Austrian nobility


The Austrian nobility is a status group that was officially abolished in 1919 after the fall of Austria-Hungary. Austria's system of nobility was very similar to that of Germany, as both countries were previously part of the Holy Roman Empire.
Any noble living in the Habsburg-ruled lands, and who owed allegiance to the dynasty and therefore to the emperor, was also considered part of the Austrian aristocracy. This applied to any member of the Bohemian, Hungarian, Polish, Croatian, and other nobilities in the Habsburg dominions. Attempting to differentiate between ethnicities can be difficult, especially for nobles during the eras of the Holy Roman Empire and the Austro-Hungarian monarchy. A noble from Galicia, for instance, such as the Count Jordan-Rozwadowski, could call himself a Polish noble, but he also rightfully belonged to the Austrian nobility.
Two categories among the Austrian nobility may be distinguished: the historic nobility that lived in the territories of the Habsburg Empire and who owed allegiance to the head of that dynasty until 1918, and the post-1918 descendants of Austrian nobility—specifically, those who retain Austrian citizenship, whose family originally come from Austria proper, South Tyrol, northern Italy and Burgenland, or who were ennobled at any point under Habsburg rule and identify themselves as belonging to that status group.

History

Imperial nobility

From 1453, the Archduke of Austria had the right to bestow titles and ranks upon non-nobles, as did the Archbishop of Salzburg, as Salzburg remained an independent territory. Besides the Holy Roman Emperor, only a few territorial rulers within the Empire had this right. In an era of Absolutism, the nobility residing in the cities slowly turned itself into the court nobility. Service at the court became the primary goal of the nobility. This in turn initiated an interest in education and the interests of the court. Within the court, a close inner circle, called the 100 Familien, possessed enormous riches and lands. They also had great influence at the court and thus played an important role in politics and diplomacy.
After the end of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806, the Habsburg rulers, who were Emperors of Austria from 1804 onwards, continued to elevate individuals to nobility until the end of the monarchy in 1918. Some of the noble families even obtained the right to be seated in the Herrenhaus, the upper house of the Reichsrat. Nobles from previously sovereign states such as those in northern Italy were also recognized by the authorities and were allowed to keep their titles and rights.

Burgenland

On the former status of nobility in Burgenland, which was part of the Kingdom of Hungary until 1921, see Hungarian nobility.

Jewish nobles

A few very wealthy Jewish families were ennobled after the Toleranzedikt vom 1782 decreed by Emperor Joseph II. Under this Edict, very wealthy Jewish bankers, and later entrepreneurs and industrialists—some of them court Jews—could also be for their services. Jews had been ennobled mostly, as was common with all newly ennobled families, with lesser noble ranks, but also with peerages such as Freiherr. The few Jewish families elevated into the nobility were not required to forswear their faith, but some of these families converted to Christianity in order to become more accepted. Although elevation into the nobility meant recognition for civic contributions and services, and entailed a rise in social status, it did not alter the fact that Jews were, for the most part, still only "tolerated" at best. Jews could not freely choose the place and duration of their stay and had to regularly ask for permission from the authorities. This placed a huge burden on Jewish families; if the head of the family died, all his relatives had to leave the city. The right to purchase real estate was forbidden to Jews, even if they belonged to the nobility. This regulation stayed in place until 1860, when it was abolished by Emperor Franz Joseph I and Jewish citizens were given equal rights. When the banker and protector of arts Raymund Karl Wetzler von Plankenstern was created a Reichsfreiherr by Empress Maria Theresia, he converted to Catholicism while still young. His mansion in Vienna was a center of the fine arts and he was a close friend of Mozart, as his son Alexander was of Ludwig van Beethoven.
Despite these difficulties, by 1821 there were at least eleven ennobled Jewish families living in Vienna alone: the Rothschild, Arnstein, Eskeles, Gomperz, Kuffner, Lieben, Auspitz, Schey von Koromla, Todesco, Goluchowski-Glochowsky, Wertheimstein, Weißmann and Wiernes families. In 1830 the Jewish von Neumann family were elevated into the nobility. The elevation into the nobility of wealthy Jews also started the process of assimilation of Jewish families into the Austrian upper class.

Abolition of nobility in 1919

With the same date, the Habsburgergesetz of 1919, which legally dethroned, exiled and confiscated the properties of the Imperial House of Habsburg, the Adelsaufhebungsgesetz of 3 April 1919 abolished nobility as well as all noble privileges, titles and names in Austria. In other monarchies of Europe, Austrian noble families may use their noble titles as well as nobiliary particles such as von and zu in their names and they still retain noble status there.
This may sometimes be confusing, as descendants of nobles are sometimes referred to with noble names abroad. Also, members of noble families often hold multiple citizenships, as was the case for Otto von Habsburg, who was also a citizen of Germany. The Austrian law does not apply to artistic, performer or stage names, where von is sometimes used, as in the case of conductor Herbert von Karajan or the musician Hubert von Goisern. However, stage names are never recognized for official purposes.
Members of the lower nobility especially found this radical step of abolition degrading and humiliating, since working towards and finally earning a noble title was a way for them and their families to rise within society. Members of the higher nobility were able to absorb the formal abolition more easily. They lost their titles and privileges, but kept their social networks, manners, standing and riches. Federal President Michael Hainisch called the official abolition
The law abolishing nobility and titles was never repealed, even during the period of Austrofascism. Following the Anschluss to Nazi Germany, this law remained on the books, although it was not enforced, allowing Austrian nobles to use titles freely again.

Current status

Although noble titles and the particles von and zu are no longer legal, some persons are still unofficially referred to by their titles. For example, the late Karl Schwarzenberg was occasionally still referred to as Fürst zu Schwarzenberg in the media; he held Czech and Swiss citizenship, not Austrian.
Unlike the nobility in Bohemia, Poland, Russia, or the former Prussian territories, the Austrian nobility never had its lands and riches confiscated in Austria. Social measures were introduced by the republican government in order to create more equality amongst the citizens and finance public projects, which put a strain on the traditional land-holding gentry and aristocracy, resulting in the forced sale of many palaces and lands due to the expense of their upkeep. However, there was no measure by the government specifically to target nobility and take away their possessions.
Still, the nobility today are sometimes nonetheless treated slightly differently from other citizens. Austrian nobility still plays a large part in movies made after World War II, and is still featured regularly in the media and literature. The social events of nobles are still covered extensively in tabloids.
Apart from the prohibition of their titles, some former nobles still make up some of the richest families in Austria, such as the Esterházy, Mayr-Melnhof and Mautner-Markhof. Many members of the Austrian nobility today work in the traditional fields of diplomacy, politics, have business and financial interests, or are philanthropists or socialites.
It was estimated that there were about 20,000 Austrian nobles in 2005. That year, an association was founded, the Vereinigung der Edelleute in Österreich, which sees itself as the successor of the Vereinigung katholischer Edelleute in Österreich, founded in 1922 but banned under the Nazis in 1938. This was challenged under the Nobility Abolition Act.

Categories of nobility

Austria's nobility was divided into three categories: the mediatized nobility, the higher nobility, and the lower nobility :

Non-ruling members of the imperial family

Non-ruling members of the imperial family held various titles:
  • The wife of the emperor bore the title of empress and was styled Her Imperial Majesty;
  • Agnates of the imperial family and their authorized wives bore the title of archduke/archduchess and styled Imperial and Royal Highness.
Legitimate but morganatic descendants of the imperial family were excluded from the line of succession, but might sometimes receive lesser titles with noble rather than royal prerogatives, e.g.:
Use of nobiliary particles, such as the prepositions "von", "zu", variations such as "van" and "vom", or combinations, common until after World War I, were also banned by the 1919 Law on the Abolition of Nobility.