Archduke Ludwig Viktor
Full nameGerman: Ludwig Viktor Joseph Anton von Österreich
English: Louis Victor Joseph Anthony of Austria
Birth date15 May 1842
Birth placeHofburg Palace, Vienna, Austrian Empire
Death date18 January 1919 (aged 76)
Death placeSchloss Klessheim, Austria
Burial placeSiezenheim Cemetery
HouseHabsburg-Lorraine
FatherArchduke Franz Karl of Austria
MotherPrincess Sophie of Bavaria

Archduke Ludwig Viktor Joseph Anton of Austria (15 May 1842 – 18 January 1919) was the youngest child of Archduke Franz Karl of Austria and Princess Sophie of Bavaria, and the youngest brother of Emperor Franz Joseph I. He had a military career, as was usual for archdukes, but did not take part in politics. He was openly homosexual and declined to marry princesses who were sought for him. He is well known for his art collection and patronage as well as philanthropy.

Family

Ludwig Viktor was born in Vienna. He was the youngest son born to Archduke Franz Karl of Austria and Princess Sophie of Bavaria. His elder siblings included Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria, Emperor Maximilian I of Mexico, and Archduke Karl Ludwig. His family called him by the nickname "Luziwuzi".[1]

Career

Archduke Ludwig Viktor of Austria
Monarchical
ReferenceHis Imperial and Royal Highness
SpokenYour Imperial and Royal Highness

During the Revolutions of 1848 in the Austrian Empire and the Vienna Uprising, Ludwig Viktor and his family had to flee the Austrian capital, at first to Innsbruck, later to Olomouc. Ludwig Viktor pursued the usual military career and was appointed General of the Infantry, but had no intentions to interfere in politics. He rejected his brother Maximilian's ambitions in the Second Mexican Empire. Instead he concentrated on building up his own art collection and had Heinrich von Ferstel design and build a city palace on the new Schwarzenbergplatz in Vienna, where Ludwig Viktor hosted homophile soirées.

Personal life

Ludwig Viktor's mother attempted to arrange a marriage for him with Duchess Sophie Charlotte in Bavaria, youngest sister of Empress Elisabeth, but he declined. He likewise rejected plans to marry him to Princess Isabel, daughter and heir presumptive of Emperor Pedro II of Brazil. In 1863, Ludwig Viktor's brother Maximilian had tried to persuade him to marry her because "such a marriage might found yet another Habsburg dynasty in Latin America.... Maximilian wrote to Franz Joseph that Ludwig Viktor was 'anything but pleased with the idea,'" and asked Franz Joseph to order Ludwig Viktor to marry her. Franz Joseph refused.[2]

Ludwig Viktor was "a homosexual and cross-dresser with a reputation as a libertine."[3] After a scandalous incident at the Central Bathhouse Vienna in which he was publicly slapped,[4][5] his brother Emperor Franz Joseph finally forbade him to stay in Vienna and joked that he should be given a ballerina as adjutant to keep him out of trouble.

Ludwig Viktor retired to Schloss Klessheim near Salzburg where he became known as a philanthropist and patron of the arts. He died in 1919, at the age of 76, and is buried at the Siezenheim cemetery. He was the last surviving grandchild of Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor.

Honours

He received the following orders and decorations:[6]

References

  1. ^ "Ludwig Viktor – Erzherzog "Luziwuzi"" (in German). Die Welt der Habsburger. Retrieved 2022-04-18.
  2. ^ Shawcross, Edward, The Last Emperor of Mexico, New York: Basic Books, 2021, pp. 92-93.
  3. ^ Shawcross, Edward, The Last Emperor of Mexico, New York: Basic Books, 2021, p. 92.
  4. ^ Kastl, Robert. "Gay and Lesbian Life in Vienna". Archived from the original on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 25 June 2007.
  5. ^ "Ludwig Viktor – Erzherzog "Luziwuzi"" (in German). Die Welt der Habsburger. Retrieved 2022-04-18.
  6. ^ "Genealogie des Allerhöchsten Herrscherhauses", "Hof- und Staatshandbuch der Österreichisch-Ungarischen Monarchie", 1918, p. 3, retrieved 28 August 2020
  7. ^ "Ritter-Orden", "Hof- und Staatshandbuch der Österreichisch-Ungarischen Monarchie", 1912, pp. 50, 53, retrieved 28 August 2020
  8. ^ The London Gazette, issue 27604, p. 6147
  9. ^ "Schwarzer Adler-orden", "Königlich Preussische Ordensliste" (in German), Vol. 1, 1886, p. 6, – via hathitrust.org
  10. ^ Italia : Ministero dell'interno (1898). Calendario generale del Regno d'Italia. Unione tipografico-editrice. p. 53
  11. ^ Hof- und Staats-Handbuch des Königreich Bayern (1908), "Königliche Orden" p. 8
  12. ^ Staatshandbuch für den Freistaat Sachsen: 1865/66. Heinrich. 1866. p. 4.
  13. ^ "Real y distinguida orden de Carlos III", "Guía Oficial de España", 1911, p. 168, retrieved 23 July 2020
  14. ^ Hof- und Staats-Handbuch des Königreich Württemberg (1907), "Königliche Orden" p. 27
  15. ^ "Sveriges Statskalender" (in Swedish), 1905, p. 440, retrieved 6 January 2018, – via runeberg.org
  16. ^ Royal Thai Government Gazette (8 January 1898). "พระราชทานเครื่องราชอิสริยาภรณ์ ที่ประเทศยุโรป" (in Thai). Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 8 May 2019.
  17. ^ Hof- und Staats-Handbuch des Großherzogtum Hessen (1879), "Großherzogliche Orden und Ehrenzeichen" p. 11
  18. ^ Staatshandbuch für das Großherzogtum Sachsen / Sachsen-Weimar-Eisenach (1869), "Großherzogliche Hausorden" p. 12 Archived 8 June 2020 at the Wayback Machine
  19. ^ Hof- und Staatshandbuch des Herzogtums Braunschweig für das Jahr 1897, "Herzogliche Orden Heinrich des Löwen" p. 10
  • Helmut Neuhold: Das andere Habsburg. Homoerotik im österreichischen Kaiserhaus, Tectum-Verlag