Archduke Ludwig Viktor of Austria

Archduke Ludwig Viktor Joseph Anton of Austria (15 May 1842 – 18 January 1919) from the House of Habsburg was the youngest son born to Archduke Franz Karl of Austria and Princess Sophie of Bavaria and younger brother of Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria.

Archduke Ludwig Viktor
Born(1842-05-15)15 May 1842
Hofburg Palace, Vienna, Austria
Died18 January 1919(1919-01-18) (aged 76)
Schloss Klessheim, Austria
Burial
Siezenheim Cemetery
Full name
German: Ludwig Viktor Joseph Anton
English: Louis Victor Joseph Anthony
House Habsburg-Lorraine
FatherArchduke Franz Karl of Austria
MotherPrincess Sophie of Bavaria

Biography
Ludwig Viktor (r.) with his brothers Karl Ludwig, Franz Joseph and Maximilian

He was born in Vienna shortly after his sister Archduchess Maria Anna had died at four years of age, followed by a stillborn brother. His elder siblings included Emperor Franz Joseph, Emperor Maximilian I of Mexico and Archduke Karl Ludwig.

During the Revolutions of 1848 and the Vienna Uprising, pampered "Luziwuzi" with his royal 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 and especially plans to marry him to Princess Imperial Isabel, daughter of Emperor Pedro II of Brazil. Instead he concentrated on building up his own art collection and had Heinrich von Ferstel design and build the a city palace on the new Schwarzenbergplatz in Vienna, where Ludwig Viktor hosted homophile soirées.

Despite his mother's attempts to arrange a marriage for him with Duchess Sophie Charlotte in Bavaria, youngest sister of Empress Elisabeth, he remained a bachelor all his life. As a result of his very public homosexuality and transvestitism, culminating in a brawl at the Central Bathhouse Vienna, his brother Emperor Franz Joseph finally forbade him to stay in Vienna.[1] The same emperor joked that he should be given a ballerina as adjutant to keep him out of trouble.

Ludwig Viktor retired to Klessheim Palace 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.

He was awarded Order of the White Eagle.[2]

Titles and styles
  • 15 May 1842 – 18 January 1919 His Imperial and Royal Highness Archduke Ludwig Victor of Austria

Ancestry

References
  1. Kastl, Robert. "Gay and Lesbian Life in Vienna". Archived from the original on 2007-09-27. Retrieved 2007-06-25.
  2. Acović, Dragomir (2012). Slava i čast: Odlikovanja među Srbima, Srbi među odlikovanjima. Belgrade: Službeni Glasnik. p. 581.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  3. Wurzbach, Constantin, von, ed. (1860). "Habsburg, Franz I." . Biographisches Lexikon des Kaiserthums Oesterreich [Biographical Encyclopedia of the Austrian Empire] (in German). 6. p. 208 – via Wikisource.
  4. Wurzbach, Constantin, von, ed. (1860). "Habsburg, Franz Karl Joseph" . Biographisches Lexikon des Kaiserthums Oesterreich [Biographical Encyclopedia of the Austrian Empire] (in German). 6. p. 257 – via Wikisource.
  5. Wurzbach, Constantin, von, ed. (1861). "Habsburg, Maria Theresia von Neapel" . Biographisches Lexikon des Kaiserthums Oesterreich [Biographical Encyclopedia of the Austrian Empire] (in German). 7. p. 81 – via Wikisource.
  6. Genealogie ascendante jusqu'au quatrieme degre inclusivement de tous les Rois et Princes de maisons souveraines de l'Europe actuellement vivans [Genealogy up to the fourth degree inclusive of all the Kings and Princes of sovereign houses of Europe currently living] (in French). Bourdeaux: Frederic Guillaume Birnstiel. 1768. p. 94.
  7. Wurzbach, Constantin, von, ed. (1861). "Habsburg, Sophie (geb. 27. Jänner 1805)" . Biographisches Lexikon des Kaiserthums Oesterreich [Biographical Encyclopedia of the Austrian Empire] (in German). 7. p. 149 – via Wikisource.
  8. "Karoline Friederike Wilhelmine Königin von Bayern". Haus der Bayerischen Geschichte [House of Bavarian History] (in German). Bavarian Ministry of State for Wissenschaft and Kunst. Retrieved 30 November 2018.
  • Helmut Neuhold: Das andere Habsburg. Homoerotik im österreichischen Kaiserhaus, Tectum-Verlag

Media related to Archduke Ludwig Viktor of Austria at Wikimedia Commons
Ludwig Viktor - 'Archduke Luziwuzi' at The World of The Habsburgs

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