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| Franz Joseph I of Austria @Wikipedia |
Son of: Archduke Franz Karl von Osterreich & Sophie von Bayern.
Husband of: Elisabeth von Bayern.
" . . . Empress Elisabeth is also known to have had a daughter of wedlock, a daughter who was born at the Castle of Sassetot in Normandy: Caroline, who would be later known as the Countess Zanardi Landi. Caroline went to live in the United States, wrote a book titled The Secret of an Empress, and had a daughter who became famous as a Hollywood actress. It's probable that Caroline was the daughter of an English aristocrat, Bay Middleton, with whom Empress Elisabeth went hunting every year." (Emperor Francis Joseph: Life, Death and the Fall of the Habsburg Empire) [Ref1]
Franz Josef's physical appearance & personal qualities. "As entertainer-in-chief to the distinguished crowd, the Emperor of Austria first demands a brief notice. There was little in the appearance of Francis to arouse interest or inspire loyalty. In figure he was small and spare with stooping shoulders' his face was very long, with shrunken features and cold blue eyes surrounded by a narrow forehead. His expression, which never changed, was one of listless indifference. The man's nature was too dull, his consciousness of rank too ever present to allow disaster or success to draw from him a sign of emotion. Francis had been badly educated, and his intellectual capacities were very low. He took no interest in the work of government, or the details of policy. Of art, literature, philosophy; he knew nothing. Admirers have fondly recounted how this lord of many nations spent his leisure time in making varnished boxes and bird-cages. He liked mechanical toys, and in his model of a feudal castle at Laxenburg were dummy sentinels and dungeons, the mimic prisoners in which wrung their hands and groaned by clock-work. He was ond of gardening, and would work for hours at favorite flower-beds; and he had some slight practical knowledge of natural history. . . ." (The Eclectic Magazine of Fireign Literature, Science & Art, Vol 54: 463)
His lovers were:
1) Anna Nahowski (1860-1931)
Lover in 1875-188
Husband of: Elisabeth von Bayern.
" . . . Empress Elisabeth is also known to have had a daughter of wedlock, a daughter who was born at the Castle of Sassetot in Normandy: Caroline, who would be later known as the Countess Zanardi Landi. Caroline went to live in the United States, wrote a book titled The Secret of an Empress, and had a daughter who became famous as a Hollywood actress. It's probable that Caroline was the daughter of an English aristocrat, Bay Middleton, with whom Empress Elisabeth went hunting every year." (Emperor Francis Joseph: Life, Death and the Fall of the Habsburg Empire) [Ref1]
Franz Josef's physical appearance & personal qualities. "As entertainer-in-chief to the distinguished crowd, the Emperor of Austria first demands a brief notice. There was little in the appearance of Francis to arouse interest or inspire loyalty. In figure he was small and spare with stooping shoulders' his face was very long, with shrunken features and cold blue eyes surrounded by a narrow forehead. His expression, which never changed, was one of listless indifference. The man's nature was too dull, his consciousness of rank too ever present to allow disaster or success to draw from him a sign of emotion. Francis had been badly educated, and his intellectual capacities were very low. He took no interest in the work of government, or the details of policy. Of art, literature, philosophy; he knew nothing. Admirers have fondly recounted how this lord of many nations spent his leisure time in making varnished boxes and bird-cages. He liked mechanical toys, and in his model of a feudal castle at Laxenburg were dummy sentinels and dungeons, the mimic prisoners in which wrung their hands and groaned by clock-work. He was ond of gardening, and would work for hours at favorite flower-beds; and he had some slight practical knowledge of natural history. . . ." (The Eclectic Magazine of Fireign Literature, Science & Art, Vol 54: 463)
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| Franz Josef I of Austria @Wikipedia |
His lovers were:
1) Anna Nahowski (1860-1931)
Lover in 1875-188
Wife of: Franz Nahowski., Austrian railway worker, mar 1875.
Natural offspring:
1. Helene Nahowski (1885-?) married composer Alban Berg.
" . . . In 1906, Berg met the singer Helene Nahowski, daughter of a wealthy family .(said by some to be in fact the illegitimate daughter of Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria from his liaison with Anna Nahowski); despite the outward hostility of her family, the two were married on May 3, 1911." (Wikipedia)
2. Franz Joseph (1889-?)
First Encounter: Franz Joseph first met Anna in the park of Schloss Schonbrunn.
Anna's personal & family background
"Anna Nowak married the railway man Franz Nahowski when she was fifteen. He was a drunkard who beat her and eventually she obtained a separation. She was also the mistress of emperor Francis Joseph from 1875 until 1888. She and the emperor had met in the park of the palace Schönbrunn during his daily walk. He usually visited her at her house in the Maxingstrasse, appearing at four in the morning. He came in, made love and then quickly disappeared. Francis Joseph ended this purely sexual affair in 1888, a few years after he had met the actress Katherine Schratt. Her daughter Helena was born on 28 Jul 1885 and she was fathered by the emperor. Helena married the composer Alban Berg in 1911." (androom)
" . . . Franz Joseph was also a sexual predator. When he was sixty years old, walking by himself in a garden close to a country house he had in Hietzig, he encountered a little girl, the daughter of a basket weaver. Franz Joseph raped her and from that encounter Helene Nahowski, future wife of the composer Alban Berg, was born. . . ." (News from the Empire: 669)
"Francis Joseph's lonely existence had been enlivened for some time at Schonbrunn by the company of Anna Nahowski. In 1883 when she gave birth to a daughter named Helene, he gave Anna the sum of 100,000 gulden. Yet though their relationship was to last until the end of the decade, he found the 29-year gap in their ages difficult to bridge, and the fact that they had hardly any interests in common proved an additional barrier. Fortunately the Emperor was about to find a far more congenial companion, one who would be able to lighten the many dark times during hie remaining thirty years of life." (Emperor Francis Joseph: Life, Death and the Fall of the Habsburg Empire)
"True to his ascetic lifestyle, whereby he wore the same old army jacket for decades, Franz-Joseph was said to allow himself only one mistress, Anna Nakowska, wife of a Galician railway official, claimed to have made numerous discreet visits to the Hofburg in the 1870s. She reportedly benefited from discounted railway fares, and her husband from regular promotions. But she was not alone, being superseded in the emperor's affections by his long-term companion, the actress Katharina Schratt. . . ." (Vanished Kingdoms: The History of Half-Forgotten Europe: xvi)
2) Berta von Marwitz (1817-1879)
Lover in 1844.
Lady-in-waiting to Emperor's aunt, Queen Elise of Prussia.
3) Elisabeth Ugarte.
Lover in 1846.
Lady-in-waiting to Emperor's aunt, Queen Elise of Prussia.
3) Elisabeth Ugarte.
Lover in 1846.
" . . . Franz Joseph soon singled out another young beauty, the flaming, dark Countess Ugarte. . . ." (Harding: 19)
Lady Westmoreland, wife of the British ambassador to Berlin, was also impressed by the young ruler. The Emperor, she remarked was 'not handsome, but has a well-built, active figure and a most intelligent and expressive face', while his mother was 'a very interesting person, and is wrapped up in this son, who seems likely to justify the pride she takes in him'. Such approval did not extend to his father, 'a very poor creature, who cares for nothing but having his leisure unmolested'. There was always the risk of a potentially uncomfortable entanglement for such an eligible young bachelor. Any married woman who seemed to be getting too close to His Imperial Majesty was liable to be warned off. Countess Elizabeth Ugarte, a lady of twenty-nine and regular guest, wrote to a friend how she was 'greatly taken up with the Court balls, as I dance each time with our delicious Emperor. It created quite a sensation, as you may bwell believe, when I danced twice with him in the cotillion, and it flattered my vanity. I am charmed by our most delightful monarch, who combines in his person all the virtues one can think of. He is also agreeable in conversation, and improves each time one talks to him.' If Francis Joseph found her amusing company, the Archduchess strongly disapproved. So did Baroness Schamhorst, who sniffed that the Countess danced like a girl of eighteen, but 'lacks the talent to retain his affection', and she soon fell out of favour.' (Emperor Francis Joseph: Life, Death and the Fall of the Habsburg Empire)
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| Helene von Vetsera |
4) Helene von Vetsera (1847-1925)
Lover in 1850.
Austrian aristocrat.
Mother of Marie Vetsera.
Also known as:
Helene Baltazzi
Helena Baltazzi, Baroness Vetsera
Daughter of: Theodore Baltatstsi, a Greek banker & Eliza Sarrell (2nd wife)
Wife of: Albin Ritter von Vetsera (1825-1887) mar 1864.
Daughter of: Theodore Baltatstsi, a Greek banker & Eliza Sarrell (2nd wife)
Wife of: Albin Ritter von Vetsera (1825-1887) mar 1864.
Helene's personal & family background: " . . . In 1864, in the British embassy chapel in Constantinople, Helene Baltazzi, daughter of Theodore Baltazzi, married Albin Vetsera, Austrian consul-general in Smyrna and later Austrian representative on the Caisse de la Dette in Egypt. She was seventeen and had a dowry of 6 million francs; he was thirty-nine. The family moved to Austria. Helene Vetsera's brothers Alexander and Aristide Baltazzi helped found the Vienna Jockey Club, and in 1876 one of the Baltazzis' horses won both the Derby and the Grand Prix in Paris.Their impact was explosive. The love affair of their niece Mary Vetsera with crown Prince Rudolf of Austria led to the lovers's tragic deaths at Mayerling in 1889." (Levant.)
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| Johann Kasimir, Graf von Wartenberg |
5) Johann Kasimir Kolbe, Graf von Wartenberg (1643-1712)
[Bio2: 487]
6) Julia, Countess Hunyadi.
" . . . Outstanding among these was the lovely Countess Julia Hunyadi, with whom the dashing young young Emperor began each cotillion. This little girl, known moire intimately as Juppy, is reported to have had 'a pert nose, pretty bosom, and the ivory shade of a skin peculiar to pure bred Hungarians. Seeing her in a creation of blue tartan, with flowers in her burnished hair, Monsieur Talleyrand of the French Embassy exclaimed: 'A dream of moonlight in the clouds!'" (Harding: 18)
6) Julia, Countess Hunyadi.
" . . . Outstanding among these was the lovely Countess Julia Hunyadi, with whom the dashing young young Emperor began each cotillion. This little girl, known moire intimately as Juppy, is reported to have had 'a pert nose, pretty bosom, and the ivory shade of a skin peculiar to pure bred Hungarians. Seeing her in a creation of blue tartan, with flowers in her burnished hair, Monsieur Talleyrand of the French Embassy exclaimed: 'A dream of moonlight in the clouds!'" (Harding: 18)
7) Katarzyna Branicka, Countess Potocka.
8) Katharina Abel (1856-1904)
German ballerina.
Countess Orssich von Slavetich
Countess Orssich von Slavetich
Wife of: Graf Orssich de Slavetich.
9) Katharina Rickers.
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| Katharina Schratt @ Wikipedia |
10) Katharina Schratt (1853-1940).
Austrian actress & royal mistress.
Lover in 1885-1916.
Wife of Nikolaus Kiss de Ittebe, mar 1879, Hungarian aristocrat
Wife of Nikolaus Kiss de Ittebe, mar 1879, Hungarian aristocrat
"Franz Joseph watched Schratt perform at the 1885 Industrial Exhibition in Vienna and invited her to perform for visiting Czar Alexander III of Russia. She soon became the Emperor’s intimate companion. It was said that Empress Elisabeth actually promoted the relationship between the actress and her husband. Katharina was called the “Uncrowned Empress of Austria” by the media." (revisionist.net)
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| Burgtheater @Wikipedia |
"On a visit to the Burgtheater in 1884 he met and was presented to the actress Katherine Schratt, whom he had seen in The Taming of the Shrew. In 1879 she had married Nicholas Kiss von Itebbe, retired from the stage and given birth to a son. Her husband was a notorious spendthrift, and in 1882 he fled from his creditors, leaving her and their child at the mercy of the bailiffs. Now a single parent, she had little choice but to resume her theatrical career, playing in New York for a time, and with assistance from friends she was soon be able to return to Vienna. Not long after this, she was introduced to the Emperor, and it was noticed that they were often deep in conversation. In the summer of 1885 she accepted a seasonal engagement at Ischl, where he generally celebrated his birthday. On 17 August of that year he was accompanied by the Crown Prince and Princess, Prince Leopold of Bavaria and Archduchess Valerie, to the Kurhaustheater for a birthday evening's entertainment, to see Katherine in Der Verschwender (The Spendthrift)." (Emperor Francis Joseph: Life, Death and the Fall of the Habsburg Empire.)
"Two centuries later Nicholas von Kiss, the dashing but ineffectual husband of Katharina Schratt, mistress of emperor Franz Josef of Austria, was invited by the emperor to join the diplomatic service---a request he dare not refuse. When Nicholas complained of boredom in one locale, Katharina would ask the emperor to transfer him to another. Nicholas periodically visited his wife in Vienna to stuff his pockets with her money before going abroad once more." (Herman: 83)
"Franz Joseph's relations with Frau Schratt, documented by his many letters to her, published after her death in 1940, showed him at his most human. With her, he could relax, be comfortable, forget court ceremony. He loved the homey atmosphere of her house, the Gugelhupf (coffee cake) and comfortable chairs, the gossip and casual conversation about the trifles and trivia. She was thirty-three years old and he fifty-five when their thirty-year relationship began. What kind of relationship was it? To the outside world it was presented as strictly as platonic, but it strains the imagination to accept this official version. Katharina Schratt was separated from her husband, Nikolaus Kiss von Ittebe, because of incompatibility; Franz was, in effect, separated from Elisabeth for the same reason. But Katharina Schratt and Franz Joseph were highly compatible. They spoke of love and wrote to each pother about it---and perhaps this was all there was to it." (Franz Joseph I of Austria and His Empire: 115)
" . . . In reading the letters between Franz-Josef and Katherina (sic) there is no doubt in this author's mind that theirs was a deep and sexual relationship. In Schratt, the Kaiser found his kindred spirit and the better half of himself. . . ." (Unusual Historicals)
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| Schloss Frauenstein @Wikipedia |
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| Villa Schratt @Wikipedia |
"Historically, the mistress was no secret to the wife. The twist in this affair is that Franz-Josef's wife, Elisabeth, arranged and encouraged the relationship. She feared her husband's loneliness while she traveled Europe in search of the independence she lost and yearned for. But I think did not anticipate a profound love to have developed between the Kaiser and the actress. And her jealousy could be easily understood, especially when Elisabeth was a woman who no longer wanted her man! . . . ." (Unusual Historicals)
11) Rosa Moskowitch.
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