HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Archduke Alexander Leopold of Austria (Alexander Leopold Johann Josef; hu, Sándor Lipót; 14 August 1772 – 12 July 1795) was
Palatine of Hungary The Palatine of Hungary ( hu, nádor or , german: Landespalatin,  la, palatinus regni Hungariae) was the highest-ranking office in the Kingdom of Hungary from the beginning of the 11th century to 1848. Initially, Palatines were repres ...
, appointed during the reign of his father, Holy Roman Emperor Leopold II, and serving into the reign of his elder brother, Holy Roman Emperor Francis II.


Early life

Archduke Alexander Leopold was born in
Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico ...
,
Tuscany it, Toscano (man) it, Toscana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Citizenship , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = Italian , demogra ...
, as the sixth child and fourth son of Leopold I, Grand Duke of Tuscany (later Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor), and Infanta Maria Luisa of Spain. During his education, Alexander Leopold excelled in mathematics and chemistry. He had a fine physique and his father thus wanted him to pursue a military career, with the intent to eventually appoint him president of the
Hofkriegsrat The ''Hofkriegsrat'' (or Aulic War Council, sometimes Imperial War Council) established in 1556 was the central military administrative authority of the Habsburg monarchy until 1848 and the predecessor of the Austro-Hungarian Ministry of War. Th ...
.


Palatine

In 1790, Grand Duke Leopold succeeded his brother,
Joseph II Joseph II (German: Josef Benedikt Anton Michael Adam; English: ''Joseph Benedict Anthony Michael Adam''; 13 March 1741 – 20 February 1790) was Holy Roman Emperor from August 1765 and sole ruler of the Habsburg lands from November 29, 1780 un ...
, as Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor and King of Hungary and Bohemia. Hungary had been ruled by governors since 1765, but the Emperor-King wished to reinstate the office of palatine and allowed the
Diet of Hungary The Diet of Hungary or originally: Parlamentum Publicum / Parlamentum Generale ( hu, Országgyűlés) became the supreme legislative institution in the medieval kingdom of Hungary from the 1290s, and in its successor states, Royal Hungary and ...
to elect a new officeholder. The Diet elected Archduke Alexander Leopold, who thus became the first member of the
House of Habsburg-Lorraine The House of Habsburg-Lorraine (german: Haus Habsburg-Lothringen) originated from the marriage in 1736 of Francis III, Duke of Lorraine and Bar, and Maria Theresa of Austria, later successively Queen of Bohemia, Queen of Hungary, Queen of ...
to occupy the post. In 1792, his father died; from then on, Alexander Leopold served his elder brother who had succeeded as Holy Roman Emperor Francis II. As palatine, Archduke Alexander Leopold initially led a moderate government. However, he changed his policy after the
Jacobin , logo = JacobinVignette03.jpg , logo_size = 180px , logo_caption = Seal of the Jacobin Club (1792–1794) , motto = "Live free or die"(french: Vivre libre ou mourir) , successor = P ...
conspiracy in 1794, which left him deeply disappointed. The object of the plot was to make Hungary independent from the
Habsburg monarchy The Habsburg monarchy (german: Habsburgermonarchie, ), also known as the Danubian monarchy (german: Donaumonarchie, ), or Habsburg Empire (german: Habsburgerreich, ), was the collection of empires, kingdoms, duchies, counties and other polities ...
, with Alexander Leopold as its king. He severely punished the rebels and replaced the moderate dignitaries, adopting a policy of repression. The same year,
Tadeusz Kościuszko Andrzej Tadeusz Bonawentura Kościuszko ( be, Andréj Tadévuš Banavientúra Kasciúška, en, Andrew Thaddeus Bonaventure Kosciuszko; 4 or 12 February 174615 October 1817) was a Polish military engineer, statesman, and military leader who ...
, wishing to secure the neutrality of Austria during an uprising against Imperial Russia and the Kingdom of Prussia, offered the
crown of Poland The Crown of the Kingdom of Poland ( pl, Korona Królestwa Polskiego; Latin: ''Corona Regni Poloniae''), known also as the Polish Crown, is the common name for the historic Late Middle Ages territorial possessions of the King of Poland, includi ...
to Archduke Alexander Leopold. The offer was turned down.


Death

Archduke Alexander Leopold, suffering from poor health, left Hungary for
Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...
in 1795, after dealing with the conspiracy. His memorandum, written during his stay in Vienna, shows a rather conservative worldview. He argued that differences between classes should not be overcome, especially when it comes to education. Because of his interest in chemistry and especially in pyrotechnics, Archduke Alexander Leopold decided to prepare a firework display at
Laxenburg Palace Laxenburg castles are imperial palaces and castles outside Vienna, in the town of Laxenburg owned in equal parts by Vienna and Lower Austria.Maria Theresa of Naples and Sicily Maria Theresa of Naples and Sicily (6 June 1772 – 13 April 1807) was the first Empress of Austria and last Holy Roman Empress as the spouse of Francis II. She was born a Princess of Naples as the eldest daughter of King Ferdinand I of the T ...
. He decided to manufacture and light the fireworks himself in the casemates of the palace, attended by a few of his servants. Empress Maria Theresa was on her way to spend summer at the palace, and when her arrival was announced by a gunshot, Alexander Leopold lit the first rocket. At that moment, the door opened and a draught of air threw the rocket back on the gunpowder. The
gunpowder Gunpowder, also commonly known as black powder to distinguish it from modern smokeless powder, is the earliest known chemical explosive. It consists of a mixture of sulfur, carbon (in the form of charcoal) and potassium nitrate (saltpeter). T ...
exploded and, unable to escape, Alexander Leopold was burned all over his body. He died immediately, as did his servants. His body is buried in the
Imperial Crypt The Imperial Crypt (german: Kaisergruft), also called the Capuchin Crypt (''Kapuzinergruft''), is a burial chamber beneath the Capuchin Church and monastery in Vienna, Austria. It was founded in 1618 and dedicated in 1632, and located on the Neu ...
in
Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...
. His heart was buried separately in Herzgruft,
Augustinian Church, Vienna The Augustinian Church (german: link=no, Augustinerkirche) in Vienna is a parish church located on Josefsplatz, next to the Hofburg, the winter palace of the Habsburg dynasty in Vienna. Originally built in the 14th century as the parish church o ...
. His younger brother, Archduke Joseph, succeeded him as palatine of Hungary.


Ancestry


References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Alexander Leopold Of Austria, Archduke 1772 births 1795 deaths Nobility from Florence Knights of the Golden Fleece of Austria Grand Crosses of the Order of Saint Stephen of Hungary House of Habsburg-Lorraine Accidental deaths in Austria Italian Roman Catholics Palatines of Hungary Austrian princes Burials at the Imperial Crypt Burials at St. Stephen's Cathedral, Vienna Sons of emperors Children of Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor Sons of kings