Archduke Rainer of Austria

Rainier von Habsburg-Tuscany, also known as Rainer von Österreich-Toskana, was born in Zagreb on November 21, 1895, and died in Vienna on May 25, 1930. He belonged to the House of Habsburg-Lorraine and its Tuscan line, and held the titles Archduke of Austria and Prince of Tuscany from birth. His parents were Archduke Leopold Salvator of Austria-Tuscany and his wife, Princess Blanca of Bourbon, a daughter of Carlos de Bourbon, Duke of Madrid. Rainier was their eldest son and their fourth child. At birth, he was given the extensive name Rainer Karl Leopold Blanka Anton Margarete Beatrix Peter Joseph Raphael Michael Ignaz Stephan. The Croatian press welcomed him as the first prince born in the Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia. Rainier’s childhood was closely connected with Croatia. His father was sympathetic to Trialism, which proposed reorganizing the Habsburg monarchy to include an equal South Slavic component, and he was repeatedly mentioned as a possible representative of the emperor in Zagreb. At the request of Crown Prince Franz Ferdinand, Leopold Salvator therefore had his children attend Croatian schools. The family was intended to become familiar with Croatian aspirations and to prepare for a permanent residence in the region. The young Ljubomir Maraković privately taught the children Croatian, while the clergyman Čićić introduced them to Croatian literature. The historian Emilij Laszowski later described the atmosphere in the family home as distinctly Croatian. The children were said to enjoy speaking Croatian, and these years left a lasting impression on Rainier and his siblings. During the First World War, Rainier served as an artillery lieutenant in the Austro-Hungarian Army. In 1916, he was mentioned as a possible marriage candidate for Grand Duchess Marie-Adélaïde of Luxembourg. That same year, he received the Austrian Order of the Golden Fleece as its 1,044th knight. The collapse of the Habsburg monarchy in 1918 fundamentally changed Rainier’s life. After the establishment of the First Austrian Republic, he renounced his rights to the Austrian throne so that he could continue living in Austria. From then on, he used the name Rainer Habsburg. He lived in an apartment in the Palais Toskana, while continuing to own property in Zagreb, Galicia, and at Hernstein Castle. Unlike many members of the former ruling family, he did not leave Vienna permanently but attempted to build a life under the new political and social conditions. In Vienna, Rainer ran a garage and worked for a time as a taxi driver. He also developed a system for transporting film reels: motorcycles carried the reels from one cinema to another, allowing several cinemas to share the same film. This practical work stood in marked contrast to his origins as a member of the formerly ruling dynasty. His relationship with the republic nevertheless remained tense. In May 1921, protests against him took place at Hernstein Castle. In August of the same year, he was arrested in Ljubljana, then part of Yugoslavia and now in Slovenia, for forging a passport. He later once again attracted political attention. On April 6, 1922, he and his father attended a requiem mass in Vienna’s St. Stephen’s Cathedral for the deceased Emperor Charles I. They were subsequently alleged to have led a demonstration, shouted “Down with the Republic!” and marched to the Austrian Parliament to demand that the flag be flown at half-mast in mourning for the former emperor. Rainier never married and had no children. In 1930, he contracted sepsis and died at the age of 34 in Vienna’s Wiedner Hospital. His burial in Vienna’s Capuchin Church had particular dynastic significance: he was the first member of the Habsburg-Lorraine family since Emperor Franz Joseph I to be buried in the Imperial Crypt following the emperor’s death in 1916. Among those attending the funeral were his parents, Leopold Salvator and Blanca; his paternal uncle, Archduke Franz Salvator, accompanied by his sons Hubert and Klemens; and his maternal uncle, Prince Alfons Karl of Bourbon, with his wife, Infanta Maria de las Nieves of Portugal. The former Austrian Federal Chancellor Ignaz Seipel was also present. In 1962, Rainier’s sarcophagus was moved to the New Crypt, where it rests beside his father’s sarcophagus. His life thus exemplifies the transition from the Habsburg monarchy to the Austrian republic: he grew up as a dynastic prince in a politically sensitive Croatian setting, served in the world war, lost his privileged position with the end of the monarchy, and subsequently sought a more middle-class way of life in Vienna.