Page - 285 - 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 onevoice: thePolesdidnotsucceed inmaking thecelebration(itwasaregular event taking place every year) something particularly impressive; the Ruthe- nians were divided: Russophiles wanted to use the occasion to petition the sovereignwhereasUkrainophiles persisted in seeing Francis Joseph as Joseph II’sheir; in theendtheypreferredtoshow thepictureofunity.32 InBrünnonthecontraryGermanswereofcourseconsideredbytheCzechsas objectivealliesofViennaandtherewasareluctancetoparticipateinceremonies thatwereseenas instrumentedby themajority.However therewerepractically no examples of demonstration of hostility or refusal to attend dynastic cere- monies.Theauthoritieswerecautious toavoidanymovementof contestation: onbothsidesofthemonarchy townhallsandpublicbuildingsweredeckedwith flags, streets were illuminated, services were held by all religious leaders, the militarymusicmarchedandentertained thepublic. Everybodywas concerned andcelebratedtogether.Casesofseparatefestivitiesdidnotoccurinthecitieswe are concernedwith but nevertheless this could happen: inDecember 1908 in Laibach the unveiling of a statue of Francis Josephwas the occasionof a con- siderablecelebrationofcitypatriotismbutitwasinterpretedbytheGermansas ademonstrationofSlovenenationalism(the townhadby thenbecome largely Slovene) and therefore they organized their own commemoration at the city theatre.33 Itwasnot lesspatriotic and loyal than theSlovenecelebration, but it wasundoubtedlydistinctthusmeaningthatthetransnationalaspectofdynastic loyaltywas somehow lost. Justas inLaibachthe jubileesweretheoccasiontobuildnewinfrastructures andalsotocreatefoundationsmainlyforschoolsandcharity.Inthisrespecteach group put its initiative under the aegis of Francis Joseph: this was not only symbolicbecausethesovereignhadtogivepermissiontousehisnameforthese various initiatives. The foundationsmultiplied in 1898 aswell as in 1908 pro- vidingscholarshipsandassistance toneedypupils andstudents.Thephenom- enonwas particularly remarkable in BrünnwhereGermans andCzechs com- petedinfoundingnewcharity institutions‘marketed’withthejubilee.Thesame could be said to some extent for Lembergwhere the Ruthenians also claimed their attachment to the emperor by namingmanyof their foundations by his nameassoonas1888 for the40-years jubilee. InTrieste thecelebrationsof the jubilees reflected thepolitical situation: the Italiansweredividedbetween lib- (ed.),TheLimitsofLoyalty.Imperialsymbolism,popularallegiances,andstatepatriotismin the lateHabsburgMonarchy,NewYork2007,p. 116. 32 Unowsky,Celebrating twoEmperorsandaRevolution(seenote31),p. 124. 33 EgonPelikan,Laibach/Ljubljana:nationaleundpolitischeSelbstdarstellungimöffentlichen Raumumdie Jahrhundertwende, in: Heidemarie Uhl/Christian Gerbel/Reinhard Kanno- nier/HelmutKonrad/AxelKörner(ed.),UrbaneElitenundkulturellerWandel,Bologna1996, p. 183–184. ImperialChallenges inAustro-HungarianMulticulturalCities 285