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Archduke Rainer Ferdinand of Austria

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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.

His Imperial and Royal Highness
Archduke Rainer of Austria
3rd Chairman of the Austrian Ministers' Conference
In office
4 February 1861 – 26 June 1865
MonarchFrancis Joseph I
Preceded byJohann Bernhard Graf von Rechberg und Rothenlöwen
Succeeded byAlexander Graf von Mensdorff-Pouilly
Personal details
Born(1827-01-11)11 January 1827
Milan, Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia, Austrian Empire
Died27 January 1913(1913-01-27) (aged 86)
Hofburg Palace, Vienna, Austria-Hungary
Resting placeImperial Crypt
SpouseArchduchess Maria Karoline of Austria
Alma materUniversity of Vienna
Names
Rainer Ferdinand Maria Johann Evangelist Franz Ignaz
HouseHabsburg-Lorraine
FatherArchduke Rainer Joseph of Austria
MotherPrincess Elisabeth of Savoy

Biography

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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).

 
Rainer and Maria, 1902

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.[1]

Papyrus collection

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Main article: 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 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 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).[2] 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.[3]

Honours and awards

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Austro-Hungarian[4]
Foreign[4]

Ancestry

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References

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  1. ^ Rivista enciclopedica contemporanea, Editore Francesco Vallardi, Milan, (1913), entry by AB, page 21.
  2. ^ "Forschungsstätte mit weltweitem Renommee". Österreichische Nationalbibliothek. Retrieved December 25, 2022.
  3. ^ "Papyrus Erzherzog Rainer". UNESCO Memory of the World Programme. Retrieved December 25, 2022.
  4. ^ a b "Genealogie des Allerhöchsten Herrscherhauses", Hof- und Staatshandbuch der Österreichisch-Ungarischen Monarchie, 1912, pp. 13-14, retrieved 23 July 2020
  5. ^ a b "Ritter-Orden", Hof- und Staatshandbuch der Österreichisch-Ungarischen Monarchie, 1912, pp. 44, 47, retrieved 23 July 2020
  6. ^ Hof- und Staats-Handbuch des Großherzogtum Baden (1876), "Großherzogliche Orden" p. 59
  7. ^ Hof- und Staats-Handbuch des Königreich Bayern (1908), "Königliche Orden" p. 8
  8. ^ Belgien (1875). Almanach royal officiel: 1875. p. 55.
  9. ^ Hof- und Staats-Handbuch des Großherzogtum Hessen (1879), "Großherzogliche Orden und Ehrenzeichen" p. 11
  10. ^ Italia : Ministero dell'interno (1898). Calendario generale del Regno d'Italia. Unione tipografico-editrice. p. 53.
  11. ^ "Schwarzer Adler-orden", Königlich Preussische Ordensliste (in German), vol. 1, Berlin, 1886, p. 5 – via hathitrust.org{{citation}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  12. ^ Staatshandbuch für das Großherzogtum Sachsen / Sachsen-Weimar-Eisenach (1900), "Großherzogliche Hausorden" p. 16 Archived 2020-09-06 at the Wayback Machine
  13. ^ Sachsen (1901). "Königlich Orden". Staatshandbuch für den Königreich Sachsen: 1901. Dresden: Heinrich. p. 4 – via hathitrust.org.
  14. ^ "Real y distinguida orden de Carlos III", Guía Oficial de España, 1911, p. 163, retrieved 23 July 2020
  15. ^ Sveriges Statskalender (in Swedish), 1909, p. 614, retrieved 2018-01-06 – via runeberg.org
  16. ^ The London Gazette, issue 27604, p. 6148
  17. ^ Hof- und Staats-Handbuch des Königreich Württemberg (1907), "Königliche Orden" p. 28
Preceded by Minister-President of Austria
4 February 1861 – 26 June 1865 		Succeeded by
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