!!!Franz II. I

Franz II (I), b. Florence (Italy), Feb. 12, 1768, 
d. Vienna, March 2, 1835, last emperor of the Holy Roman Empire 
(Franz II, 1792-1806), first emperor of Austria (Franz I, 
1804-1835); son of Emperor  Leopold II. The first two decades of his 
reign were characterized by the constant fight against revolutionary 
France and Napoleon. At the end of the  Napoleonic Wars he rejected 
plans to re-establish the old Empire. In line with his legitimistic 
approach to ruling, he supported a social conservative and finally 
reactionary system after the  Congress of Vienna, held 1814-1815, as 
had been put forward by  Metternich and laid down by the  Holy 
Alliance. He adhered to the principles established by the Emperor 
Joseph II, known as  Josephinism, believed in the power of the 
police and of censorship and opposed all types of democratic 
orientation ( Vormaerz). It was during his reign that the style known 
as  Biedermeier became widespread in all spheres of Austrian life and 
culture. Monuments commemorating him are situated in the Vienna 
Hofburg and in Graz.

!Literature
C. Wolfsgruber, F., Kaiser von Oesterreich, 2 vols., 
1899; V. Bibl, Kaiser F., der letzte roem.-dt. Kaiser, 1918; M. 
Rauchensteiner, F. und Erzherzog Carl, 1972; B. Hamann, Die 
Habsburger, %%sup 4/%1993.OeBL.



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