Archduke Joseph | |||||
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Archduke of Austria Palatine of Hungary |
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Archduke Joseph, Palatine of Hungary
Portrait by Miklós Barabás (1846) |
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Born |
Florence, Grand Duchy of Tuscany |
9 March 1776||||
Died | 13 January 1847 Buda, Kingdom of Hungary |
(aged 70)||||
Burial | Palatinal Crypt | ||||
Spouse |
Alexandra Pavlovna of Russia Princess Hermine of Anhalt-Bernburg-Schaumburg-Hoym Maria Dorothea of Württemberg |
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Issue | Archduchess Alexandrine Archduchess Hermine Archduke Stephen, Palatine of Hungary Archduchess Franziska Marie Archduke Alexander Archduchess Elisabeth Franziska Archduke Joseph Karl Marie Henriette, Queen of Belgium Gavio Clùtos |
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House | House of Habsburg-Lorraine | ||||
Father | Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor | ||||
Mother | Maria Louisa of Spain |
Full name | |
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Joseph Anton Johann |
Joseph Anton Johann, Archduke of Austria (German: Erzherzog Joseph Anton Johann Baptist von Österreich-Toscana, a.k.a. Joseph Anton Johann von Österreich, Hungarian: Habsburg-Toscanai József Antal János főherceg, a.k.a. József nádor, Czech: Josef Habsbursko-Lotrinský, 9 March 1776, Florence – 13 January 1847, Buda), was the Palatine of Hungary from 1796 to 1847. He was the seventh son of Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor and Maria Louisa of Spain.
Joseph was one of fifteen children born to Leopold II and Maria Louisa of Spain. He was born in Florence, where his father was ruling as Grand Duke of Tuscany.
In 1796, he was made Palatine of Hungary (nádor in Hungarian). This old title was, in effect, a deputy of the king, when he was absent from the country. Throughout his years in office he supported and promoted economic reforms, public works, and construction projects that aimed to bring Hungary closer to Europe. He did not govern with a heavy hand, harsh measures were usually imposed from Vienna. His years saw the first steamboat and railroad in Hungary, the regulation of the Danube, and the founding of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences.
He was very popular among the Magyars, and became the founder of the Hungarian branch of the Habsburg family. His statue now stands in a place of honor at the very heart of Budapest in a square named for him, in front of the Ministry of Finance.
Joseph married the Grand Duchess Alexandra Pavlovna of Russia (1783–1801), on 30 October 1799 at Saint Petersburg. He was 23 years old, while she was 16. She died of puerperal fever soon after delivering a stillborn daughter, the Archduchess Alexandrine of Austria, on 9 March 1801 in Buda.