Archduke Leopold Ferdinand of Austria
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Archduke Leopold Ferdinand of Austria (2 December 1868 – 4 July 1935) was the eldest son of
Ferdinand IV, Grand Duke of Tuscany Ferdinand IV, Grand Duke of Tuscany ( it, Ferdinando IV, Granduca di Toscana; 10 June 1835 – 17 January 1908) was the last Grand Duke of Tuscany from 1859 to 1860. Biography Born at Florence, he was the son of Leopold II, Grand Duke of Tus ...
, and Alice of Bourbon-Parma.


Early life

In 1892 and 1893 Leopold accompanied Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria on a sea voyage through the Suez Canal and on to
India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
and Australia. The relationship between the two archdukes was extremely bad and their permanent attempts to outdo and humiliate the other one led the ''Kaiser''
Franz Joseph Franz Joseph I or Francis Joseph I (german: Franz Joseph Karl, hu, Ferenc József Károly, 18 August 1830 – 21 November 1916) was Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary, and the other states of the Habsburg monarchy from 2 December 1848 until his ...
to order Leopold Ferdinand to return to Austria immediately. He left the ship in Sydney and went back to Europe. He was dismissed from the Austro-Hungarian Navy and entered an infantry regiment at Brno. Eventually he was appointed colonel of the 81st Regiment FZM Baron von Waldstätten. Leopold fell in love with a prostitute, Wilhelmine Adamovicz, whom he met for the first time in
Augarten The Augarten is a public park of 52.2 hectares (129 acres) situated in the Leopoldstadt, the second district of Vienna, Austria. It contains the city's oldest Baroque park. In the north-west and north-east it borders (since 1900) on the 20th ...
- a park in Vienna (some other sources claim their first meeting took place in
Olmütz Olomouc (, , ; german: Olmütz; pl, Ołomuniec ; la, Olomucium or ''Iuliomontium'') is a city in the Czech Republic. It has about 99,000 inhabitants, and its larger urban zone has a population of about 384,000 inhabitants (2019). Located on th ...
), having begotten an illegitimate child with another woman only little time before. His parents offered him 100,000 florins on condition that he leave his mistress. He refused to do so and instead decided the renounce the crown in order to be able to marry her.


Renunciation of title

On 29 December 1902 it was announced that Emperor
Franz Joseph I of Austria Franz Joseph I or Francis Joseph I (german: Franz Joseph Karl, hu, Ferenc József Károly, 18 August 1830 – 21 November 1916) was Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary, and the other states of the Habsburg monarchy from 2 December 1848 until his ...
had agreed to a request by Leopold to renounce his rank as an archduke. On 3 April 1903 the Austro-Hungarian Ministry of the Imperial and Royal House and the Exterior notified him that the Emperor complied with Leopold's wish to renounce his title and to adopt instead the name Leopold Wölfling.Ilse Nicolas, ''Kreuzberger Impressionen'' (11969), Berlin: Haude & Spener, 21979, (=Berlinische Reminiszenzen; vol. 26), p. 45. . His name was removed from the roll of the Order of the Golden Fleece and from the army list. He took the name Leopold Wölfling after a peak in the Ore Mountains. He had used this pseudonym already in the 1890s when he had travelled incognito through Germany. On the day of his departure from Austria he was notified that he was forbidden from returning to Austrian lands. He became a Swiss citizen. He was given a gift of 200,000 florins as well as a further 30,000 florins as income from his parents.


Life as Leopold Wölfling

After leaving Austria he fulfilled his earlier imperially denied wish and studied natural sciences and especially botanics at the
Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich (colloquially) , former_name = eidgenössische polytechnische Schule , image = ETHZ.JPG , image_size = , established = , type = Public , budget = CHF 1.896 billion (2021) , rector = Günther Dissertori , president = Joël Mesot , a ...
, the
Frederick William University of Berlin Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (german: Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a German public university, public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin. It was established by Frederick William III o ...
and the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich.Ilse Nicolas, ''Kreuzberger Impressionen'' (11969), Berlin: Haude & Spener, 21979, (=Berlinische Reminiszenzen; vol. 26), p. 46seq. . In summer 1915 he applied as a volunteer for the German Army, but was rejected on the grounds of his Swiss citizenship. After
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
Wölfling's allowance from his meanwhile expropriated family stopped. In 1921 he returned to Austria, desperately searching for a livelihood.Ilse Nicolas, ''Kreuzberger Impressionen'' (11969), Berlin: Haude & Spener, 21979, (=Berlinische Reminiszenzen; vol. 26), p. 48. . Fluent in
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...
,
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, French,
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, Hungarian,
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, and
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; he worked for some time as a foreign language correspondence clerk. After more jobs he later opened a delicatessen store in
Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...
where he sold salami and olive oil. He also tried his hand as a tourist guide in the
Hofburg Palace The Hofburg is the former principal imperial palace of the Habsburg dynasty. Located in the centre of Vienna, it was built in the 13th century and expanded several times afterwards. It also served as the imperial winter residence, as Schönbrunn ...
in Vienna and was very well received by his audiences. Unfortunately, the interest his person awoke in the Austrian capital proved to be too much for the ex-archduke and he fled the city again. A telegram invited him to come to Berlin, Germany, to comment on the premiere of the German silent film '' Das Schicksal derer von Habsburg'' (English: ''The Fate of the House of Habsburg''), unable to pay the fare the film company advanced him the money.Ilse Nicolas, ''Kreuzberger Impressionen'' (11969), Berlin: Haude & Spener, 21979, (=Berlinische Reminiszenzen; vol. 26), p. 49. . So on 16 November 1928 Wölfling provided a live commentary to the film in the Primus-Palast cinema on Potsdamer Straße in Tiergarten, Berlin, afterwards touring with the film through - among others - Karlsruhe, Nuremberg, Düsseldorf, Trier, Cologne and Montreux. After that he lived in Berlin. Here he worked few menial jobs: He acted in a cabaret and wrote his memoirs. In late 1932 he wrote a series of articles on his life at the Hofburg, published in the ''
Berliner Morgenpost ''Berliner Morgenpost'' is a German newspaper, based and mainly read in Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous c ...
''. However, for his first article he chose a subject of highest topicality in then Germany. It appeared on 2 October under the headline "''Es gibt keine Rassen-Reinheit. Mitteleuropa der große Schmelztiegel''" (English: There is no racial purity. Central Europe the great melting pot), he confronted the spreading racism and the garbled ideas on racial purity. With such daring theses in the Nazi poisoned public atmosphere before their takeover Wölfling had reduced his opportunities to publish under their reign.Ilse Nicolas, ''Kreuzberger Impressionen'' (11969), Berlin: Haude & Spener, 21979, (=Berlinische Reminiszenzen; vol. 26), p. 51. . His third marriage in
Niederschöneweide Niederschöneweide (, literally ''Lower Schöneweide'') is a German locality (''Ortsteil'') within the Berlin borough (''Bezirk'') of Treptow-Köpenick. It is, with Oberschöneweide (''Upper Schöneweide''), part of the geographic quarter of Sch ...
with the Berlin-born Klara Hedwig Pawlowski (1902–1978) was announced in the ''Berliner Morgenpost'' on 11 April 1933.Ilse Nicolas, ''Kreuzberger Impressionen'' (11969), Berlin: Haude & Spener, 21979, (=Berlinische Reminiszenzen; vol. 26), p. 50. . His wife tried to defray their livelihood also selling his silverware to a jeweller, who, seeing the monogram, however, informed the police for suspect of theft, only to figure out that Wölfling had consented. Wölfling died impoverished on 4 July 1935 in his third-floor flat in the rear wing of Belle-Alliance-Straße 53 (now renamed and renumbered
Mehringdamm The Mehringdamm is a street in southern Kreuzberg, Berlin. In the north it starts at Mehringbrücke and ends - with its southernmost houses already belonging to Tempelhof locality - on Platz der Luftbrücke. It is the historical southbound Berlin- ...
119) in
Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...
. His and his widow's graves are preserved in the
Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...
''Friedhof III der Jerusalems- und Neuen Kirchengemeinde'' (Cemetery No. III of the congregations of
Jerusalem's Church Jerusalem Church (german: Jerusalem(s)kirche, Jerusalemer Kirche) is one of the churches of the Evangelical Congregation in the Friedrichstadt (under this name since 2001), a member of the Protestant umbrella organisation Evangelical Church of ...
and New Church) in
Berlin-Kreuzberg Kreuzberg () is a district of Berlin, Germany. It is part of the Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg borough located south of Mitte. During the Cold War era, it was one of the poorest areas of West Berlin, but since German reunification in 1990 it has b ...
, south of
Hallesches Tor The Hallesches Tor was located in today's Berlin district Kreuzberg south of Mehringplatz. Today, as a historic monument listed underground station on the site of the former gate bears the name ''Hallesches Tor''. It is a major transfer point f ...
. His last book appeared posthumously.


Marriages

Wölfling married three times: *Wilhelmine Adamovicz ( Lundenburg, 1 May 1877 -
Geneva , neighboring_municipalities= Carouge, Chêne-Bougeries, Cologny, Lancy, Grand-Saconnex, Pregny-Chambésy, Vernier, Veyrier , website = https://www.geneve.ch/ Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevr ...
, 17 May 1908 / 1910) (married: 27 January / 25 July 1903 in
Veyrier Veyrier is a municipality of the Canton of Geneva, Switzerland. Geography Veyrier has an area, , of . Of this area, or 33.4% is used for agricultural purposes, while or 13.8% is forested. Of the rest of the land, or 50.6% is settled (build ...
, divorced in 1907). Her memoirs: Wilhelmine Wölfling-Adamović, ''Meine Memoiren'', Josef Schall (ed.), Berlin: Hermann Walther Verlagsbuchhandlung, 1908. No issue. *Maria Magdalena Ritter (Vienna 4 Mar 1876 / 1877 - 1924The Tuscany article of Paul Theroff's "Online Gotha" had previously indicated that she died on 21 July 1938 in
Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...
. However, according to Wölfling's autobiography "From Archduke to Grocer," Maria Magdalena Ritter died in some type of institution during the mid-1920s.
) (married: 26 October 1907 in
Zürich , neighboring_municipalities = Adliswil, Dübendorf, Fällanden, Kilchberg, Maur, Oberengstringen, Opfikon, Regensdorf, Rümlang, Schlieren, Stallikon, Uitikon, Urdorf, Wallisellen, Zollikon , twintowns = Kunming, San Francisco Zürich ...
, left her in 1916 and later divorced her.). No issue. *C/Klara Hedwig Pawlowski, née Groeger (Güldenboden ( Bogaczewo), 6 October 1894 - Berlingen, 24 July 1978) (married: 3 July / 4 December 1933 in Berlin.). No issue.


Works

* ''Habsburger unter sich: Freimütige Aufzeichnungen eines ehemaligen Erzherzogs'', Berlin-Wilmensdorf: Goldschmidt-Gabrielli, 1921. ** Czech translation: ''Habsburkové ve vlastním zrcadle: životní vzpomínky'', Prague: Šolc a Šimáček, 1921 and ''Poslední Habsburkové: vzpomínky a úvahy'', Prague, Fr. Borový, 1924. ** No known English translation. * "Es gibt keine Rassen-Reinheit. Mitteleuropa der große Schmelztiegel" (i.e. There is no racial purity. Central Europe the great melting pot), in: ''
Berliner Morgenpost ''Berliner Morgenpost'' is a German newspaper, based and mainly read in Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous c ...
'', 2 October 1932. * "Habsburger Kaiserinnen, die ich kannte" (i.e. Habsburg empresses, whom I knew), in: ''Berliner Morgenpost'', 9 October 1932. * "Bei der Kaiserin Elisabeth auf Korfu" (i.e. With
Empress Elizabeth Elizabeth Petrovna (russian: Елизаве́та (Елисаве́та) Петро́вна) (), also known as Yelisaveta or Elizaveta, reigned as Empress of Russia from 1741 until her death in 1762. She remains one of the most popular List of ...
on Corfu), in: ''Berliner Morgenpost'', 10 October 1932. * "Das Heine-Denkmal" (i.e. The Heine monument; by
Louis Hasselriis Louis Hasselriis (12 January 1844 – 20 May 1912) was a Danish sculptor known for his public statuary. Early life and education Hasselriis was born in Hillerød, the son of Herman Edvard Louis H (1815–1907) and Sophie Frederikke Schondel ( ...
now in the
Jardin d'acclimatation du Mourillon The Jardin d'acclimatation du Mourillon (8,000 m²) is a municipal botanical garden located at 1053 Littoral Frédéric Mistral, Le Mourillon, Toulon, Var, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, France. It is open daily without charge. The garden was founde ...
,
Toulon Toulon (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Tolon , , ) is a city on the French Riviera and a large port on the Mediterranean coast, with a major naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, and the Provence province, Toulon is th ...
), in: ''Berliner Morgenpost'', 11 October 1932. * "Kaiser Franz Joseph als Ehemann" (i.e. Emperor Francis Joseph as a husband), in: ''Berliner Morgenpost'', 12 October 1932. * "Frühling im Prater – Tante und Neffe – Kaiserliche Schaustellung" (i.e. Spring in the
Prater The Prater () is a large public park in Leopoldstadt, Vienna, Austria. The Wurstelprater, an amusement park that is often simply called "Prater", lies in one corner of the Wiener Prater and includes the Wiener Riesenrad Ferris wheel. Name The ...
– aunt and nephew – imperial ostentation), in: ''Berliner Morgenpost'', 13 October 1932. * "Begegnung in der Nacht" (i.e. Encounter in the night; with Francis Joseph), in: ''Berliner Morgenpost'', 8 December 1932. * ''Als ich Erzherzog war. Meine Erinnerungen'' (i.e. When I was an archduke. My memoirs), Berlin: Selle & Eysler, 1935, reedited: Lorenz Mikoletzky (ed.), Wien: Ueberreuter, 1988, . ** English translation: ''My Life Story: From Archduke to Grocer'', London: Hutchinson, 1930. An American edition published in 1931 in New York by Dutton, reprinted in 2007 by
Kessinger Publishing Kessinger Publishing LLC is an American print-on-demand publishing company located in Whitefish, Montana, that specializes in rare, out-of-print books. According to Kelly Gallagher, vice president of publishing services at a bibliographic inform ...
, . ** French translation: ''Souvenirs de la cour de Vienne'', G. Welter (trl.), Paris: Payot, 1937.


Titles and styles

*2 December 1868  – 29 December 1902: ''
His Imperial and Royal Highness Imperial and Royal Highness ( abbreviation HI&RH) is a style possessed by someone who either through birth or marriage holds two individual styles, ''Imperial Highness'' and ''Royal Highness''. ''His/Her Imperial Highness'' is a style used by memb ...
'' Archduke Leopold Ferdinand of Austria, Prince of Tuscany *29 December 1902  – 4 July 1935: Leopold Wölfling


Ancestry


References


External links


Short biography

Articles about Wölfling's life
in Ascona,
Fidus Fidus was the pseudonym used by German illustrator, painter and publisher Hugo Reinhold Karl Johann Höppener (October 8, 1868 – February 23, 1948). He was a symbolist artist, whose work directly influenced the psychedelic style of graphi ...
-Projekt (in German) * {{DEFAULTSORT:Leopold Ferdinand, Prince Of Tuscany, Archduke 1868 births 1935 deaths House of Habsburg-Lorraine Austrian princes Heirs apparent who never acceded People from Salzburg Knights of the Golden Fleece of Austria Sons of monarchs