Instruct: Given a question, retrieve documents that can help answer the question.
Query: Who was the emperor of Austria during the Seven Weeks War?
The pretext for the conflict was found in the dispute between Prussia and Austria over the administration of Schleswig-Holstein, which the two of them had conquered from Denmark and agreed to jointly occupy at the end of the Second Schleswig War in 1864. When Austria brought the dispute before the German Diet and also decided to convene the Diet of Holstein, Prussia declared that the Gastein Convention had thereby been nullified and invaded Holstein. When the German Diet responded by voting for a partial mobilization against Prussia, Bismarck claimed that the German Confederation was ended. Crown Prince Frederick "was the only member of the Prussian Crown Council to uphold the rights of the Duke of Augustenburg and oppose the idea of a war with Austria which he described as fratricide". Although he supported unification and the restoration of the medieval empire, "Fritz could not accept that war was the right way to unite Germany."[6]
Following the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria by Serb nationalists of the Black Hand secret society on 28 June 1914, Austria delivered the July Ultimatum to Serbia demanding that the Austrian police and military have the right to enter Serbia. Serbia rejected the ultimatum and on 28 July 1914, Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia. On August 6, the Emperor Franz Joseph signed the Austro-Hungarian declaration of war on Russia, who had since 1 August been at war with Germany, the ally of Austria. Russia and Austria would fight to the point of exhaustion on the bloody Eastern Front. The war ended with the overthrow of monarchy in both countries, as well as in Germany, and the dissolution of their empires.
For several centuries, Central Europe was split into a few large- or medium-sized states and hundreds of tiny entities, which while ostensibly being within the Holy Roman Empire ruled by the Holy Roman Emperor, operated in a largely independent fashion. When an existing Emperor died seven secular and ecclesiastical princes would elect a new Emperor. Over time the Empire became smaller and by 1789 came to consist of primarily German peoples (aside from Bohemia, Tyrol, the southern Netherlands and Slovenia). Aside from five years (1740-1745), the Habsburg family, whose personal territory was Austria, controlled the Emperorship from 1440 to 1806, although it became increasingly ceremonial only as Austria found itself at war at certain times with other states within the Empire, such as Prussia, which in fact defeated Austria during the War of Austrian Succession to seize the state of Silesia in 1742. While Austria was traditionally considered the leader of the German states, Prussia became increasingly powerful and by the late 18th century was ranked as one of the great powers of Europe. Francis II's abolition of the office of Holy Roman Emperor in 1806 also deprived him of his imperial authority over most of German-speaking Europe, though little true authority remained by that time; he did, however, retain firm control of an extensive multi-ethnic empire (most of it outside the previous boundaries of the Holy Roman Empire). After 1815, the German states were once again reorganized into a loose confederation: the German Confederation, under Austrian leadership.[5]
In the meantime Matthias continued his war against the Emperor. The "Black Army" seized several towns in Lower Austria, including Laa an der Thaya, and Stein in 1485 and 1486. He set up his chancery for Lower Austria in 1486 but he never introduced a separate seal for this realm. Matthias assumed the title of Duke of Austria at the Diet of the Lower Austrian Estates in Ebenfurth in 1487. He appointed Stephen Zápolya captain-general, Urban Nagylucsei administrator of the Archdiocese of Vienna, and entrusted the defence of the occupied towns and forts to Hungarian and Bohemian captains, but otherwise continued to employ Emperor Frederick's officials who accepted his rule. Wiener Neustadt, the last town resisting Matthias in Lower Austria, fell to him on 17 August 1487. He started negotiations with Duke Albert III of Saxony, who arrived at the head of the imperial army to fight for Emperor Frederick III. They signed a six-month armistice in Sankt Pölten on 16 December, which ended the war.
The War Cross for Civil Merits () was a civil award of Austria-Hungary. Established on 16 August 1915 by Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria, it recognized civilian war service during World War I. The cross could also be awarded to military officers for their contributions to the war but were not directly involved in combat operations.
Lower Austria (Austria proper) passed to Ferdinand's 1st son Maximilian:
Upper Austria (Tyrol, Further Austria) passed to Emperor Ferdinand's 2nd son Ferdinand:
Inner Austria ("Inner-Österreich") (Styria, Carinthia and Carniola) passed to Emperor Ferdinand's 3rd son Charles:
The Austrian territories were reunited again by inheritance in 1619 under Ferdinand III, Archduke of Inner Austria, but in 1623 five years into the Thirty Years' War he had so much to do with, Ferdinand divided them yet again, when he made his younger brother Leopold, who had been governor over Upper Austria, Archduke of those territories.
This line of Emperors lasted until 1806 when Francis II dissolved the Empire during the Napoleonic Wars. Despite the existence of later potentates styling themselves "emperor", such as the Napoleons, the Habsburg Emperors of Austria, and the Hohenzollern heads of the German Reich, this marked the end of the Western Empire. Although there is a living heir, Karl von Habsburg, to the Habsburg dynasty, as well as a Pope and pretenders to the positions of the electors, and although all the medieval coronation regalia are still preserved in Austria, the legal abolition of all aristocratic prerogatives of the former electors and the imposition of republican constitutions in Germany and Austria render quite remote any potential for a revival of the Holy Roman Empire.
Austria, defeated by France in the War of the Second Coalition and forced to accept a French client state in Italy, planned to take revenge. In November 1804, Austria made a secret alliance with the Russian Empire whereby Austria's 235,000 soldiers would be supported by 115,000 Russian troops and financial backing from Great Britain. The head of the Austrian army, Feldmarschall Archduke Charles, Duke of Teschen believed his soldiers were not ready for war, but the pro-war faction at the court of Emperor Francis I of Austria outmaneuvered him.
Feldmarschall-Leutnant Karl Mack von Lieberich, who had the full confidence of the emperor, became largely responsible for developing Austria's war plan. Mack's strategy called for 120,000 troops in Italy commanded by Charles, 25,000 in the County of Tyrol under Archduke John of Austria, 70,000 in Bavaria under Feldmarschall-Leutnant Archduke Ferdinand Karl Joseph of Austria-Este, and 20,000 in reserve. Mack would accompany Ferdinand's force, which would be joined by a Russian army and attack across the Rhine River into France. Charles would sweep across Italy and invade southern France. It was hoped that the Kingdom of Prussia could be induced to join the coalition. Mack convinced Emperor Francis I that he should invade Bavaria first, while Charles marked time in Italy. The general believed that by the time Napoleon intervened in Bavaria, the Russian army would have arrived to help the Austrians. This erroneous assumption caused Mack and the war hawks to fall into "a comedy of errors". Foreseeing trouble with Mack's plan, Charles talked the emperor into transferring 30,000 soldiers from Italy to Germany, but these troops would arrive too late to remedy the situation.
A brief respite in French-Habsburg enmity occurred during the Seven Years' War in 1756. The Seven Years' War involved Prussia, Great Britain, Russia, France, and Austria. These latter three nations became allies for the first time in several hundred years. This alliance was sealed with the marriage of Austrian princess Marie Antoinette to the French Dauphin, who later became King Louis XVI. The war is often said to be a continuation of the War of the Austrian Succession, which was fought in 1740. France and Austria, along with Russia, fought against Great Britain and Prussia.
When Austria and Prussia did go to war in 1866 (the so-called Seven Weeks' War), the result was a shock to Europe. Prussia quickly defeated Austria and her allies, forcing Austria to the negotiating table. Napoleon III offered to mediate, and the result, the Treaty of Prague, dissolved the German Confederation in favour of a Prussian-dominated organisation, the North German Confederation.
She, as leader of the war party in Austria, was a great enemy of the French Emperor Napoleon I of France and therefore also in opposition to the Austrian foreign minister Prince Klemens Wenzel von Metternich. The French had protested against the marriage because of her political views. She had considerable influence on her husband, and her talent at ruling marvelled many officials, including the Prussian minister who considered her the ruling genius at court. Maria Ludovika was also immensely popular with her subjects who hailed her a second Maria Theresa. Together with her brother-in-law Archduke Johann, she made the war effort popular. During her coronation in Pressburg, she impressed the Hungarians so much that they declared large financial and military support for the monarchy if needed. But the Emperor hesitated and Archduke Karl who had extensive control over military matters advised caution. Only the effects of the Spanish revolt in 1808 allowed the war party to prevail.
The Confederation was finally dissolved after the Prussian victory in the Seven Weeks' War over Austria in 1866. The dispute over which had the inherent right to rule German lands ended in favour of Prussia, leading to the creation of the North German Confederation under Prussian leadership in 1867, to which the eastern portions of the Kingdom of Prussia were added. A number of South German states remained independent until they joined the North German Confederation, which was renamed and proclaimed as the "German Empire" in 1871 for the now unified Germany with the Prussian king as emperor (Kaiser) after the victory over French Emperor Napoleon III in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870.
In the 19th century the estate passed to Francis V, Duke of Modena, who in turn left it to the Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria. During the First World War the castle was inherited by Charles I of Austria, the last Emperor of Austria-Hungary, but it was sequestered as war reparations by the Italian State, which sold it in 1926 to the Dalla Francesca family, who currently open it to the public.
In the attempt to satisfy Austria at the time, Britain gave their electoral vote in Hanover for the candidacy of Maria Theresa's son, Joseph II, as the Holy Roman Emperor, much to the dismay of Frederick and Prussia. Not only that, Britain would soon join the Austro-Russian alliance, but complications arose. Britain's basic framework for the alliance itself was to protect Hanover's interests against France. At the same time, Kaunitz kept approaching the French in the hope of establishing just such an alliance with Austria. Not only that, France had no intention to ally with Russia, who, years earlier, had meddled in France's affairs during Austria's succession war. France also saw the dismemberment of Prussia as threatening to the stability of Central Europe.
Austria's defeat in the Seven Weeks War forced Austria to determine a new set of foreign and domestic policies for the future, as Austria's interests since the days of the Holy Roman Empire had primarily been found in Italy and Germany. The Empire thus reformed itself into the Austria-Hungarian Empire following the adoption of the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867 (German: "Ausgleich"), which re-established the sovereignty of the Kingdom of Hungary and placed Hungarians within the Empire on an equal footing with Austrians. Under the "Ausgleich", Emperor Franz Joseph I would be crowned as King of Hungary, while a separate parliament at Pest with powers to enact laws for the lands of the Holy Crown of Hungary would be established.
The Karl Troop Cross () was instituted on 13 December 1916 by Emperor Karl I of Austria-Hungary. The cross was awarded until the end of the First World War to soldiers of the Austro-Hungarian Army, regardless of rank, who had been with a combatant unit for at least twelve weeks and who had actually served at the front.
This intervention in America was not possible without France adopting a neutral position in European affairs in order not to be drawn into a continental war which would be simply a repetition of the French policy mistakes in the Seven Years' War. Vergennes supported by King Louis refused to go to War to support Austria in the Bavarian Succession crisis in 1778, when Austrian Holy Roman Emperor, Joseph, tried to control parts of Bavaria. Vergennes and Maurepas refused to support the Austrian position, but the intervention of Marie Antoinette in favor of Austria obliged France to adopt a position more favorable to Austria, which in the treaty of Teschen was able to get in compensation a territory whose population numbered around 100,000 persons. However, this intervention was a disaster for the image of the Queen, who was named "l'Autrichienne" (a pun in French meaning "Austrian", but the "chienne" suffix can mean "bitch") on account of it.[34]
Most of Austria's best known TV stars are working for ORF. According to surveys the most prominent television presenter in the country is former alpine skier who is the host of the ', Austria's version of "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?" , a former MTV presenter is hosting Austria's edition of "Dancing With the Stars". The most popular comedy show on ORF is ' ("We are Emperor") with comedian playing Emperor Robert Heinrich I, inviting celebrity guests to make fun of them. The best known news anchors are talk show host who was given seven Romy awards as most popular presenter; who is best known for his hard-hitting interviews on the late evening news show "ZiB 2"; and , moderator of the weekly political magazine "Report".
Prussia established its domination over other German states by its victory over Austria in the Seven Weeks' War in 1866. The critical battle was waged at Königgrätz (Hradec Králové in the present-day Czech Republic). The Austrians armed with muzzle-loading rifles sustained 20,000 casualties and lost 20,000 prisoners. The battle overshadowed Austria's victories over Prussia's Italian allies at Custoza and in the naval Battle of Lissa (Vis) off the Dalmatian coast in which a smaller Austrian fleet of ironclads overcame the Italians by ramming them. Following the end of the Seven Weeks' War, Austria experienced fifty years of peace until World War I broke out in 1914.
Austria–Hungary drafted 9 million soldiers in World War I, of which 4 million were from the kingdom of Hungary.
During the First World War, Austria–Hungary fought on the side of Germany, Bulgaria and Ottoman Empire– the so-called Central Powers. They conquered Serbia easily, and Romania declared war. The Central Powers then conquered Southern Romania and the Romanian capital of Bucharest. In November 1916, Emperor Franz Joseph died; the new monarch, Emperor Charles I of Austria ("IV. Károly"), sympathized with the pacifists in his realm.
During the First Silesian War (1740–42), the Emperor Charles VII had sought a "Reichsexekution" against Prussia, but the diet refused. The war over Silesia was regarded as a dynastic conflict between Prussia and Austria in which the empire itself should not intervene. During his brief reign, the Emperor Charles VII (1742–45) sought a declaration of "Reichskrieg" against Austria, although the latter had not breached imperial law and there was therefore no justification. The pro-Austrian elector of Mainz, Johann Friedrich Karl von Ostein, tabled a formal protest in the Imperial Diet on 23 September 1743 alleging that the election of Charles VII had been irregular. In such a situation, there was no chance of the diet agreeing to the emperor's proposal for a "Reichskrieg" against Austria. The Second Silesian War (1744–45) thus also went by without any imperial action. The Third Silesian War (1756–63), however, became wrapped in a global war of great power politics, the Seven Years' War, and Prussia could not escape an imperial action.
In 1764, at the behest of Empress Maria Theresa of Austria, a complete survey of the Habsburg lands was begun, initiated by the general staff of the Imperial and Royal Army under Field Marshal Count Leopold Joseph von Daun, who had become aware of the lack of reliable maps in the Seven Years' War. Maria Theresa's son Emperor Joseph II ordered the implication of a complete urbarium for property tax purposes in 1785. The present-day cadastre was completed after the Napoleonic Wars from 1817 onwards under Emperor Francis I of Austria ("Franziszeischer Kataster"). Since then, the Austrian (i.e. Cisleithanian) crown lands were subdivided in "Katastralgemeinden"; surveying in the Hungarian (Transleithanian) lands started in 1850. Municipalities as administrative subdivisions with certain rights of self-governance were not established until after the 1848 revolutions.
The influence of the Austro-Hungarian War Minister was limited, due to the rivalry between the Austrian Minister-President and the Prime Minister of Hungary. Moreover, it was the Emperor who acted as commander-in-chief of the Imperial and Royal Armed Might, served by his personal military chancellery and represented by an Inspector General, since 1869 Field Marshal Archduke Albert of Austria-Teschen. His successor General of the Cavalry and Admiral Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Este in 1906 achieved the dismissal of Minister Pitreich and 76-year-old Chief of the General Staff Friedrich von Beck-Rzikowsky, who was replaced by Franz Ferdinand's confidant Field Marshal Lieutenant Franz Conrad von Hötzendorf. Dismissed in 1911 but again appointed together with Minister Alexander von Krobatin during the 1912 Balkan Wars, Conrad acted autonomously, being directly responsible to the emperor. In the 1914 July Crisis upon the assassination of Franz Ferdinand, he and Krobatin declared the Austro-Hungarian armed forces 'prepared for war'.
He was Grand Master of the following chivalric orders:[54] Order of the Golden Fleece (Orden vom Goldenen Vlies, ex officio as Emperor of Austria) Military Order of Maria Theresa (Militär Maria-Theresien-Orden, ex officio as Emperor of Austria) Royal Hungarian Order of Saint Stephen (Königlich ungarischer St. Stephan-Orden, ex officio as Emperor of Austria) Austrian Imperial Order of Leopold (Leopold-Orden, ex officio as Emperor of Austria) Imperial Order of the Iron Crown (Orden der Eisernen Krone, ex officio as Emperor of Austria) Austrian War Medal Cross of Honour for 50 years of military service Military Cross for the 60th year of the reign
Prior to the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867, the Navy was referred to as the Imperial Austrian Navy or simply the Austrian Navy. It saw action in the French Revolutionary Wars, the Napoleonic Wars, the Second Egyptian–Ottoman War, the First and Second Wars of Italian Independence, the Second Schleswig War, and the Seven Weeks War as well as the simultaneous Third War of Italian Independence. Following Austria's defeat to Prussia and Italy during the Seven Weeks War, the Empire reformed itself into a dual monarchy with the Habsburg monarch ruling as Emperor of Austria over the western and northern half of the country that was the Austrian Empire, and as King of Hungary over the Kingdom of Hungary. The Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867 also transformed the Austrian Navy into the Austro-Hungarian Navy. Largely neglected by the Empire in its early years, the k.u.k. Kriegsmarine grew throughout the late 19th and early 20th centuries to become one of the largest navies in the Adriatic and Mediterranean Seas. By 1914 the k.u.k. Kriegsmarine had a peacetime strength of 20,000 personnel.
The k.u.k. Kriegsmarine saw action in the Boxer Rebellion, and the first shots of World War I were fired by the Austrian monitor "Bodrog", which bombarded Belgrade on 29 July 1914, the day after Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia.