Austrian Imperial Court

The Emperor of Austria (german: Kaiser von Österreich) was the ruler of the Austrian Empire and later the Austro-Hungarian Empire. A hereditary imperial title and office proclaimed in 1804 by Holy Roman Emperor Francis II, a member of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine, and continually held by him and his heirs until Charles I relinquished power in 1918.

The emperors retained the title of Archduke of Austria. The wives of the emperors held the title empress, while other members of the family held the titles of archduke or archduchess.

Predecessors

Members of the House of Austria, the Habsburg dynasty, had been the elected Holy Roman Emperors since 1438 (except for a five-year break from 1740 to 1745) and mostly resided in Vienna. Thus the term "Austrian emperor" may occur in texts dealing with the time before 1804, when no Austrian Empire existed. In these cases the word Austria means the composite monarchy ruled by the dynasty, not the country. A special case was Maria Theresa; she bore the imperial title as the consort of Francis I (r. 1745–1765), but she herself was the monarch of the Austrian Hereditary Lands including Bohemia and Hungary.

The emperor

In the face of aggressions by Napoleon I, who had been proclaimed " Emperor of the French" (French: ''Empereur des Français''), by the French constitution on 18 May 1804, Francis II feared for the future of the Holy Roman Empire and wished to maintain his and his family's Imperial status in case the Holy Roman Empire should be dissolved. Therefore, on 11 August 1804 he created the new title of "Emperor of Austria" for himself and his successors as heads of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine. For two years, Francis carried two imperial titles: being Holy Roman Emperor Francis II and "by the Grace of God" (''Von Gottes Gnaden'') Emperor Francis I of Austria.

In 1805, an Austrian-led army suffered a humiliating defeat at the Battle of Austerlitz and the victorious Napoleon proceeded to dismantle the old ''Reich'' (which at this time was only a powerless confederation) by motivating or pressuring several German princes to enter the separate Confederation of the Rhine with their lands in July. This led Francis II/I on 6 August 1806 to declare the Reich dissolved and to lay down the Imperial Crown created in the second half of the 10th century (today displayed at the Treasury of Hofburg Palace in Vienna). Erklärung des Kaisers Franz II. über die Niederlegung der deutschen Kaiserkrone, in: Quellensammlung zur Geschichte der Deutschen Reichsverfassung in Mittelalter und Neuzeit (''Collection of Sources to the History of the Constitution of the German Reich''), edited by Karl Zeumer, p. 538–539 (full text on Wikisource)

From 1806 onwards, Francis was Emperor of Austria only. He had three successors—Ferdinand I, Francis Joseph I and Charles I—before the Empire broke apart in 1918. A coronation ceremony was never established; the heir to the throne became emperor the moment his predecessor died or abdicated. The symbol of the Austrian Emperor was the dynasty's private crown dating back to Rudolf II (r. 1576–1612), (called ''Rudolfinische Hauskrone'' by the experts).

Titles of the emperor

The Austrian emperors had an extensive list of titles and claims that reflected the geographic expanse and diversity of the lands ruled by the Austrian Habsburgs. The grand title of the emperor of Austria had been changed several times: by a patent of 1 August 1804, by a court office decree from 22 August 1836, by an Imperial court ministry decree of 6 January 1867 and finally by a letter of 12 December 1867. Shorter versions were recommended for official documents and international treaties: "Emperor of Austria, King of Bohemia etc. and Apostolic King of Hungary", "Emperor of Austria and Apostolic King of Hungary", " His Majesty the Emperor and King" and " His Imperial and Royal Apostolic Majesty".

The full list (after the loss of the Lombardy in 1859 and Venetia in 1866):

'' Emperor of Austria,''

'' Apostolic King of Hungary,''

'' King of Bohemia, of Dalmatia, of Croatia, of Slavonia, of Galicia, of Lodomeria, and of Illyria,''

'' King of Jerusalem, and so forth,''

''Archduke of Austria,''

''Grand Duke of Tuscany and of Cracow,''

'' Duke of Lorraine, of Salzburg, of Styria, of Carinthia, of Carniola and of the Bukovina,''

'' Grand Prince of Transylvania,''

'' Margrave in Moravia,''

'' Duke of Upper and Lower Silesia, of Modena, Parma, Piacenza and Guastalla, of Auschwitz and Zator, of Teschen, Friuli, Ragusa and Zara,''

'' Princely Count of Habsburg and Tyrol, of Kyburg, Gorizia and Gradisca,''

'' Prince of Trent and Brixen,''

''Margrave of Upper and Lower Lusatia and in Istria,''

'' Count of Hohenems, Feldkirch, Bregenz, Sonnenberg, and so forth,''

'' Lord of Trieste, of Cattaro and of the Windic March,''

'' Grand Voivode of the Voivodship of Serbia, and so forth,''

''Sovereign of the Order of the Golden Fleece.''

House and court

The function of the emperor was styled like a secular papacy. Therefore, it was the overall goal to demonstrate the all-highest (''allerhöchste'') majesty and dignity of the monarch to his subjects and to other monarchs and countries. His and his entourage's life was governed by very strict rules all the time.

The Imperial House

The members of the House of Habsburg were ranked as princes and princesses of the blood imperial, with the honorary title of ''Erzherzog'' or ''Erzherzogin'' (archduke or archduchess). Their permanent address and their travels abroad had to be agreed to by the Emperor.

Whoever wanted to marry an archduke or archduchess of the Habsburg dynasty had to originate from a ruling or formerly ruling house, as was stipulated by the ''Familienstatut des Allerhöchsten Herrscherhauses'', the Family Statute of the Highest Monarch's House, issued by Ferdinand I in 1839. Otherwise the marriage would be one "to the left hand", called a morganatic marriage, excluding the offspring of the couple from any right the House of Habsburg possessed. (The problems of such a situation were encountered when Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir presumptive to the throne, married a simple countess in 1900).

To manage the political implications of the Imperial house after 1867 the Emperor and King appointed the ''k.u.k. Minister des kaiserlichen und königlichen Hauses und des Äußeren'' (the I.& R. Minister of the Imperial and Royal House and of the Exterior), one of the three ministers common to Austria and Hungary. Under Francis I, Klemens von Metternich had covered these and many other agenda, bearing the title ''Haus-, Hof- und Staatskanzler'' (Chancellor of the House, the Court and the State).

The Imperial Court

The Emperor's household, his personal officers and the premises where they worked were called ''Hof'' ("court").

The four highest officials managing the Imperial Court, who were drawn from among the highest noblemen of the Empire, were
*the Grand Master (''Obersthofmeister''),
*the Grand Marshal (''Obersthofmarschall''),
*the Grand Chamberlain (''Oberstkämmerer''),
*the Master of the Stables (''Oberststallmeister'').

Whoever sought an audience with the Emperor himself had to apply at the Office of the Grand Master (''Obersthofmeisteramt''). Francis I used to wear civilian clothes of the Biedermeier era, while Francis Joseph I and Charles I mostly were seen in the uniform of an Austrian field marshal to underline the importance of the army to the throne. Francis Joseph I expected soldiers to appear in uniform at his court and civilians to appear in tails. He never shook hands with visitors; in letters he never addressed his subjects as "Sir" or "Mr." (''Herr'').

The Emperor's court managed the following institutions:
* the Imperial Palace in Vienna (''Hofburg''); each of the four Emperors of Austria chose his living and working rooms in another part of this huge palace;
* the Imperial Treasury at Hofburg, where the Habsburgs' crown insignia were kept;
* the Imperial Court Library, today Austrian National Library
* Imperial residences outside Vienna, like Schönbrunn Palace (the area was included into the Vienna city area in 1892) and Laxenburg Palace

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