Archduke Wilhelm Franz of Austria

Archduke Wilhelm Franz
Born	(1827-04-21)21 April 1827 Vienna, Austrian Empire
Died	29 April 1894(1894-04-29) (aged 67) Weikersdorf, Austria-Hungary
House	Habsburg-Lorraine
Father	Archduke Charles, Duke of Teschen
Mother	Princess Henrietta of Nassau-Weilburg

Archduke Wilhelm Franz Karl of Austria-Teschen (German: Erzherzog Wilhelm Franz Karl von Habsburg-Lothringen, 21 April 1827 – 29 April 1894) was an Archduke of Austria from the House of Habsburg.

He was born in Vienna as the son of Archduke Charles, Duke of Teschen (1771–1847) and Princess Henrietta of Nassau-Weilburg (1797–1829). He was a grandson of Leopold II (1747–1792) and nephew of Franz II (1768–1835), the last two Holy Roman Emperors.

He studied political sciences at the University of Vienna and he was a student of Joseph von Kudler.

He held the office of Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights from 1863 until his death in 1894. He gained the rank of Feldzeugmeister in the service of the Austrian Army in January 1867, after commanding the artillery and being wounded at the Battle of Königgrätz (1866). He was Governor of the Federal Fortress of Mainz.

Archduke Wilhelm of Austria, as a professed Catholic Religious Brother, died unmarried and without issue on 29 July 1894 in Weikersdorf after falling from a horse. He had been riding in Baden when his horse was frightened by a motor car. The horse bolted, and the Archduke was thrown. One of his feet remained stuck in the stirrup, and he was dragged more than 100 yards. He died without regaining consciousness. His death was attributed to a concussion on the brain. The archduke was 67 years old.

Ancestry

Further reading

• Constantin von Wurzbach: Habsburg, Wilhelm Franz Karl. In: Biographisches Lexikon des Kaiserthums Oesterreich. 7. Theil. Kaiserlich-königliche Hof- und Staatsdruckerei, Wien 1861, pp. 155.
• Oscar Criste: Wilhelm (Erzherzog von Österreich). In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Vol.55, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1910, p. 91–93.
• Antonio Schmidt-Brentano: Die k. k. bzw. k. u. k. Generalität 1816–1918, österreichisches Staatsarchiv
• Johannes Ressel: Kirchen und Kapellen, religiöse Gedenksäulen und Wegzeichen in Baden bei Wien. Ein Beitrag zur Geschichte, Heimatkunde und Kunstgeschichte. 2., verbesserte und erweiterte Auflage. Grasl, Baden 1982, ISBN 3-85098-131-2.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Category:Archduke Wilhelm Franz of Austria.

• Bio on Wikisource (German)

This page was last edited on 26 July 2023, at 09:48