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Archduke Rainer Ferdinand of Austria

{{Short description|Austrian archduke and politician (1827–1913)}}

{{Expand German|topic=bio|Rainer von Österreich (1827–1913)|date=November 2012}}

{{Infobox Prime Minister

| honorific-prefix=His Imperial and Royal Highness

| name= Archduke Rainer of Austria

| honorific-suffix =

| image=Archduke Rainer of Austria (1827-1913).jpg

| caption=

| order =3rd

| office =Chairman of the Austrian Ministers' Conference

| term_start =4 February 1861

| term_end =26 June 1865

| monarch =Francis Joseph I

| predecessor =Johann Bernhard Graf von Rechberg und Rothenlöwen

| successor =Alexander Graf von Mensdorff-Pouilly

| birth_date ={{birth date|1827|1|11|df=y}}

| death_date ={{death date and age|1913|1|27|1827|1|11|df=y}}

| birth_place =Milan, Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia, Austrian Empire

| death_place =Hofburg Palace, Vienna, Austria-Hungary

| resting_place =Imperial Crypt

| spouse ={{marriage|Archduchess Maria Karoline of Austria|1852}}

| alma_mater =University of Vienna

| party =

| signature =

| module = {{Infobox royalty|embed=yes |father=Archduke Rainer Joseph of Austria |mother=Princess Elisabeth of Savoy |full name=Rainer Ferdinand Maria Johann Evangelist Franz Ignaz |house=Habsburg-Lorraine}}

}}

Archduke Rainer Ferdinand Maria Johann Evangelist Franz Ignaz of Austria (11 January 1827 – 27 January 1913) was an Austrian prince and politician who served as Minister-President of Austria from 1861 to 1865. Later in his life, he took up the collection of preserved papyri, largely from Egypt, and served as a benefactor and patron while working with the Oriental studies department of the University of Vienna. His purchases of papyri from Egypt formed the Rainer collection at the Austrian National Library.

Biography

Archduke Rainer Ferdinand was born in Milan, the capital of the Austrian Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia. He was a son of the viceroy, Archduke Rainer Joseph, and Princess Elisabeth of Savoy. He spent most of his youth at the Royal Villa of Monza. Rainer studied law at the University of Vienna and in 1843 joined the Austrian Imperial Army in the rank of an Oberst (Colonel).

File:Erzherzog Rainer und Marie.jpg

In 1852, Archduke Rainer married his cousin Archduchess Maria Karoline (1825–1915), whose father, Charles, was known for his victory at the 1809 Battle of Aspern. The marriage was a very happy one, and, with numerous public appearances and charitable activities, the couple was probably the most popular amongst the Habsburg family. The lavish celebration of their diamond wedding in 1912 was rated as one of the last great events of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy before World War I. However, the marriage remained childless.

In 1854, Rainer achieved the rank of Generalmajor in the Imperial Army and in 1861 was raised to Feldmarschall-Leutnant (Field marshal lieutenant). In 1857, Archduke Rainer was appointed president of the Austrian Imperial Council by Emperor Francis Joseph I. In the course of the implementation of the 1861 February Patent constitution, he took up office as nominal Minister-President chairing the liberal cabinet of State Minister Anton von Schmerling.

Rainer was popular with the nonaristocratic population of Vienna, often walking the streets on foot.[https://books.google.com/books?id=Ep1wxrUgXW4C Rivista enciclopedica contemporanea], Editore Francesco Vallardi, Milan, (1913), entry by AB, page 21.

Papyrus collection

{{main|Rainer collection}}

While Rainer's military and political career was largely forgotten, his interest in art and science proved more lasting. Later in his life, Archduke Rainer became interested in the emerging science of papyrology, the study of preserved papyrus in the deserts of Egypt that offered primary source documents from centuries earlier. In 1878–1879, the Viennese dealer in antiquities {{illm|Theodor Graf|de}} purchased recently found papyri from Faiyum, known as Arsinoe in the Hellenistic period. Graf contacted Professor of Oriental History at the University of Vienna {{illm|Josef Karabacek|de}} and arranged the shipping of around 10,000 papyri to him. The papyri made their way to Vienna in 1881 and 1882 while awaiting a buyer; at the end of 1883, Archduke Rainer agreed to purchase the papyri. Professor Karabacek managed and processed both the sale and the collection. The collection was initially stored at the Österreichischen Museum für Kunst und Industrie (the predecessor of the modern Museum of Applied Arts). Archduke Rainer continued to expand the collection with new purchases that Graf arranged, including papyri from digs at Hermopolis, Heracleopolis Magna, and other sites in the Faiyum area such as Soknopaiou Nesos. Rainer gifted the collection to his uncle Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria on August 18, 1899 as a birthday present. At Rainer's request, Franz Joseph incorporated them as a special collection at the Imperial and Royal Court Library (now known as the Austrian National Library).{{cite web |url=https://www.onb.ac.at/bibliothek/sammlungen/papyri/die-papyrussammlung |title=Forschungsstätte mit weltweitem Renommee |publisher=Österreichische Nationalbibliothek |access-date=December 25, 2022}} Rainer's vast purchases provided the core of the collection that still exists today as one of the most significant collection of papyri in the world. The Rainer collection at the Austrian National Library was given the honour of becoming part of the UNESCO Memory of the World Register in 2001.{{cite web|title= Papyrus Erzherzog Rainer |url= https://en.unesco.org/memoryoftheworld/registry/516 |publisher=UNESCO Memory of the World Programme |access-date=December 25, 2022}}

Honours and awards

;Austro-Hungarian{{citation|chapter-url=http://alex.onb.ac.at/cgi-content/alex?aid=shb&datum=1912&page=333&size=45|chapter=Genealogie des Allerhöchsten Herrscherhauses|title=Hof- und Staatshandbuch der Österreichisch-Ungarischen Monarchie|date=1912|access-date=23 July 2020|pages=[http://alex.onb.ac.at/cgi-content/alex?aid=shb&datum=1912&page=345&size=45 13]-14}}

;Foreign

{{columns-list|colwidth=25em|

  • {{flag|Grand Duchy of Hesse}}:
  • Grand Cross of the Ludwig Order, 11 September 1860Hof- und Staats-Handbuch des Großherzogtum Hessen (1879), "Großherzogliche Orden und Ehrenzeichen" p. [https://archive.org/details/hofundstaatshan00gergoog/page/n36/mode/2up 11]
  • Knight of the Golden Lion

}}

Ancestry

{{ahnentafel

|collapsed=yes |align=center

|boxstyle_1=background-color: #fcc;

|boxstyle_2=background-color: #fb9;

|boxstyle_3=background-color: #ffc;

|boxstyle_4=background-color: #bfc;

|boxstyle_5=background-color: #9fe;

|1= 1. Archduke Rainer of Austria

|2= 2. Archduke Rainer of Austria

|3= 3. Princess Elisabeth of Savoy

|4= 4. Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor

|5= 5. Infanta Maria Louisa of Spain

|6= 6. Charles Emmanuel, Prince of Carignano

|7= 7. Princess Maria Christina of Saxony

|8= 8. Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor

|9= 9. Maria Theresa of Austria

|10= 10. Charles III of Spain

|11= 11. Princess Maria Amalia of Saxony

|12= 12. Victor Amadeus II, Prince of Carignano

|13= 13. Princess Joséphine of Lorraine

|14= 14. Charles, Duke of Courland

|15= 15. Countess Franciszka Krasińska

}}

References

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{{succession box|title=Minister-President of Austria|before=Johann Bernhard von Rechberg und Rothenlöwen|after=Alexander von Mensdorff-Pouilly|years=4 February 1861 – 26 June 1865}}

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{{Austrian archdukes}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Rainer, Archduke Of Austria}}

Category:1827 births

Category:1913 deaths

Category:19th-century minister-presidents of Austria

Category:Nobility from Milan

Category:House of Habsburg-Lorraine

Category:Austrian princes

Category:Knights of the Golden Fleece of Austria

Category:Grand Crosses of the Order of Saint Stephen of Hungary

Category:Grand Crosses of the Order of the Star of Romania

Category:Honorary Knights Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order

Category:Grand Crosses of the Order of Saint-Charles

Category:Recipients of the Order of the Netherlands Lion