| Archduke Rainer of Austria | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Viceroy ofLombardy–Venetia | |||||
In office | 3 January 1818 –8 June 1848 | ||||
Monarch | |||||
| Predecessor | Archduke Anton Victor | ||||
| Successor | Josef Radetzky (Governor-General) | ||||
| Born | (1783-09-30)30 September 1783 Pisa,Grand Duchy of Tuscany | ||||
| Died | 16 January 1853(1853-01-16) (aged 69) Bolzano,Austrian Empire | ||||
| Burial | Bolzano Cathedral | ||||
| Spouse | |||||
| Issue Detail | Adelaide, Queen of Sardinia Archduke Leopold Archduke Ernst Archduke Sigismund Archduke Rainer Archduke Heinrich | ||||
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| House | Habsburg-Lorraine | ||||
| Father | Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor | ||||
| Mother | Maria Luisa of Spain | ||||
Archduke Rainer of Austria (30 September 1783 – 16 January 1853) was aViceroy of theKingdom of Lombardy–Venetia from 1818 to 1848. He was also an Archduke of Austria, Prince Royal ofHungary andBohemia.
Rainer was a son of EmperorLeopold II and EmpressMaria Luisa, and was thus a younger brother ofFrancis II, Holy Roman Emperor.
Although Rainer suffered from a mild form ofepilepsy, this did not visibly interfere with his military career.[1]
Rainer served asViceroy of theKingdom of Lombardy–Venetia from 1818 to 1848. The position made Rainer and his wife the head of the Austrian court atMilan. Rainer's politics were increasingly unpopular, the Italians resented him for their lack of political freedom and for collecting revenues with so little benefit to them.
Throughout the 1840s, the political situation worsened to such an extent that in 1847,Klemens von Metternich resurrected his 1817 plans for an Italian chancellery by sending his right-hand man CountKarl Ludwig von Ficquelmont to Milan as acting Chancellor of Lombardy–Venetia to restore the Austrian rule while taking over Northern Italy's administration. But only a few months later, Ficquelmont was recalled to Vienna to assume the leadership of theCouncil of war as theRevolutions of 1848 started.
Archduke Rainer's mistakes as well as the lack of understanding between Rainer andFeldmarschall GrafRadetzky, were blamed for the disasters of theItalian Revolution of 1848.[2]
He married inPrague on 28 May 1820Princess Elisabeth of Savoy (13 April 1800 – 25 December 1856). She was the sister of thePrince of Carignano, who would in 1831 becomeKing of Sardinia as KingCharles Albert. She was also a granddaughter of the late former duke of the BalticDuchy of Courland and Semigallia.
Children included:
The Revolution of 1848 forced Rainer and Elisabeth from the court at Milan; when the insurrection was quelled,Radetzky was named Rainer's successor as Viceroy. Although his children, except Adelheid, are buried in theImperial Crypt inVienna, he and his wife are buried at theMaria Himmelfahrtskirche inBolzano.
Through his daughter Adelaide, Rainer is an ancestor of the entireroyal family of Italy which reigned from 1861 to 1946.
| Ancestors of Archduke Rainer Joseph of Austria[5] |
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