construction to the as yet incompleteCologne Cathedral.[4] Dignitaries from all over Germany and Austria were invited, including Archduke John and ChancellorKlemens von Metternich. A farewell banquet was held in theAugustusburg Palace atBrühl. There, Frederick William toasted all of the guests who had fought in the Napoleonic War, including Archduke John, "whose name exhilarates us as a fresh breeze from the mountains."[3] As thanks for the King's kind words, the Archduke remarked, "As long as Prussia and Austria, and as long as the rest of Germany wherever the German tongue is heard, are united, we shall be steadfast as the rocks of our mountains." However, the newspapers reported a different text of these remarks: "No longer shall be known Austria or Prussia, but a single Germany, lofty and sublime, Germany united and strong as her own mountains."[5] This misquote was widely circulated among the reading public.
Even though the Archduke John did not consider himself aliberal, he promoted some liberal ideas. He was often in conflict with the rigid Habsburg court, especially because of his morganatic marriage, though he would never espouse rebellion. He had earned great recognition in the Styrian lands and, moreover, he gained general acceptance by his jovial manners and his marriage with a middle-class woman. The remarks he had reputedly made in favor of German unification at the banquet in 1842, added to circulating rumors that the Archduke was a man of political liberalism, even though he was kept very far from politics by the Court.[6]
Rioting in the streets of Vienna caused theImperial household to flee to Innsbruck on 17 May 1848. Based on his reputation among the masses as a liberal and his personal character as a loyal prince of the reigning House, Archduke John was appointed on 16 June to be an effectiveviceroy in the absence of the emperor. He was to both open the Constituent Diet and conduct the normal business of the government.[7] By a proclamation dated 25 June and written entirely by himself, the Archduke assumed his responsibilities and set the date to open the Diet for 22 July 1848.
After he accepted the office of Regent of Germany on 5 July 1848 (see below), John maintained that he could not undertake his responsibilities in Frankfurt until he had fulfilled his responsibilities in Vienna. Therefore, he set out for Frankfurt on 8 July, the same day that the Austrian Ministry led byBaron Franz von Pillersdorf fell. After being appointed Regent in Frankfurt, he returned to Vienna on 17 July, and solemnly opened the Diet on 22 July as the emperor's representative. Shortly thereafter, the Archduke resigned his official duties and departed for Frankfurt. This caused the Diet to petition for the emperor's return to Vienna, and he did so on 12 August.
Upon theMarch Revolution of 1848, theFrankfurt Parliament discussed the appointment of an all-German government replacing theFederal Convention. On a proposal by the liberal politicianHeinrich von Gagern, the assembly on 28 June 1848 voted for the establishment of a central authority (Provisorische Zentralgewalt) and on the next day a broad majority elected Archduke Johnregent of the realm (Reichsverweser).
Archduke John accepted the nomination ashead of the short-livedGerman Empire on 5 July 1848, and on 12 July the delegates of the Federal Convention, in response to public pressure, ceded their powers to him. On 15 July, the day he left for Vienna, the Regent appointed the ministersAnton von Schmerling,Johann Gustav Heckscher and Eduard von Peucker to office, completed by PrinceCarl of Leiningen as minister president andhead of government. Nevertheless, his political office did not offer many opportunities, though all laws had to be signed by him.
On 16 July 1848, War Minister von Peucker issued an order to allGerman Federal Army soldiers that, on 6 August 1848, they were to parade in honor of the Regent as the supreme commander of the Army in Germany. Upon his arrival in Vienna, the Archduke was greeted by Austrian War MinisterLatour, who was quite upset with the interference of the provisional government in Austrian Army affairs. The whole Austrian Ministerial Council demanded action, and, as a result, the Archduke was forced to dispatch a formal complaint as Viceroy of Austria to himself as Regent of Germany.[8]
First attempts by the government to obtain supreme command of the German Federal Army faced entrenched resistance from the member states. To strengthen support, the left-wing politicianRobert von Mohl joined the Leiningen Cabinet on 9 August. Leiningen himself resigned on 6 September, after the Frankfurt assembly refused to ratify theArmistice of Malmö, signed byPrussia during theFirst Schleswig War. Minister Anton von Schmerling acted as head of government, until from November 1848 the cabinet gradually lost the support of the centristCasino faction and finally its majority in parliament. Schmerling was forced to resign and on 17 December, Archduke John had to appoint Heinrich von Gagern new minister president, though he opposed his 'Lesser German' ideas.
By the terms of his Regency, Archduke John was forbidden to take part in the drafting of theFrankfurt Constitution, which was adopted on 28 March 1849 after lengthy negotiations led by Gagern. He inveighed against the strong position of Prussia and was determined to resign, but he was once again dissuaded by appeals from National Assembly President,Eduard von Simson. When in April 1849, KingFrederick William IV of Prussia disappointed Gagern's hopes and openly rejected the Constitution, Archduke John remained passive and reminded his Prime Minister of the terms of his service as Regent, forbidding his interference in the process. Prime Minister Gagern handed in his resignation on 10 May.
Prussia exerted pressure on the Regent to vacate the office that he had resigned, but the Archduke insisted that he would remain out of a sense of obligation, and had powerful backing from Austria's Prime Minister,Prince Schwarzenberg, who was eager to stifle Prussian ambitions in Germany. Nevertheless, he departed for a prolonged stay at the health resort ofBad Gastein. At this point, the National Assembly was reduced to a rump parliament led by radicals and in opposition to the Regent. The Regency existed in name only, though the Archduke continued formal correspondence with Vienna and Berlin as such. He finally was allowed to resign from his office on 20 December 1849. When Archduke John came back to Frankfurt on a visit in 1858, he openly regretted the failure of German unification.
After nearly two years absence, the Archduke returned to Stainz, where he was elected the town's first mayor on 23 July 1850. Except forLeopold II, Grand Duke of Tuscany, who after his abdication was elected mayor of Schlackenwerth(Ostrov), this was the first and only case in Austria when a member of the Imperial family was elected mayor of a small market town. He exercised this office until 1858, represented in his occasional absence by market judge Georg Ensbrunner.[9]
Archduke John died in 1859 in Graz, where a fountain erected in his honor dominates the central square. He is buried inSchenna nearMeran.
He received the following orders and decorations:[10]
Austrian Empire:
Württemberg:Grand Cross of the Military Merit Order,10 September 1815[12]
Kingdom of Saxony:Knight of the Rue Crown,1819[13]
Ernestine duchies: Grand Cross of theSaxe-Ernestine House Order,May 1835[14]
Russian Empire:
Kingdom of Prussia:
Baden:[16]
Grand Duchy of Hesse:Grand Cross of the Ludwig Order,23 September 1842[17]
Belgium: Grand Cordon of theOrder of Leopold,17 May 1845[18]
Kingdom of Bavaria:Knight of St. Hubert,1850[19]
Oldenburg:Grand Cross of the Order of Duke Peter Friedrich Ludwig, with Golden Crown,25 October 1857[20]
Kingdom of Greece:Grand Cross of the Redeemer
Netherlands:Grand Cross of the Netherlands Lion| Ancestors of Archduke John of Austria[21] |
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Archduke John is a playable character in some versions ofRisk.
"Erzherzog Johann Jodler" is a popular folk song about Archduke John which is often performed by yodeling groups today.[22]
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Confederation of the Rhine 1806–1813 |
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German Confederation.svg) 1815–1866 |
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North German Confederation.svg) 1867–1871 |
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