en, Louis Victor Joseph Anthony , image = Archduke Ludwig Viktor of Austria by L Agerer.jpg , caption = , birth_date = , birth_place =

Hofburg Palace The Hofburg is the former principal imperial palace of the Habsburg dynasty. Located in the centre of Vienna, it was built in the 13th century and expanded several times afterwards. It also served as the imperial winter residence, as Schönbrunn ...

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

, death_date = , death_place = Schloss Klessheim,

, burial_place =

Siezenheim Wals-Siezenheim () is a municipality in the district of Salzburg-Umgebung (''Flachgau'') in the Austrian state of Salzburg. The double municipality had been founded in 1948 of the places Wals and Siezenheim. In the same year the arm had been confe ...

Cemetery , house =

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 ...

, father =

Archduke Franz Karl of Austria Archduke Franz Karl Joseph of Austria (17 December 1802 – 8 March 1878) was a member of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine. He was the father of two emperors: Franz Joseph I of Austria and Maximilian I of Mexico. Through his third son Karl Lud ...

, mother = Princess Sophie of Bavaria , spouse = , issue = Archduke Ludwig Viktor Joseph Anton of Austria (15 May 1842 – 18 January 1919) was the youngest child of

and his wife Princess Sophie of Bavaria, and as such was the younger brother of

Emperor Franz Joseph I Franz Joseph I or Francis Joseph I (german: Franz Joseph Karl, hu, Ferenc József Károly, 18 August 1830 – 21 November 1916) was Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary, and the other states of the Habsburg monarchy from 2 December 1848 until h ...

. He had a military career, as was usual for

archduke Archduke (feminine: Archduchess; German: ''Erzherzog'', feminine form: ''Erzherzogin'') was the title borne from 1358 by the Habsburg rulers of the Archduchy of Austria, and later by all senior members of that dynasty. It denotes a rank within ...

s, but did not take part in politics. He was openly homosexual and declined to marry princesses who were sought for him. He is well known for his art collection and patronage as well as philanthropy.

Family

Ludwig Viktor was born 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 ...

. He was the youngest son born to

and Princess Sophie of Bavaria. His elder siblings included Emperor

Franz Joseph I of Austria Franz Joseph I or Francis Joseph I (german: Franz Joseph Karl, hu, Ferenc József Károly, 18 August 1830 – 21 November 1916) was Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary, and the other states of the Habsburg monarchy from 2 December 1848 until ...

, Emperor

Maximilian I of Mexico Maximilian I (german: Ferdinand Maximilian Josef Maria von Habsburg-Lothringen, link=no, es, Fernando Maximiliano José María de Habsburgo-Lorena, link=no; 6 July 1832 – 19 June 1867) was an Austrian archduke who reigned as the only Emperor ...

and Archduke Karl Ludwig. His family called him by the nickname "Luziwuzi".

Career

During the

Revolutions of 1848 The Revolutions of 1848, known in some countries as the Springtime of the Peoples or the Springtime of Nations, were a series of political upheavals throughout Europe starting in 1848. It remains the most widespread revolutionary wave in Europ ...

and the

Vienna Uprising The Vienna Uprising or October Revolution (german: Wiener Oktoberaufstand, or ) of October 1848 was the last uprising in the Austrian Revolution of 1848. On 6 October 1848, as the troops of the Austrian Empire were preparing to leave Vienna to ...

, Ludwig Viktor and his family had to flee the Austrian capital, at first to

Innsbruck Innsbruck (; bar, Innschbruck, label=Austro-Bavarian ) is the capital of Tyrol and the fifth-largest city in Austria. On the River Inn, at its junction with the Wipp Valley, which provides access to the Brenner Pass to the south, it had a p ...

, later to

Olomouc Olomouc (, , ; german: Olmütz; pl, Ołomuniec ; la, Olomucium or ''Iuliomontium'') is a city in the Czech Republic. It has about 99,000 inhabitants, and its larger urban zone has a population of about 384,000 inhabitants (2019). Located on t ...

. Ludwig Viktor pursued the usual military career and was appointed

General of the Infantry General of the Infantry is a military rank of a General officer in the infantry and refers to: * General of the Infantry (Austria) * General of the Infantry (Bulgaria) * General of the Infantry (Germany) ('), a rank of a general in the German Imp ...

, but had no intentions to interfere in politics. He rejected his brother Maximilian's ambitions in the

Second Mexican Empire The Second Mexican Empire (), officially the Mexican Empire (), was a constitutional monarchy established in Mexico by Mexican monarchists in conjunction with the Second French Empire. The period is sometimes referred to as the Second French i ...

. Instead he concentrated on building up his own art collection and had

Heinrich von Ferstel Freiherr Heinrich von Ferstel (7 July 1828 14 July 1883) was an Austrian architect and professor, who played a vital role in building late 19th-century Vienna. Life The son of Ignaz Ferstel (17961866), a bank clerk and later director of the ...

design and build a city palace on the new

Schwarzenbergplatz Schwarzenbergplatz is a square in Vienna, Austria. It is actually more like a small, open street than a square, and it runs between the Kärntner Ring section of the Ringstraße and Lothringerstraße. Travelling south, the street, Schwarzenbergs ...

in Vienna, where Ludwig Viktor hosted homophile soirées.

Personal life

Ludwig Viktor's mother attempted to arrange a marriage for him with

Duchess Sophie Charlotte in Bavaria Duchess Sophie Charlotte Augustine in Bavaria (23 February 1847 – 4 May 1897) was a granddaughter-in-law of King Louis Philippe of France, the favourite sister of Empress Elisabeth of Austria and fiancée of King Ludwig II of Bavaria. ...

, youngest sister of Empress Elisabeth, but he declined. He likewise rejected plans to marry him to Isabel, daughter and

heir presumptive An heir presumptive is the person entitled to inherit a throne, peerage, or other hereditary honour, but whose position can be displaced by the birth of an heir apparent or a new heir presumptive with a better claim to the position in question. ...

of Emperor

Pedro II of Brazil Dom PedroII (2 December 1825 – 5 December 1891), nicknamed "the Magnanimous" ( pt, O Magnânimo), was the second and last monarch of the Empire of Brazil, reigning for over 58 years. He was born in Rio de Janeiro, the seventh child of Emp ...

. In 1863, Ludwig Viktor's brother Maximilian had tried to persuade him to marry her because "such a marriage might found yet another

Habsburg dynasty The House of Habsburg (), alternatively spelled Hapsburg in Englishgerman: Haus Habsburg, ; es, Casa de Habsburgo; hu, Habsburg család, it, Casa di Asburgo, nl, Huis van Habsburg, pl, dom Habsburgów, pt, Casa de Habsburgo, la, Domus Hab ...

in Latin America.... Maximilian wrote to

Franz Joseph Franz Joseph I or Francis Joseph I (german: Franz Joseph Karl, hu, Ferenc József Károly, 18 August 1830 – 21 November 1916) was Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary, and the other states of the Habsburg monarchy from 2 December 1848 until his ...

that Ludwig Viktor was 'anything but pleased with the idea,'" and asked Franz Joseph to order Ludwig Viktor to marry her. Franz Joseph refused. Ludwig Viktor was "a homosexual and

cross-dresser Cross-dressing is the act of wearing clothes usually worn by a different gender. From as early as pre-modern history, cross-dressing has been practiced in order to disguise, comfort, entertain, and self-express oneself. Cross-dressing has play ...

with a reputation as a libertine...." After a scandalous incident at the Central Bathhouse Vienna in which he was publicly slapped, his brother Emperor Franz Joseph finally forbade him to stay in Vienna and joked that he should be given a

ballerina A ballet dancer ( it, ballerina fem.; ''ballerino'' masc.) is a person who practices the art of classical ballet. Both females and males can practice ballet; however, dancers have a strict hierarchy and strict gender roles. They rely on ye ...

as adjutant to keep him out of trouble. Ludwig Viktor retired to Klessheim Palace near

Salzburg Salzburg (, ; literally "Salt-Castle"; bar, Soizbuag, label=Austro-Bavarian) is the fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020, it had a population of 156,872. The town is on the site of the Roman settlement of ''Iuvavum''. Salzburg was founded ...

where he became known as a philanthropist and patron of the arts. He died in 1919, at the age of 76, and is buried at the

cemetery. He was awarded the Order of the White Eagle.

Honours

He received the following orders and decorations:

Ancestry

References

*Helmut Neuhold: ''Das andere Habsburg. Homoerotik im österreichischen Kaiserhaus'', Tectum-Verlag

External links

Ludwig Viktor - 'Archduke Luziwuzi' at The World of The Habsburgs
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ludwig Viktor Of Austria, Archduke 1842 births 1919 deaths 19th-century LGBT people Austrian princes House of Habsburg-Lorraine LGBT people from Austria LGBT Roman Catholics LGBT royalty Nobility from Vienna Grand Croix of the Légion d'honneur Grand Crosses of the Order of Saint Stephen of Hungary Grand Crosses of the Order of the Star of Romania Honorary Knights Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order Knights of the Golden Fleece of Austria Recipients of the Order of the Cross of Takovo Recipients of the Order of St. Anna, 1st class Recipients of the Order of the White Eagle (Russia) 20th-century LGBT people