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

Prince of Liechtenstein The prince regnant of Liechtenstein (german: Fürst von und zu Liechtenstein) is the monarch and head of state of Liechtenstein.Principality of Liechtenstein Family - Die fürstliche Familie (in German) The Liechtenstein family, after which t ...

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 Franziska Kinsky in Liechtenstein Castle. He attended the

University of Vienna The University of Vienna (german: Universität Wien) is a public research university located in Vienna, Austria. It was founded by Duke Rudolph IV in 1365 and is the oldest university in the German-speaking world. With its long and rich hi ...

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

Austro-Hungarian Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1 ...

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 s ...

to the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War ...

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

Order of the Golden Fleece The Distinguished Order of the Golden Fleece ( es, Insigne Orden del Toisón de Oro, german: Orden vom Goldenen Vlies) is a Catholic order of chivalry founded in Bruges by Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, in 1430, to celebrate his marriag ...

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

. He fell in love with

Elisabeth von Gutmann Elisabeth Sarolta von Gutmann (6 January 187528 September 1947) was princess consort of Liechtenstein from 1929 to 1938 as the wife of Prince Franz I of Liechtenstein. Early life Elisabeth (also known as Elsa) was born at Vienna, Austria-Hu ...

, a widow who had converted to

Roman Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

from

Judaism Judaism ( he, ''Yahăḏūṯ'') is an Abrahamic, monotheistic, and ethnic religion comprising the collective religious, cultural, and legal tradition and civilization of the Jewish people. It has its roots as an organized religion in th ...

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 Gracio ...

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

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

. 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 (german: Franz Joseph Otto Robert Maria Anton Karl Max Heinrich Sixtus Xaver Felix Renatus Ludwig Gaetan Pius Ignatius, hu, Ferenc József Ottó Róbert Mária Antal Károly Max Heinrich Sixtus Xaver Felix Renatus Lajos Gaetan ...

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

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to ...

. An extradition treaty was also signed between Liechtenstein and the United States. He had no children so his nephew Prince Aloys was next in line, but Aloys removed himself from the line of succession in favor of his son, Franz Joseph, in 1923. On 31 March 1938, he made his grandnephew Franz Joseph his regent following the

Anschluss The (, or , ), also known as the (, en, Annexation of Austria), was the annexation of the Federal State of Austria into the German Reich on 13 March 1938. The idea of an (a united Austria and Germany that would form a " Greater Germa ...

. After making his grandnephew regent he moved to Feldberg,

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

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 (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

were to invade.

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. Knights of the Burgundian Golden Fleece 15th Century !Year of Induction!!Name!!Born!!Died!!Notes , - , rowspan=25, 1430, , Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, , 1396, , ...

, ''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 Ambassadors of Austria-Hungary to Russia Austro-Hungarian diplomats Charles University alumni Liechtenstein Roman Catholics Princes of Liechtenstein University of Vienna alumni Knights of the Golden Fleece of Austria Knights of Malta