Maria Christina von Österreich

Maria Christina of Austria, also known as Marie Christine, was born in Vienna on May 13, 1742, as the fifth child of Emperor Francis I Stephen and Maria Theresa. She grew up at the Viennese court as her mother’s especially beloved daughter and was usually called “Marie” or “Mimi” within the family. Maria Theresa’s favoritism, however, caused tensions with her siblings, who resented Maria Christina’s privileged position. She also had a poor relationship with her first governess; only after her replacement by Countess Maria Anna Vasquez did the situation improve permanently. Maria Christina received a careful education, learned several languages, and became particularly proficient in Italian and French. She also displayed a pronounced artistic talent from an early age. She drew and painted portraits of her relatives, self-portraits, and copies of works by Dutch and French masters. Some of her works were exhibited at Schönbrunn Palace. In her youth, Maria Christina had a brief relationship with Ludwig Eugen of Württemberg, but a marriage with him was ruled out for dynastic reasons. A more significant connection developed with Prince Albert of Saxony, whom she met at the Viennese court at the beginning of 1760. Over the following years, the two formed a close and ultimately mutual affection. Albert was considered politically uninfluential and not particularly wealthy, so he initially had little hope of marrying the empress’s daughter. Maria Christina exerted considerable influence over her mother, who supported the relationship but initially wanted to keep it secret because of other marriage plans and out of consideration for the emperor. After the sudden death of Francis I Stephen in August 1765, no decisive obstacles remained to the marriage plans. Maria Theresa ensured that the couple received an appropriate financial and social position. Albert was appointed field marshal and governor of Hungary, while Maria Christina received, among other possessions, the Duchy of Teschen and additional estates as her dowry. Albert thereby became Duke of Saxony-Teschen. The extensive preparations and Maria Christina’s substantial dowry aroused the envy of her siblings. Maria Christina and Albert became engaged on April 2, 1766, and married on April 8 in the chapel of Hof Palace. They subsequently lived mainly in Pressburg, where they maintained a brilliant court and apparently enjoyed a harmonious marriage. Nevertheless, Maria Christina’s sisters, who had been denied marriages for love and subjected to politically motivated unions, continued to treat her with distance. The couple had only one child. Their daughter Christina was born in May 1767 but died just one day later. Maria Christina contracted puerperal fever, while Albert suffered from smallpox; both recovered. Because the difficult birth left Maria Christina unable to have more children, she arranged in 1790 for her brother, Emperor Leopold II, to allow his son, Archduke Charles, to be adopted by her and Albert. The future military victor of Aspern thus became the couple’s designated heir. Maria Christina soon won the sympathy of the Hungarian nobility and population in Pressburg. She shared Albert’s passion for art and drawing. With her support, Albert began building an important collection of drawings and engravings there, which later formed the core of the Albertina. In 1773, Maria Christina was appointed an honorary member of the Accademia di San Luca in recognition of her exceptional abilities as a painter. From late 1775 to mid-1776, she and Albert traveled through Italy. They visited her siblings in Florence, Naples, Parma, and Milan, and also met Pope Pius VI. During these years, however, Maria Christina’s health problems and growing tendency toward melancholy were already becoming apparent. After the death of her uncle Charles of Lorraine, Maria Christina and Albert were to assume the governorship of the Austrian Netherlands. Maria Theresa died during the preparations for their journey, however, and Maria Christina’s brother Joseph II became the sole ruler. He confirmed the couple’s appointment but reduced their income and at the same time sought to remove his sister from Vienna. In June 1781, Maria Christina and Albert traveled to Brussels, where they resided in the Nassau Palace. Their political role remained essentially representative, since Joseph II made the decisions himself and expected them merely to confirm his decrees. Joseph’s far-reaching reforms met with growing resistance in the Netherlands. His interventions in administration, the judicial system, and church structures intensified tensions between the traditional elites and reform-minded forces. In 1787, a revolt broke out in Brussels, after which Maria Christina and Albert withdrew some imperial measures and were initially celebrated by the population. Joseph II disapproved of their concessions. Despite Maria Christina’s repeated warnings, the situation remained tense. The Brabant Revolution forced the couple to flee in November 1789. The Austrian Netherlands subsequently declared themselves independent as the United States of Belgium. After Joseph’s death in 1790 and the recapture of Brussels by Austrian troops, Maria Christina and Albert returned as governors in June 1791. Maria Christina now adopted a more authoritarian stance, while Leopold II pursued a more cautious policy. After his death in March 1792, the couple governed in the name of their nephew, Francis II. Later that year, French revolutionary troops invaded the Netherlands. Following the Austrian defeat at Jemappes, Maria Christina and Albert were forced to flee again in November 1792. They managed to save much of their art collection, but one of the transport ships sank in a hurricane. After stays in Münster, Dresden, and other cities, the couple moved permanently to Vienna. Albert devoted himself primarily to his art collections. By then, Maria Christina was seriously ill, suffering from a stomach ailment and increasing melancholy. A brief improvement during a spa treatment in Teplitz was followed by another deterioration. She died in Vienna on June 24, 1798, at the age of 56. In a farewell letter, she assured Albert of her lifelong love. In accordance with Habsburg tradition, her remains were buried separately in Vienna’s three traditional burial sites. Albert commissioned a monumental tomb for her in the Augustinian Church from Antonio Canova, whose classical style and allegorical representations commemorate their shared relationship. Her memory also survives in place names such as Christinengasse in Vienna and the Budapest district of Krisztinaváros.