17.4. 1711 Emperor Joseph I of Habsburg died

Unlike his phlegmatic father, he was energetic and excitable. Joseph I of Habsburg was King of Hungary and Roman Emperor. However, he was never crowned King of Bohemia. He died on 17 April 1711 at the age of 32.

Joseph I is called the uncrowned Habsburg on the Bohemian throne. He was born on 26 July 1678 in Vienna. He reigned for only six years and died relatively young. His full name, which he acquired at his baptism, was Joseph Jacob Ignatius John Antoninus Eustach. His father was the Roman Emperor, King Leopold I of Bohemia and Hungary, and Princess Eleonora Magdalena Theresa of the Palatinate.

Joseph the First had a total of eight siblings. He was brought up as heir to the throne from a young age and had several teachers. The main one was Prince Karl Theodor Otto of Salm, who later became the highest Hofmeister at the royal court during the reign of Joseph I. Among Joseph's other tutors were Johann Wagner of Wagenfels and Bishop Franz Ferdinand Rummel of Vienna.

"Joseph's upbringing took place outside the influence of the Jesuits, which was very unusual for the period in which Joseph I lived," writes Valentin Urfus in his book Emperor Joseph I. The Uncrowned Habsburg on the Bohemian Throne. Jesuit schools were from the beginning among the elite of Catholic education and still have a good reputation today, although they are not as numerous as in the 17th and 18th centuries.

Unlike his phlegmatic father, Joseph was energetic and could easily become angry. He was interested in music and was seen by many as very talented, playing the flute brilliantly. He was also interested in engineering and knew several languages such as French, Latin, Spanish, Italian, Hungarian, German and Czech.

Together with his father, he shared a passion for hunting. But also for the women of the royal court and beyond. Joseph's wife was Amalie Wilhelmine of Brunswick-Lüneburg, who came from the Lower German Welf family. This was a marriage for political reasons. Amalie Wilhelmine was unable to impress her passionate husband and later fell ill.

King Leopold I of Hungary crowned his son as a young boy in 1687, and became Roman Emperor three years later. However, Joseph I was never crowned King of Bohemia and probably visited the Czech lands only twice. The first time was when the plague broke out in Vienna. Joseph was only a year old at the time.

"Emperor Leopold I and his court took refuge in Prague. The ghost in tattered tatters of flowing robes in the face of a monster and corpses in decay reached out to Leopold again. But the symptom of the plague caught him in Prague also. A new escape to Pardubice was prepared in record time, but while preparing to leave, Prince Joseph fell ill with fever and lack of appetite. Therefore, Leopold left his son in Prague, as the journey would have worsened the little boy's condition," writes Soňa Sirotková in her book Joseph I, My Friend.

Joseph visited Prague for the second time in 1702 for a war operation. During his reign he was otherwise based in Vienna. He mainly dealt with problems in Hungary, where there was an uprising and Joseph was even deposed from the throne by the Hungarian Onodosian Diet in 1707. He died young in 1711 at the age of 32 when he contracted smallpox.

Sources: www.deutsche-biographie.de, Sonia Sirotková in her book Josef I, My Friend, Valentin Urfus: Emperor Joseph I, the uncrowned Habsburg on the Bohemian throne, www.habsburger.net