Maria Ludovika of Austria-Este

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Maria Ludovika of Austria-Este
Kingdom of Lombardy-Venetia, Austrian Empire
Spouse
Francis I of Austria
(m. 1808)
HouseAustria-Este
FatherFerdinand Karl, Archduke of Austria-Este
MotherMaria Beatrice d'Este, Duchess of Massa

Maria Ludovika Beatrix of Austria-Este (14 December 1787 – 7 April 1816), also known as Maria Ludovika of Modena, was

House of Austria-Este, a branch of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine
.

Biography

Early life

Maria Ludovika was born in Monza on 14 December 1787, but her family fled from Italy to Austria when Northern Italy was conquered by Napoleon in 1796. This caused her a hostility for Napoleon.[citation needed] In Austria, the emperor fell in love with her during his visits to her mother. Maria Ludovika was educated by the Countess Almesloë,[citation needed] whom was sent by Maria Ludovika’s grandmother Maria Theresa.

Marriage

Portrait of Maria Ludovika (by Bernhard von Guérard, ca. 1808)

On 6 January 1808 she married her first cousin

Marie-Louise of Austria
(who was given the Latin baptismal name of Maria Ludovica Leopoldina Francisca Theresa Josepha Lucia), who married Napoleon in 1810.

She, as leader of the war party in Austria,

Pressburg, she impressed the Hungarians so much that they declared large financial and military support for the monarchy if needed.[5] But the emperor hesitated and Archduke Charles, who had extensive control over military matters, advised caution. Only the effects of the Spanish revolt in 1808 allowed the war party to prevail.[6]

Empress Maria Ludovika, with three of her stepchildren: Ferdinand, Maria Leopoldina and Franz Karl

Metternich showed her private correspondence with her relatives to her husband, the Emperor Francis I, in the hope that it would discredit her. She was conservative in her views, suspicious of peasant revolts,[7] but also patriotic towards her adopted land,[4] and genuinely disturbed by atrocities that Napoleon's armies created in Spain.[8] She supported the war against Napoleonic France in 1809. From this year, her health deteriorated. She was opposed to the marriage between Napoleon and her step-daughter Marie Louise in 1809. In 1812, she was a reluctant guest to the assembly of German monarchs gathered by Napoleon to celebrate his war against Russia.

Death

She was the hostess of the Congress of Vienna in 1815. When Napoleon was finally defeated she traveled at the end of the year in 1815 to her home country, North Italy, but died of tuberculosis in Verona. She was only 28 years old.[9] She is buried in the Imperial Crypt in Vienna.

The

Pressburg
.

Goethe admired Maria Ludovika greatly, and felt tortured because he promised never to pay a public tribute to her nor mention her name in public.[10]

Honours

Monument to Empress Maria Ludovika in Budapest

A large marble memorial plaque mentioned her visit with the emperor in 1816 is located at

Monza Cathedral
.

A large bronze monument depicting her in the centre, and

Archduke Joseph, Palatine of Hungary and János Buttler
on either side was unveiled in 1901 at the Royal Hungarian Ludovica Military Academy.

Ancestry

References

  1. .
  2. ^ Flantzer, Susan (14 April 2016). "Maria Ludovika of Austria-Este, Empress of Austria". Unofficial Royalty. Retrieved 8 January 2023.
  3. ^ Langsam, Walter Consuelo (1930). The Napoleonic Wars and German Nationalism in Austria, Issue 324. Columbia University Press. p. 34.
  4. ^ .
  5. .
  6. .
  7. .
  8. .
  9. ^ Brigitte Hamann: Die Habsburger. 1988, p. 333f.
  10. .
Maria Ludovika of Austria-Este
House of Austria-Este
Cadet branch of the House of Habsburg
Born: 14 December 1787 Died: 7 April 1816
Royal titles
Preceded by
Queen consort of Bohemia

1808–1816
Succeeded by
Notes and references
1. http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/216736/Francis-II