Franz I (Franz de Paula Maria Karl August; 28 August 1853 – 25 July 1938) was

Prince of Liechtenstein The monarchy of Liechtenstein is the constitutional form of government by which a hereditary sovereign reigns as the head of state of Liechtenstein. The current monarch is Prince Hans-Adam II. The House of Liechtenstein, after which the sove ...

from 11 February 1929 until his death in 1938.

Early life

Franz de Paula Maria Karl August was born on 28 August 1853, to Aloys II and his wife, Countess Franziska Kinsky of Wchinitz and Tettau in Liechtenstein Castle. He attended the

University of Vienna The University of Vienna (, ) is a public university, public research university in Vienna, Austria. Founded by Rudolf IV, Duke of Austria, Duke Rudolph IV in 1365, it is the oldest university in the German-speaking world and among the largest ...

and the University of Prague before serving as the successor to Count Anton Graf von Wolkenstein-Trostburg as the

Austro-Hungarian Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military and diplomatic alliance, it consist ...

ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or so ...

to the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

from 1894 to 1898. He was the 1,204th Knight of the

Order of the Golden Fleece The Distinguished Order of the Golden Fleece (, ) is a Catholic order of chivalry founded in 1430 in Brugge by Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, to celebrate his marriage to Isabella of Portugal, Duchess of Burgundy, Isabella of Portugal. T ...

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

. He fell in love with Elisabeth von Gutmann, widow of

Baron Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often Hereditary title, hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than ...

Géza Erős of Bethlenfalva (1866–1908), who had converted to

Roman Catholicism The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

from

Judaism Judaism () is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic, Monotheism, monotheistic, ethnic religion that comprises the collective spiritual, cultural, and legal traditions of the Jews, Jewish people. Religious Jews regard Judaism as their means of o ...

in 1899, but his brother

Johann Johann, typically a male given name, is the German form of ''Iohannes'', which is the Latin form of the Greek name ''Iōánnēs'' (), itself derived from Hebrew name '' Yochanan'' () in turn from its extended form (), meaning "Yahweh is Graciou ...

disapproved of the relationship and refused to consent to it. In 1919, he secretly married Gutmann in

Salzburg Salzburg is the List of cities and towns in Austria, fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020 its population was 156,852. The city lies on the Salzach, Salzach River, near the border with Germany and at the foot of the Austrian Alps, Alps moun ...

and remarried her following Johann's death on 22 July 1929.

Reign

On 11 February 1929, Johann II died, passing the title of Prince of Liechtenstein to Franz. A few weeks after he took the title, 395,360 acres of land belonging to the Liechtenstein family were seized by

Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...

. A delegation of farmers petitioned him to establish a republic in Liechtenstein, but ended their attempts when he stated that he would not give any of his money towards the country, forcing it to rely solely on taxation. In 1937, Prime Minister Josef Hoop admitted that Austrian pretender

Otto von Habsburg Otto von Habsburg (, ; 20 November 1912 4 July 2011) was the last crown prince of Austria-Hungary from 1916 until the dissolution of the empire in November 1918. In 1922, he became the pretender to the former thrones, head of the House of Habs ...

was living in

Vaduz Castle Vaduz Castle (German language, German: ''Schloss Vaduz'') is the palace and official residence of the Monarchy of Liechtenstein, Prince of Liechtenstein. The castle gave its name to the town of Vaduz, the capital of Liechtenstein, which it overlo ...

as a guest of Franz I in order to be closer to Austria rather than in his previous residence of Steenokkerzeel,

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

. An extradition treaty was also signed between Liechtenstein and the United States. He had no children so his first cousin once removed Prince Aloys was next in line, but Aloys removed himself from the line of succession in favor of his son,

Franz Joseph Franz Joseph I or Francis Joseph I ( ; ; 18 August 1830 – 21 November 1916) was Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary, and the ruler of the Grand title of the emperor of Austria, other states of the Habsburg monarchy from 1848 until his death ...

, in 1923 as he was concerned about his age should he assume the role. On 31 March 1938, he made his first cousin twice removed

his regent following the

Anschluss The (, or , ), also known as the (, ), was the annexation of the Federal State of Austria into Nazi Germany on 12 March 1938. The idea of an (a united Austria and Germany that would form a "German Question, Greater Germany") arose after t ...

. After making him regent he moved to Feldsberg (

Valtice Valtice (; ) is a town in Břeclav District in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 3,600 inhabitants. It is known as part of Lednice–Valtice Cultural Landscape, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The historic town centre is ...

and on 25 July, he died while at one of his family's castles, Castle Feldberg, and Franz Joseph formally succeeded him as the Prince of Liechtenstein. Although Franz stated that he had given the regency to Franz Joseph due to his old age it was speculated that he did not wish to remain in control of the principality if

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

were to invade, primarily because his wife Elisabeth von Gutmann was of

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

relation.

Honours

* : Founder of the Order of Merit of the Principality of Liechtenstein, ''1937'' – on the anniversary of his marriage. * : ** Grand Cross of the Imperial Order of Leopold, ''1897'' **

Knight of the Golden Fleece This article contains a list of knights of the Order of the Golden Fleece. Burgundian Golden Fleece 15th century !Year of induction!!Name!!Born!!Died!!Notes , - , rowspan=25, 1430, , Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, , 1396, , 1467, , Founde ...

, ''1917'' * : Bailiff Grand Cross of Honour and Devotion * : ** Knight of St. Alexander Nevsky ** Knight of St. Andrew, ''1906'' * : Knight of St. Hubert, ''1909''''Hof- und - Staatshandbuch des Königreichs Bayern'' (1914), "Königliche Orden". p. 10

References

External links

Princely House of Liechtenstein
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Franz 01, Prince of Liechtenstein 1853 births 1938 deaths 19th-century Roman Catholics 20th-century Roman Catholics 20th-century princes of Liechtenstein Ambassadors of Austria-Hungary to Russia Diplomats from Austria-Hungary Charles University alumni University of Vienna alumni Knights of the Golden Fleece of Austria Knights of Malta Recipients of the Order of Merit of the Principality of Liechtenstein Liechtenstein princes Princes of Liechtenstein