Kronprinz Rudolph: biography

The causes of the death of Crown Prince Rudolph, which occurred on the eve of the upcoming New 1890 in a small hunting castle, arouse the interest of psychologists, historians, cinematographers, musicians and choreographers. Everyone treats it one way or another, not coming to a common opinion. Apparently, only the Crown Prince Rudolf could explain it, but the materials of the investigation were immediately hidden in the archives of the Habsburgs.

Birth and education

In the castle of Laxenburg, on August 21, 1858, the heir to the throne was finally born to Emperor Franz Joseph and his wife Elizabeth of Bavaria after two daughters. He was named Rudolf in honor of the founder of the Austrian monarchy, who lived in the XIII century. Kronprinz Rudolph grew weak and painful. But my father dreamed that his son would become a military man with iron health. Therefore, to his upbringing, Major-General Leopold Gonrekur was appointed. He did not feel sorry for the child and taught him to do physical exercises in the air in the pouring rain and in severe cold. His morning rise the count accompanied with sudden shots from a pistol or could take the child to the forest near Vienna and leave one. Now we would call this exercises for the expansion of consciousness, but such methods are suitable only for an adult.

Changing the methodology

The mother could not stand the humiliation of her son, and the crown prince Rudolph went to the softer educators. The photo shows the family of Emperor Franz Josef. The German zoologist Alfred Brem, who instilled in him a love of the natural sciences, began to work with the boys. The inquisitive and attentive Crown Prince Rudolph knew well ornithology. The grown up young man at the age of twenty traveled through Europe, and he was interested in political issues. He was keenly interested in the reasons for Austria's defeat in the war with Prussia, did not hide his negative attitude and love for Hungary to her. He criticized the political predilections of his father, but Franz Joseph did not pay attention to it. In 1878 he began to serve in Prague in the infantry regiment.

Marriage

At the insistence of the parents, in 1881 a magnificent wedding of the Crown Prince and Belgian Princess Stephanie took place. After the wedding, a benevolent allegorical picture was written, where angels are hovering over the young spouses, and a tamed lion is next to him, as Rudolph, crown prince of Austria, was a lion on the sign of the horoscope. Was it happiness, unknown, rather no than yes, but the young people lived together in Prague before the birth of their daughter, Mary-Elizabeth. The young man was sad, drank a lot and met with ladies of easy virtue. On his table they saw both the skull and the pistol. These attributes of death are now being played in ballets that are put on the theme of his life. You can imagine that he parted with youth ideals, and could not find new ones. And so he turned his thoughts to death.

Causes of Suicide

In the scientific consciousness, the act of suicide is not known. Psychologists do not give direct answers, referring mainly to a dysfunctional family. Of course, it contradicts the very nature of every living being, which is arranged in such a way that the worse the material habitat, the more stable is the power of life. It is known that even in the twentieth century, when the problem of suicide was investigated, it turned out from the suicide notes that people themselves did not understand why they were doing this. Hereditary factors also have little effect on this act. The fear of death is natural, and not the desire for it. Nevertheless, in Europe in the 1960s and 1980s a wave of suicides, very romantically arranged, took place, based on the example of the death of Goethe Werther's hero. But some scientists come to the conclusion that suicide is caused by deep contradictions between the individual and the environment. The imposition of the personality of the actions necessary in its position can, in the opinion of modern psychologists, cause a sharp conflict in the family relations, for example, and, as a consequence, lead to a fatal outcome. Modern psychiatry considers suicide to be the most serious mental disorder. It can enter the structure of the disease, and can be caused by any external cause.

Maria Alexandrina von Evenk

The girl was the youngest daughter of Baron Vecher, who was in the diplomatic service at the Austrian court. She attended not a gymnasium, but a closed institute of noble maidens. There she received the knowledge necessary for social adaptation in high society as a wife and mother: French, music, drawing, dancing, handicrafts. Family Evenings held receptions at home in order to introduce daughters into the circle of the most suitable for marriage of men. They also attended horse racing in the hope of making the necessary acquaintances. Women families were dressed extremely fashionably and elegantly.

The first meeting

Presumably, the acquaintance of Maria Evening, who was not yet seventeen, with the Crown Prince took place in late November 1888 at a diplomatic reception. Others say that they met at the ball, while others say that they are at the races. One way or another, Rudolph, crown prince of Austria, was immediately captivated by the sexuality coming from the young girl: sensual grace, beautiful neck and profile, deep black shining eyes. Almost immediately she received a gift from him - a self-engraved cigarette case. But, given that there could only be a compromising girlfriend, her family did not approve of continuing acquaintance. Rudolf Habsburg, Crown Prince, stood immeasurably higher on the social ladder than the Baron's daughter, especially since he was married. For a man, this role did not play. Even for his wife, the intrigue on the side was unpleasant, but it meant little. The girl did not even know that he had a turbulent affair with Mizzi Caspar, whom he considered to be the love of his life and spent about sixty thousand guilders. It was she who offered to commit suicide, but 24-year-old Mizzi refused. Then the crown prince turned his attention to Maria Evening.

Mystical temperament

One of the secretaries of the Crown Prince quite expressively noted that he saw in the Mary's Evening a "somewhat superficial and emotional maid." She was able, in his opinion, to sparkle like a Frenchwoman, but she had no serious thoughts. Of course, with the education she received, intellectual interests were excluded. And the Crown Prince Rudolph was always interested in a woman being able to share his political views. Therefore, on his part, it was a strange choice, as people close to him noted. Nevertheless, the exalted Maria Vechera tried to share the mystic temperament of the crown prince, which he liked very much.

The Hunting Lodge in Myerling

On January 28, 1899, Maria Evening was brought with the Crown Prince to Mayerling. She was immediately sent to the bedroom to the second floor, and the landlord on the morning of January 29 began to receive the guest. He did not even suspect that there was still a girl in the hunting lodge, except for him and the master. He hoped to enjoy a nice hunt after the last Christmas during the merry Christmas holidays. However, the owner, referring to ill health, refused to participate in the hunting. He made orders for the reception of guests on January 31 and ordered the coachman to be ready for tomorrow morning.

Mystery, unknown until today

So, the crown prince Rudolph and Maria Evenings closer to the night of January 29 were left alone. There are suggestions that the girl was pregnant, and lovers wanted to have an abortion. But he was unsuccessful, and Maria began to bleed. There are other assumptions, more precisely, descriptions of the position of the bodies. Mademoiselle Vechera shot herself in the left temple, and in the body of Rudolph the bullet entered the heart from the back. His body lay on his right side. And the window on the left was open. On the question of why the Crown Prince Rudolph was killed, if he was killed, there is still no answer. The investigation was not seriously carried out. What the researchers do not write!

• He was killed because he refused to participate in Clementos's conspiracy against Franz Josef and take possession of the throne. It was required to unite Austria and France against Germany.
• The girl was killed by Rudolph, and then shot himself.
• Each of them killed himself.
• Both were killed by unknown people.

It is known that they wrote suicide notes to their relatives, and they will be made public in 2016, but have not yet been published. When, in 1955, Mary's grave was repaired, no bullet holes were found in her skull.

Such a short and sad life lived Crown Prince Rudolph. His biography represents a large field for research.