Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor

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Francis I in Austrian coronation regalia, 1832

Austrian thaler of Francis II, dated 1821. By the time the coin was minted, he had abdicated the title of "Holy Roman Emperor," and his title had changed to Francis I of Austria. The Latin inscription is (obverse) FRANCISCVS I, D[EI] G[RATIA] AVSTRIAE IMPERATOR (reverse) HVN[GARIAE] BOH[EMIAE] LOMB[ARDIAE] ET VEN[ETIARUM] GAL[ICIAE] LOD[OMERIA] IL[LYRIAE] REX A[RCHIDUX] A[VUSTRIAE] 1821, or in English, "Francis I, by the Grace of God, Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary, Bohemia, Lombardy-Venetia, Galicia, Lodomeria, and Illyria, Archduke of Austria 1821."

Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor (German language: Franz II, Heiliger Römischer Kaiser) also referred to as Francis I, Emperor of Austria (February 12, 1768 – March 2, 1835) was the last Holy Roman Emperor, ruling from 1792 until August 6, 1806, when the Holy Roman Empire was disbanded. In 1804 he founded the Austrian Empire and therein he became Francis I (German: Franz I.), first Emperor of Austria (ruling from 1804 to 1835). Therefore he was the one and only double-emperor (German: Doppelkaiser) in history.

He was a son of Leopold II of the Holy Roman Empire (1747 – 1792) and his wife Maria Luisa of Spain (1745 – 1792).

[edit] Biography

As the leader of a large multi-ethnic empire, Francis felt threatened by Napoleon's call for liberty and equality in Europe. Francis had a rocky relationship with France. His aunt Marie Antoinette died under the guillotine at the beginning of his reign. Later, he led Austria into the French Revolutionary Wars and was defeated by Napoleon. By the Treaty of Campo Formio, he ceded the left bank of the Rhine to France in exchange for Venice and Dalmatia. He again fought against France during the Second Coalition, and, after meeting crushing defeat at Austerlitz, agreed to the Treaty of Pressburg, which effectively dissolved the Holy Roman Empire, weakening the Austrian Empire and reorganizing present-day Germany under a Napoleonic imprint.

In 1809, Francis attacked France again, hoping to take advantage of the conflict embroiling Napoleon in Spain. He was again defeated, and this time forced to ally himself with Napoleon, ceding territory to the Empire, joining the Continental System, and wedding his daughter Marie-Louise to the Emperor. Francis essentially became a vassal of the Emperor of the French. The Napoleonic wars drastically weakened Austria and reduced its prestige, which would lead to Prussia's acquiring the edge in the contest for dominance of Germany.

In 1813, for the fourth and final time, Austria turned against France and joined Britain, Russia, and Prussia in their war against Napoleon. Austria played a major role in the final defeat of France—in recognition of this, Francis, represented by Clemens von Metternich, presided over the Congress of Vienna, helping to form the Concert of Europe and the Holy Alliance, ushering in an era of conservatism and reactionism in Europe. The German Confederation, a loose association of Central European states was created by the Congress of Vienna in 1815 to organize the surviving states of the Holy Roman Empire. The federal diet met at Frankfurt under Austrian presidency (in fact the Habsburg Emperor was represented by an Austrian 'presidential envoy').

[edit] Ancestors

[edit] Marriage

He married four times:

First, on January 6, 1788, to Elisabeth of Württemberg (April 21, 1767 – February 18, 1790), who died bearing a short-lived daughter, Ludovika (1790-1791)

Secondly, on August 15, 1790, to his first cousin Maria Teresa of the Two Sicilies (June 6, 1772 – April 13, 1807), daughter of King Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies and his double first cousin (both were grandchildren of Empress Maria Theresa and shared all of their other grandparents in common), with whom he had twelve children, but only seven reached adulthood:

• Marie-Louise (1791-1847), wife of Napoleon Bonaparte.
• Ferdinand I (1793-1875), his successor.
• Maria Leopoldina (1797- 1826), who married Pedro I of Brazil.
• Maria Clementina (1798-1881), who married her maternal uncle Prince Leopoldo of the Two Sicilies (son of King Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies).
• Marie Caroline (1801-1832), who married King Friedrich August II of Saxony.
• Franz Karl (1802-1878) , whose children included Franz Joseph I of Austria and Maximilian I of Mexico
• Maria Anna (1804-1858).

Thirdly, on January 6, 1808, he married again to another first cousin, Maria Ludovika of Austria-Este (December 14, 1787 – April 7, 1816) with no issue. She was the daughter of Archduke Ferdinand of Austria-Este and Maria Beatrice d'Este, Princess of Modena.

And lastly, on October 29, 1816, to Karoline Charlotte Auguste of Bavaria (February 8, 1792 – February 9, 1873) with no issue. She was daughter of Maximilian I of Bavaria and had been previously married to William I of Württemberg.

He is buried in tomb number 57 in the Imperial Crypt in Vienna, surrounded by his four wives.

After 1806 he used the titles: "We, Francis the First, by the grace of God Emperor of Austria; King of Jerusalem, Hungary, Bohemia, Dalmatia, Croatia, Slavonia, Galicia and Lodomeria; Archduke of Austria; Duke of Lorraine, Salzburg, Würzburg, Franconia, Styria, Carinthia and Carniola; Grand Duke of Cracow; Grand Prince of Transylvania; Margrave of Moravia; Duke of Sandomir, Masovia, Lublin, Upper and Lower Silesia, Auschwitz and Zator, Teschen and Friule; Prince of Berchtesgaden and Mergentheim; Princely Count of Habsburg, Gorizia and Gradisca and of the Tyrol; and Margrave of Upper and Lower Lusatia and in Istria".

Names in other languages: German: Franz II./I., Czech: František I., Slovak: František I., Hungarian: I. Ferenc, Croatian: Franjo I., Italian: Francesco II./I., Slovenian Franc.

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