Ferdinand I of Austria
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He was feeble-minded and epileptic. He was placed on the throne by Metternich as a puppet for Metternich's own purposes. His marriage to Princess Maria Anna of Sardinia (1803-1884) was probably never consummated, nor is he believed to have had any other liaisons. He is famous for his one coherent command: when someone tried to keep him from eating dumplings because his digestive system could not stand them, he said “I'm the Emperor, and I want dumplings!” (German: Ich bin der Kaiser und will Knödel.)
With the breakout of revolution in Vienna in 1848, Metternich fled the country. As the revolutionaries were marching on the palace, he was attributed to saying, “But, are they allowed to do that?” (German: Ja, dürfen sie denn das?) He was convinced to abdicate by Felix zu Schwarzenberg, and his nephew, Franz Joseph, would be on the Austrian throne for the next sixty-eight years.
He was the last king of Bohemia to be crowned as such. Due to his sympathy to Bohemia (where he spent the rest of his life), he is, in Czech nicknamed: “Ferdinand V, the Good”. In Austria, Ferdinand was in a similar way nicknamed “der Gütige” (the Benignant).
| Preceded by: Francis | Emperor of Austria | Succeeded by: Franz Joseph |
External link
- "Biography of Emperor Ferdinand" (http://www.xs4all.nl/~kvenjb/madmonarchs/ferdinand/ferdinand_bio.htm)cs:Ferdinand_I._Dobrotivý
de:Ferdinand I. (Österreich) es:Fernando I de Austria nl:Ferdinand I van Oostenrijk zh:斐迪南一世（奧地利）