Page - 280 - in Österreich-Ungarns imperiale Herausforderungen - Nationalismen und Rivalitäten im Habsburgerreich um 1900

© 2020, V&R unipress GmbH, Göttingen ISBN Print: 9783847110606 – ISBN E-Lib: 9783737010603 ageandconcentratedhisvisits toabsolutenecessaryobjectives likeSarajevo in 1910or toplacesnearer toVienna. Topalliate the aging sovereign, an alternativewere visits of archdukeswho wereeitherresidinginthecitiesortravellingtothemwhentherewasanoccasion requiring the presence of the dynasty. In this respect there was a noticeable differencebetweenAustriaandHungary: there resided thePalatine familyand ArchdukeJosephhadtheadvantageofrepresentingat thesametimehisgrand- father whosememorywas cherished by theHungarians and the royal family. Thiswasconsideredasufficient reason for theotherarchdukesnot to travel to Hungarywhere theywouldnotnecessarilybewelcome.The respectdue to the kingdidnotextendtothewholefamily.ExceptionswerehissonRudolfaslongas he lived, hismother Elisabeth ‘Sissi,’ and Archduke Friedrichwho lived per- manently in Pozsony (Pressburg, Bratislava). The latter was a significant per- sonality of the townuntil his death in 1902 and sowas hiswife, Isabella, who played a considerable role in the city’s life by sponsoring many associations – indeedmostCatholicones–andattendingpublic events.These ‘local’Habs- burg could thus replace the sovereign andbe also elements of city patriotism: theirpalaceandsocial lifewouldmakethecitizensproudandfeelingprivileged in frontofothercitieshaving ‘only’ aristocratsorcivil elite. In this respect Pozsonywas certainly a particular place: itwas very near to Viennaandhistorically linkedtoAustriaaswell as toHungary forhavingbeen coronationsitefromthe16thtothebeginningofthe19thcentury.Thecoronation hill still existedontheDanubebankbut itwasneglectedandthreatenedby the progress of the urban planning: at the beginning of the 1890s therewere ini- tiativestoperpetuatethesiteasaplaceofmemory.14Aprojectwasfinallymadeto create a square and to erect a statue ofMaria Theresia. Commemorating the ‘king’was anadequateway to associateHabsburg loyaltywithHungarian col- lective memory. Maria Theresia was perceived as an incarnation of the Ge- samtmonarchie and thus combined both Austrian and dynastic patriotism.15 Sculptor J#nosFadrusz (1858–1903)was commissioned to create amonument thatwould celebrateMariaTheresia aswell asHungarian faithfulness towards her.16 It was thus supposed to deliver themessage that Hungary was still be- longingtotheempire.Thecity’spridewasbasedonthathistoricalmemoryand the importance of the monument needed not to be demonstrated. The in- augurationwasplannedfor16May1897inthepresenceoftheking.Actually the 14 VonunseremKrönungshügel, in: Pressburger Zeitung 316 (17.11.1891,Morgenausgabe), S. 2. 15 Krasa-Florian,DieAllegoriederAustria (seenote10),p. 154. 16 ItwastobeFadrusz’sfirstsignificantwork.HewasthenfamousforhisstatueofKingM#ty#s thatwas inauguratedonKolozsv#r’s (Cluj)mainsquare in1902, thusshifting fromAustro- HungariantoHungarianpatriotism. CatherineHorel280