Franz_und_Ernestine_Thun_Hohenstein_1901_Pietzner

Prince Franz Anton von Thun und Hohenstein (; 2 September 1847 in

Děčín Děčín (; ) is a city in the Ústí nad Labem Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 46,000 inhabitants. It is the seventth largest municipality in the country by area. Děčín is an important traffic junction. Administrative division Děč ...

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; ; ) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. In a narrow, geographic sense, it roughly encompasses the territories of present-day Czechia that fall within the Elbe River's drainage basin, but historic ...

– 1 November 1916 in

) was an Austro-Hungarian nobleman and a statesman. He served as the Habsburg monarchy's Governor of his native Bohemia from 1889 to 1896 and again from 1911 to 1915. He was also briefly the 15th

Minister-President of Austria The minister-president of Austria was the head of government of the Austrian Empire from 1848, when the office was created in the course of the March Revolution. Previously, executive power rested with an Austrian State Council, headed by the emp ...

and Minister of the Interior from 1898 to 1899.

Biography

Like most members of the House of Thun und Hohenstein, he belonged to the Federalist party, and his appointment in 1889 as governor of Bohemia was the cause of grave dissatisfaction to the German Austrians. He took a leading part in the negotiation of 1890 for the Bohemian settlement, but the elections of 1891, in which the

Young Czechs The Young Czech Party (, officially National Liberal Party, ''Národní strana svobodomyslná'') was formed in the Bohemian crown land of Austria-Hungary in 1874. It initiated the democratization of Czech political parties and led to the establi ...

who were opposed to the

feudal Feudalism, also known as the feudal system, was a combination of legal, economic, military, cultural, and political customs that flourished in Middle Ages, medieval Europe from the 9th to 15th centuries. Broadly defined, it was a way of struc ...

party gained a decisive victory, made his position a very difficult one. Contrary to expectation, he showed great energy in suppressing disorder; but after the proclamation of a state of siege his position became untenable, and in 1895 he had to resign. On the resignation of Badeni in 1898 he was made minister president, an office which he held for little more than a year. Although he succeeded in bringing to a conclusion the negotiations with

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

, the support he gave to the

Czechs The Czechs (, ; singular Czech, masculine: ''Čech'' , singular feminine: ''Češka'' ), or the Czech people (), are a West Slavs, West Slavic ethnic group and a nation native to the Czech Republic in Central Europe, who share a common Bohemia ...

and

Slovenia Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...

ns increased the opposition of the Germans to such a degree that parliamentary government became impossible, and at the end of 1899 he was dismissed. His sympathy towards the

Czech people The Czechs (, ; singular Czech, masculine: ''Čech'' , singular feminine: ''Češka'' ), or the Czech people (), are a West Slavic ethnic group and a nation native to the Czech Republic in Central Europe, who share a common ancestry, culture, ...

was responsible for a minor diplomatic spat between Austria-Hungary and the

German Empire The German Empire (),; ; World Book, Inc. ''The World Book dictionary, Volume 1''. World Book, Inc., 2003. p. 572. States that Deutsches Reich translates as "German Realm" and was a former official name of Germany. also referred to as Imperia ...

when the

Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...

n government deported some of its migrant Czech and Polish workers in 1899. The incident was part of an overall cooling of relations between the two empires at the end of the 19th century.F. R. Bridge, ''The Habsburg Monarchy Among the Great Powers, 1815-1918. Pg. 237, 412.''

Personal life

In 1874, he was firstly married in Prague to Princess Anna Maria Gabriela of Schwarzenberg (1854–1898), daughter of Karl III Prince of Schwarzenberg and his wife, Princess Wilhelmine of

Oettingen-Wallerstein The House of Oettingen was a high-ranking noble Franconian and Swabian family. It ruled various estates that composed the County of Oettingen between the 12th century and the beginning of the 19th century. In 1674 the house was raised to the rank ...

(1833-1910). The marriage remained childless. He married for the second time in 1901 to his distant cousin, Countess Ernestine Gabriele von Thun und Hohenstein (1858–1948), widow of Count Eugen

Wratislaw of Mitrovic The Wratislaw of Mitrovice or Vratislav of Mitrovice (; ) is a Bohemian nobility, Bohemian noble family. The first mentioned member of the family is Wratislaw, who acquired the estate of Mezno, Mitrovice in 1448. The family gradually gained sign ...

(1855–1897). She was daughter of Count Joseph Oswald von Thun und Hohenstein (1817-1883) and his wife, Altgräfin Johanna of Salm-Reifferscheidt-Bedburg (1827-1892). They had one daughter, Countess Anna Maria Wilhelmine (1903–1943), who married her first cousin once removed, Baron Wolfgang von Thienen-Adlerflycht (1896–1942) and got Castle Neuhaus near

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 ...

as a wedding present. Thun was rumoured to seek extramarital affairs in the circles of

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

National Theatre. He was very unpopular among Czech patriots and they often slandered him but there are allusions to his adventures in many memoirs. He was said to be a lover and a patron of dancer Enrichetta Grimaldi and actress

Maria Pospischil Maria Pospischil (born Marie Terezie Vondřichová; 23 January 1862 – 28 May 1943), was one of the great stage actresses of the 19th century, active on German and Czech stage. She was also a writer and theatre director with several appeara ...

.Původní dopis z Čech, '' In. Amerikán. 1895/34, 8 May 1895. p. 14.'' Writer

Viktor Dyk Viktor Dyk (; 31 December 1877 – 14 May 1931) was a nationalist Czech poet, prose writer, playwright, politician and political writer. He was sent to jail during the First World War for opposing the Austro-Hungarian empire. He was one of the sig ...

satirically described their liaison in his novel ''The Fingers of Habakkuk''.Viktor Dyk, ''Prsty Habakukovy. p. 186.''

Titles and honours

Titles

He was raised to Princely rank by Emperor

Franz Joseph I of Austria 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 ...

on 19 July 1911. As he had only one daughter, upon his death in 1916 the Princely title was inherited by his brother, Prince Jaroslav von Thun und Hohenstein (1864–1929), uncle and legal guardian of the Hohenbergs, children of the murdered

Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria Archduke Franz Ferdinand Carl Ludwig Joseph Maria of Austria (18 December 1863 – 28 June 1914) was the heir presumptive to the throne of Austria-Hungary. His Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, assassination in Sarajevo was the ...

and his

morganatic Morganatic marriage, sometimes called a left-handed marriage, is a marriage between people of unequal social rank, which in the context of royalty or other inherited title prevents the principal's position or privileges being passed to the spous ...

wife,

Sophie, Duchess of Hohenberg Sophie, Duchess of Hohenberg (; ; 1 March 1868 – 28 June 1914) was the wife of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne. Their assassination in Sarajevo sparked a series of events that led, four weeks later ...

, who was sister of Jaroslav's wife Countess Maria Pia Chotek von Wognin (1863-1905).

Orders and decorations

References

External links

Ottův slovník naučný

Ottův slovník naučný nové doby
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thun Und Hohenstein, Franz 1847 births 1916 deaths 19th-century minister-presidents of Austria People from Děčín German Bohemian people Franz Anton Czech monarchists Knights of the Golden Fleece of Austria Grand Crosses of the Order of Saint Stephen of Hungary Knights of Malta Knights Grand Cross of the Order of Pope Pius IX Knights Grand Cross of the Order of St Gregory the Great Politicians from Austria-Hungary