Archduke Joseph Anton of Austria (; ; 9 March 1776 – 13 January 1847) was the 103rd and penultimate palatine of Hungary who served for over fifty years from 1796 to 1847, after a period as governor in 1795.
The latter half of his service coincided with the Hungarian Reform Era, and he mediated between the government of Francis I, King of Hungary and Holy Roman Emperor and the Hungarian nobility, representing the country's interests in Vienna. He played a prominent role in the development of Pest as a cultural and economic centre; the neoclassical buildings constructed on his initiative define the city's modern appearance. The landscaping of the City Park of Budapest and Margaret Island happened under his supervision. He supported public education, technical higher education, the arts, the construction of railroads, and various progressive-thinking societies and associations. He donated substantially towards the establishment of the Hungarian National Museum, the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, and the National Széchényi Library.
He was an archduke of Austria and a prince of Bohemia, Hungary, and Tuscany as the son of Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor. The Hungarian or Palatinal branch of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine descends from him. In the Imperial Army, and later in the Austrian Army, he bore the rank of Feldmarschall.
Early life and education
Childhood in Tuscany
Archduke Joseph of Austria was born on 9 March 1776 in Florence, Grand Duchy of Tuscany as the ninth child and seventh son of Leopold I, Grand Duke of Tuscany and Infanta Maria Luisa of Spain. He had fifteen siblings, two of whom died in infancy. Through his father, he was a grandson of Maria Theresa, Holy Roman Empress Dowager, Queen Regnant of Bohemia and Hungary. The family lived in the Palazzo Pitti in Florence, spent summers in the Villa del Poggio Imperiale or the Villa di Poggio a Caiano, and some winters in Pisa.
The grand ducal couple fostered a warm, intimate family environment, raising their children according to the age's modern principles. They paid attention to their diet and regular physical exercise, incorporating ideas from Locke and Rousseau in addition to a traditional courtly upbringing that emphasised etiquette and royal duty. Until the age of four, the children were entrusted to German-, Italian-, and French-speaking women, who were only allowed to use their respective mother tongues. Instruction in reading and writing started at the age of three, and language classes a year later.
Following their grandmother Maria Theresa's instructions, the family's life revolved around Catholicism. Every day, the children listened to religious texts while dressing, attended mass, studied the catechism, and prayed the rosary. The Empress followed their development closely through her correspondence with their parents and educational staff.
Maria Theresa appointed the young archdukes' ajo (governor), Count , assisted by sottoajo (vice-governor) Major Marquess Federigo Manfredini and tutors. Grand Duke Leopold and Colloredo aimed to teach the children to lead a simple life, be humble, dutiful, and devoted to the well-being of their subjects. In their studies, they were taught to be inquisitive and independent. The Grand Duke wished for his children to live as free and unrestricted as possible, while the ajo expected them to be graceful, serious, and disciplined beyond their years, leading to disagreements. Archduke Joseph was only under Colloredo's guidance for two and a half years; when he left in 1782, Manfredini was promoted to his place, who allowed his charges more freedom.
The preparatory stage of Joseph's education lasted until the age of nine, by when he had learned to speak and write in German, French, Italian, and Latin. He received the traditional education of Austrian archdukes, learning etiquette and conduite (the behaviour expected in high society), genealogy, geography, history, ethics, law, natural law, political science, and mathematics. Joseph had a preference for history, archaeology, and natural history, and was not as apt in mathematics. It was important for his parents that all of their children learned some form of manual labour; Joseph was instructed in gardening, botany, and horticulture. He memorised the binomial nomenclature and taxonomy of over six thousand plants.
The teacher to have the greatest impact on the children was the ex-Jesuit Count Sigismund Anton von Hohenwarth. His pedagogical philosophy was based on Enlightenment ideas, teaching that a person's "true vocation" was to strive for the happiness of themselves and others, which could only be achieved in a society. He analysed examples of good and bad statesmanship with his students, focussing on the importance of institutions, legislation, education, the sciences, the arts, and different aspects of the economy. He taught them to assess all matters objectively.
Youth in Vienna Archduke Joseph's father, Grand Duke Leopold, was heir presumptive to the thrones of his brother, Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor. When he died in 1790, Leopold and his family moved to Vienna, where Joseph and his brothers arrived on 13 May. With his approaching fifteenth birthday, the final, three-year stage of his education started. Focused on military training and political science, this included subjects such as politics, investigative history, and law, which he learned from Hofrat ("Court Councillor") . He and his brothers travelled extensively and inspected institutions, recording their experiences in diaries.
First visit to Pest-Buda In 1792, sixteen-year-old Joseph lost both of his parents in three months, and his eldest brother, Francis, became emperor-king. Joseph accompanied him to his coronations in Frankfurt, Prague, and Buda, where he spent 27 days. This was his first visit to Pest-Buda, and he went to see the , botanical garden, and natural history collection of the Royal University of Pest (today Eötvös Loránd University). He met leaders of the country, spending the most time with the Prince-Primate , Prince-Archbishop of Esztergom, but also seeing Judge Royal Károly Zichy and Chancellor . He preferred Pest to Buda.
Visit to the Austrian Netherlands In 1794, Joseph went on a trip to the Austrian Netherlands, which the Habsburg monarchy had temporarily regained during the French Revolutionary Wars. After his brother's swearing-in in Brussels, he studied the culture and economy of the country. From 14 April to 31 May, he was on the battlefield and witnessed one minor win and multiple losses. He analysed the tactics of the Imperial Army and the French Revolutionary Army, and drew caricatures of imperial military leaders.
Death of Archduke Alexander Leopold When Joseph's father became king of Hungary in 1790, he re-established the office of palatine (), which had been vacant since 1765. The Diet of Hungary elected one of his younger sons, Alexander Leopold to the position. In 1795, he uncovered and repressed a conspiracy of the led by Ignác Martinovics. Soon after, he joined his family in Laxenburg castles, where, being an enthusiastic pyrotechnician, he prepared fireworks to surprise his sister Amalia on her name day.
On 10 July, the day of the planned festivities, between 12 and 1 p.m., something caught fire, causing all of the prepared rockets and the remaining gunpowder to explode. His brother Charles rushed to the rescue with servants, but they struggled to break down the door. He was found unconscious on the floor, his neck, back, and arms covered in burns. He regained consciousness and lived another forty hours in agony, before dying on 12 July.
Governor of Hungary
Background The death of Alexander Leopold was greatly mourned by progressive Hungarian nobles, who had hoped for his help in establishing a constitutional monarchy. Conspiracy theories emerged that he had been murdered by the Viennese court for planning to seize the crown with the help of Judge Royal Zichy. Count , főispán of Békés and Ugocsa Counties advised the Emperor-King to allow for the election of another member of the imperial family to calm tensions. Moson County proposed Albert, Duke of Teschen (the Emperor-King's uncle-in-law) who had served as governor of Hungary from 1765 to 1781. Others would have preferred Archduke Charles, who had become popular with his military successes in the French Revolutionary Wars, and Count Teleki himself suggested Joseph. Although on 18 July Emperor-King Francis asked for more time to prepare an election, on the 20th he appointed Joseph governor of Hungary.
The appointment of a governor instead of the election of a palatine was an important win for the reactionary party of the Hungarian nobility led by Baron József Izdenczy, seen by progressives as a step back on the road of constitutional development. Izdenczy's circles had painted a grim picture of Hungary to the King, convincing him that a rebellion was imminent. Nevertheless, to avoid upsetting progressive circles, the Baron advised the Emperor-King to give more power to Joseph than that of the previous governor, so that his position would be more similar to that of a palatine. Thus, Joseph was not welcomed with unequivocal enthusiasm, especially because Hungarian high office holders were replaced at the same time.
The new governor received an education in Hungarian law from the Josephinist canon lawyer György Zsigmond Lakics, recommended by Izdenczy. Emperor-King Francis advised him to "keep [his] house in order, manage it well, [...] treat [his] entourage humanely and [not to] tolerate intrigue". He suggested that Joseph travel around Hungary, and reminded him that his first duty would be justice to his people.
Archduke Joseph entered Buda on 19 September 1795, heading a procession under triumphal arches, amongst a cheering crowd. On the 21st, he was inaugurated as főispán of Pest-Pilis-Solt-Kiskun County, followed by mass in the Matthias Church, dinner for six hundred by Prince-Primate Battyhány, and a ball. On the next day, he took his seat as president of the governing council. He continued studying Hungarian history and law with Lakics, and started learning the language from , who had participated in the Hungarian Jacobin movement.
Work as governor Joseph first needed to settle the case of eight university and secondary school teachers, one of whom allegedly translated La Marseillaise to Hungarian, while others organised gatherings with convicted freemasons and Martinovics co-conspirators, or taught pantheism. The Emperor-King ordered an investigation, which was not in the interest of János Németh, head of the Royal Directorate and close ally of Izdenczy, as he lacked proof. He persuaded Joseph to propose to the Emperor-King the dismissal of five of the accused teachers, which Francis accepted. In this matter which he had to solve only three weeks after arriving in Buda, he relied entirely on a referral he had received from Németh.
Since 1790, there had been plans to move the Royal University of Pest to a smaller city, namely Nagyszombat (today Trnava, Slovakia), Esztergom, Vác, or Eger. In 1794, these cities urged their respective counties to reach an agreement, while Pest tried to keep the institution. Most of the clerical elite, conservative aristocrats, and the gentry's deputies wanted to see it removed. On 23 October 1795, the referral reached the governing council. Joseph himself followed public opinion.