Ferdinand I, Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary and Bohemia (
April 19, 1793 –
June 29, 1875) succeeded his father (
Franz II Holy Roman Emperor/Franz I of Austria) as emperor and king (as
Ferdinand V) in
1835. He chose to abdicate, after a series of revolts in
1848. He was also King of
Lombardy-Venetia.
Born Ferdinand Karl Leopold Joseph Franz Marchlin, he was
feeble-minded and
epileptic, but was nevertheless placed on the throne by
Metternich in order to preserve the throne's legitimacy against all challenges. Though he was not declared incapacitated, a regent's council, including other Habsburgs and Metternich, steered the government. His marriage to Princess
Maria Anna of Sardinia (1803-1884) was probably never
consummated, nor is he believed to have had any other liaisons. He is famous for his one coherent command: when his cook told him he could not have apricot
dumplings because they were out of season, he said “I'm the Emperor, and I want dumplings!” (
German: Ich bin der Kaiser und will Knödel.)
With the breakout of
revolution in Vienna in 1848, Metternich fled the country. As the revolutionaries were marching on the palace, he is supposed to have asked Metternich for an explanation. When Metternich answered that they were making a revolution, Ferdinand is supposed to have said “But are they allowed to do that?” (
Viennese German: Ja, dürfen's denn des?) He was convinced by
Felix zu Schwarzenberg to abdicate in favour of his nephew,
Franz Joseph, who would occupy the Austrian throne for the next sixty-eight years.
Ferdinand was the last
King of Bohemia to be crowned as such. Due to his sympathy with Bohemia (where he spent the rest of his life in
Prague Castle) he was given the
Czech nickname “Ferdinand V, the Good” (
Ferdinand Dobrotivý). In Austria, Ferdinand was similarly nicknamed “Ferdinand der Gütige” (Ferdinand the Benign), but also ridiculed as "Gütinand der Fertige" (Goodinand the Finished).
He is buried in tomb number 62 in the
Imperial Crypt in Vienna.
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