Prince Albert of Saxony, Duke of Teschen
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Prince Albert Casimir of Saxony, Duke of Teschen (11 July 1738, Moritzburg,
Electorate of Saxony The Electorate of Saxony, also known as Electoral Saxony (German: or ), was a territory of the Holy Roman Empire from 1356–1806. It was centered around the cities of Dresden, Leipzig and Chemnitz. In the Golden Bull of 1356, Emperor Charle ...
– 10 February 1822,
Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...
) was a Saxon prince from the
House of Wettin The House of Wettin () is a dynasty of German kings, prince-electors, dukes, and counts that once ruled territories in the present-day German states of Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia. The dynasty is one of the oldest in Europe, and its ori ...
who married into the
Habsburg 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 ...
imperial family. He was noted as an art collector and founded the Albertina 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 ...
, one of the largest and finest collections of
old master print An old master print is a work of art produced by a printing process within the Western tradition. The term remains current in the art trade, and there is no easy alternative in English to distinguish the works of "fine art" produced in printmak ...
s and
drawing Drawing is a form of visual art in which an artist uses instruments to mark paper or other two-dimensional surface. Drawing instruments include graphite pencils, pen and ink, various kinds of paints, inked brushes, colored pencils, crayo ...
s in the world.


Biography

He was a younger son of King
Augustus III of Poland Augustus III ( pl, August III Sas, lt, Augustas III; 17 October 1696 5 October 1763) was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1733 until 1763, as well as Elector of Saxony in the Holy Roman Empire where he was known as Frederick Aug ...
(who was also Elector of Saxony) and Maria Josepha of Austria, a first cousin of Empress Maria Theresa, being the eldest daughter of
Emperor Joseph I , father = Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor , mother = Eleonore Magdalene of Neuburg , birth_date = , birth_place = Vienna, Austria , death_date = , death_place = Vienna, Austria , burial_place = Imperial Crypt, Vienna , ...
. Prince Albert of Saxony, Duke of Teschen, was also one of the godparents to his namesake, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. Young Albert was specifically chosen by Archduchess Maria Christina of Austria to be her husband. This was a special favour granted by her mother, Empress Maria Theresa of Austria, because marriages of imperial children were usually used for diplomatic purposes. Still, the betrothal and wedding had to wait until the death of her father, Emperor
Francis I Francis I or Francis the First may refer to: * Francesco I Gonzaga (1366–1407) * Francis I, Duke of Brittany (1414–1450), reigned 1442–1450 * Francis I of France (1494–1547), King of France, reigned 1515–1547 * Francis I, Duke of Saxe-Lau ...
, and the wedding decorations were black because it occurred during the official mourning period after his death. From his father-in-law's estate, Albert received the territory of Teschen in Austrian Silesia and was accordingly given the title of ''Duke of Teschen.'' Since he became a member of the Habsburg-Lorraine family, the title of ''
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 ...
'' was also given to him. The Silesian Duchy of Teschen had been inherited by Emperor Francis through his father's Gonzaga ancestry, as compensation for the lost
Duchy of Montferrat The Duchy of Montferrat was a state located in Northern Italy. It was created out of what was left of the medieval March of Montferrat after the last Palaeologus heir had died (1533) and the margraviate had been briefly controlled by the Emperor ...
, taken from them in favor of the dukes of Savoy. Archduchess Maria Christina, the daughter of Francis of Lorraine, received the duchy among her dowry. Prince Albert of Saxony thus became the Duke of Teschen, the only non-Habsburg to become such after the title passed into Habsburg control. Their marriage remained childless except for a daughter that died as a baby, and upon the death of the widowed Albert in 1822, Teschen was granted to their adopted son, Archduke Charles of Austria, who became Duke of Teschen and started the Habsburg-Lorraine branch of Dukes of Teschen. Albert was royal governor of
Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Cr ...
from 1765 to 1781, with his seat at Bratislava Castle and his summer residence in
Halbturn Halbturn ( hu, Féltorony) is a town in the district of Neusiedl am See in the Austrian state of Burgenland. It borders Hungary to the east and is near Andau, Gols, and Mönchof. History In 2008 a team of archeologists discovered a third-cent ...
Castle at Neusiedl. He was then made Governor of the Austrian Netherlands, along with his wife. In
Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
, they built a palace in
Laeken () or () is a residential suburb in the north-western part of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. It belongs to the municipality of the City of Brussels and is mostly identified by the Belgian postal code: 1020. Prior to 1921, it was a sep ...
(the present-day home of the Belgian royal family) as their seat. There, he assembled the beginnings of his vast art collection, which he took with him when the couple had to flee from Brussels to
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 1793, due to the
French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are conside ...
and following his military defeat by invasion forces at the
Battle of Jemappes The Battle of Jemappes (6 November 1792) took place near the town of Jemappes in County of Hainaut, Hainaut, Austrian Netherlands (now Belgium), near Mons during the War of the First Coalition, part of the French Revolutionary Wars. One of th ...
. In Vienna, a palace adjoining the
Hofburg 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 Schönbrun ...
, originally designed by Emanuel Teles Silva-Tarouca, was enlarged for them by architect Louis Montoyer. That palace is today called the Albertina, after Albert, and houses the collection he started. Only two-thirds of his collection survives, because one of the cargo ships bringing it from Brussels sank ''en route''. After his return to Vienna, he used as an advisor
Adam von Bartsch Johann Adam Bernhard Ritter von Bartsch (17 August 1757 – 21 August 1821) was an Austrian scholar and artist. His catalogue of old master prints is the foundation of print history, and he was himself a printmaker practicing engraving and et ...
, the Curator of the Imperial prints collection and the greatest prints scholar of his age. After the early death of his wife in 1798 of
typhus Typhus, also known as typhus fever, is a group of infectious diseases that include epidemic typhus, scrub typhus, and murine typhus. Common symptoms include fever, headache, and a rash. Typically these begin one to two weeks after exposure. ...
, he lived only for his art collection, which he bequeathed to his (wife's) nephew and adopted son Archduke Charles of Austria. Next door to his palace, in the '' Augustinerkirche'', Albert had a famous memorial to his wife carved by
Antonio Canova Antonio Canova (; 1 November 1757 – 13 October 1822) was an Italian Neoclassical sculptor, famous for his marble sculptures. Often regarded as the greatest of the Neoclassical artists,. his sculpture was inspired by the Baroque and the cla ...
. The couple are buried in tombs 111 and 112 in the Tuscan Vault of 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, with their hearts in urns 40 and 28 in the nearby Herzgruft, and their viscera in urns 75 and 63 of the
Ducal Crypt The Ducal Crypt (german: Herzogsgruft) is a burial chamber beneath the chancel of Stephansdom in Vienna, Austria. It holds 78 containers with the bodies, hearts, or viscera of 72 members of the House of Habsburg. History Before his death at age ...
in Vienna's cathedral.


Ancestry


References


External links


Albertina Museum
(in German) {{DEFAULTSORT:Albert Of Teschen, Duke, Prince 1738 births 1822 deaths People from Moritzburg People from the Electorate of Saxony German Roman Catholics Saxon princes Polish Prince Royals Dukes of Teschen House of Habsburg-Lorraine House of Wettin Governors of the Habsburg Netherlands German art collectors 18th-century art collectors 19th-century art collectors Knights of the Golden Fleece of Spain Burials at the Imperial Crypt Burials at St. Stephen's Cathedral, Vienna Albertine branch Recipients of the Order of the White Eagle (Poland) Sons of kings