!!!Maria Theresia, geb. 1717

b.  Vienna, May 13, 1717, 
d. Vienna, Nov. 29, 1780, Archduchess of Austria, Queen of Hungary and 
Bohemia in 1740. From 1745 called herself "Roman Empress". Feb. 12, 
1736 married Duke Franz Stephan of Lorraine, who was 9 years her 
senior (from 1737 Grand Duke of Tuscany, from 1745 Emperor under the 
name of  Franz I); after her father's death ( Karl VI) in 1740 M. T. 
took over the reign over the Habsburg countries under the  Pragmatic 
Sanction and ruled the Habsburg Empire with more authority than her 
father. The initial loss of the Imperial crown weighed heavily on her. 
She was gratified, however, when her husband was elected Emperor in 
1745 and her son  Joseph II became Roman King in 1764, feeling that 
Divine order had been restored.

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The rule of M. T. (see:  Maria Theresia, Age of) was marked by the 
implementation of major reforms which effected considerable 
modernisation in all the Habsburg territories: M. T. modernised the 
administration, reorganised the army (and established a military 
academy in the town of Wiener Neustadt), eased the life of the 
peasants (e.g. by limiting the amount of forced labour), introduced 
compulsory school attendance, abolished torture and reduced the 
influence of the Church (abolition of the Jesuits 1773).

\\
M. T. had 16 children, (11 girls, 5 boys), 3 of whom died when still 
in their infancy, 3 more in their teenage years. 2 sons became regents 
(Joseph II and  Leopold II), 2 daughters and her youngest son remained 
unmarried. In her younger years M. T. was lively and impulsive, she 
had an adequate, not overly thorough education, she spoke German with 
a Viennese accent, as well as Latin, Spanish, French and Italian and 
she loved music (all her children learnt to play musical instruments) 
and enjoyed gambling. She was always deeply attached to her husband, 
whom she made co-regent in 1740; as a widow she always (from August 
18, 1765 onwards) wore mourning, used back-edged stationary and became 
deeply pessimistic. She nevertheless exhibited an outstanding sense of 
responsibility, reliability and diligence to the last.

\\
She was a devout believer in God, her faith having its roots in 
Austrian Baroque Catholicism. She made many donations to churches and 
vehemently rejected religious tolerance. Was strictly opposed to any 
sort of indecent behaviour, also in entertainments and on the stage 
(founded the "Commission against Immoral Conduct"). From her youth M. 
T. tended to overweight, and walked with difficulty in old age. This 
is why she had a lift installed in her main residence, Schoenbrunn 
Palace. She was constantly preoccupied about her children, had them 
vaccinated against smallpox (a completely new procedure at that time, 
also in order to give a good example) and always tried to keep up her 
influence on her daughters ( Marie Christine,  Maria Amalia,  Maria 
Karolina and  Marie Antoinette), some of whom were married to princes 
of the vast House of Bourbon, France.

\\
When she died, there was no great mourning among the Austrian people, 
and it was only later that M. T. became a symbol of strength and was 
seen as an exemplary mother. However, even during her lifetime her 
picture was found in many abbeys and palaces; in the 18th and 19th 
centuries many monuments were dedicated to her in several towns 
throughout the Monarchy (Klagenfurt, B. F. Moll 1765; Vienna 
Belvedere, F. X. Messerschmidt 1766; Festive hall of the University of 
Vienna, J. Pechan 1886; State Archive, E. von Hellmer 1880; Military 
Academy Wiener Neustadt, H. Gasser 1862; Theresienfeld, A. Grath 
1928). The most important monument is in Vienna, (C. von  Zumbusch und 
Baron C. von  Hasenauer) off Ringstrasse, in the park between the 
Kunsthistorisches Museum and the Museum of Natural History, and dates 
from 1888. The sarcophagus in the family vault ( Kapuzinergruft) is of 
high artistic value (double coffin together with Franz I by B. F.  
Moll).

!Literature
G. and G. Mraz, M. T. Ihr Leben und ihre Zeit in Bildern 
und Dokumenten, 1979; W. Koschatzky (ed.), M. T. und ihre Zeit, 1979; 
G. Fussenegger, M. T., 1980; V. L. Tapie, M. T., %%sup 2/%1994; NDB.



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