Tonight, it volition live precisely 100 years from the 2nd when our old ruler Franz Joseph I of Austria died inward his Schönnbrunn Palace, Vienna, at the same identify where he was born 86 years earlier, inward 1830.
Around nine pm, he asked his servants to wake him upwardly at 3:30 am inward the next morning, simply similar they did on that day. Because of thence much work, he had no fourth dimension to live ill, everyone believed him simply days earlier. However, his fever surpassed 38 °C due to pneumonia, he died at 9:05 pm, together with the majestic part had to study that "her majesty of decease has touched Austro-Hungarian Empire with her theatre hand" together with an avalanche of obituaries was started. Check the sorrow of his loyal fans inward Arkansas. ;-)
It's non bad to alive for 86 years but the duration of his tenure is fifty-fifty to a greater extent than striking. He has been the emperor for 68 years – the equivalent of 17 four-year terms. Which United States of America president tin give notice boast close the same survival skills?
He became the Austrian emperor – together with Czech together with Hungarian king, alongside other things – inward the revolutionary twelvemonth of 1848. He was solely crowned every bit the Hungarian virile someone monarch inward 1867; he was able to principle all other lands without a crown.
The old Austrian anthem was the "Emperor's Song". It was later on stolen past times the Prussians together with the Nazis whose multicultural descendants proceed on abusing it today.
You may imagine that the duties were somewhat ceremonial together with he spent much to a greater extent than fourth dimension with hunting, parties, together with other things. More hard everyday piece of work was done past times his employees. Most important, Alexander von Bach became the interior government minister (1849-1859) together with basically preserved a highly centralized power, although non quite every bit authoritative 1 every bit his predecessor Metternich.
The most widespread translation of "be careful" into Czech is nonetheless the idiom "give yourself a Bach" ["dej si bacha"] which refers to the demand to live careful about the old government minister of interior.
At whatever rate, Franz Joseph I was our virile someone monarch throughout the 2nd one-half of the 19th century together with the early on 20th century – thence most of the old large Czech factories (such every bit Škoda Works inward Pilsen together with Laurin together with Klement, immediately Škoda Auto, inward Mladá Boleslav) were founded during his tenure. Yes, Pilsner Urquell had existed 6 years before Franz Joseph I took over.
In the Czech lands, he was known every bit "the old Walker" ["starej Procházka"] which is funny because "Procházka" is a typically Czech, 6th most widespread surname inward Czech Republic (among top 8 surnames, the monastic tell is precisely the same for the feminime versions of the surnames). The surname agency "a walk".
In 1901, Czech newspapers published this photograph of the emperor who was opening a novel state-of-the-art yoke inward Prague named after Franz I (not Franz Joseph I – some other yoke inward Prague was named after him). These days, it's known every bit the "Legion Bridge". The caption said "A walk on the bridge" ("Procházka na mostě") which made the Czechs invent the joke that "A walk" is genuinely his name.
However, some historians who in all probability know much to a greater extent than close these matters debate that the nickname "the old Walker" is much older, from the 1970s. The arrival of the majestic horses used to live announced past times a cavalryman who was old together with whose cite happened to live Procházka. "Old Procházka is already coming," people were chanting, together with the emperor inherited the cite from the employee, too.
Most Czechs were form out of satisfied inward Austro-Hungarian Empire together with the plans to construct an independent solid reason were solely becoming a part of the mainstream during the First World War and, unsurprisingly, energized past times Austria's loss inward the dandy war. Maybe, if Austro-Hungarian Empire had won the dandy war, it could nonetheless live around. The 20th century could receive got seen a completely unlike organization with states that would live much to a greater extent than multilingual – a unlike history than the 20th century European history based on the state states could receive got emerged.
This option Europe could receive got arguably avoided the Second World War. No Hitler could receive got annexed "Austria" because the give-and-take "Austria" would hateful something real unlike together with non quite every bit supportive of some race-based High German nationalism. And inward such a Europe of 2016 with Austria-Hungary, people would in all probability experience that "we already receive got plenty multiculturalism inward our ain empire" together with the EU would never live born.
Many things could receive got been unlike but I cry upwardly that the overall characteristics – the sum love or hatred or misunderstanding betwixt unlike ethnic nations together with many other things – would in all probability live rather similar to what it is today, anyway.
In recent iii months, I carefully watched the 12 episodes of a novel series "I, Mattoni" shot past times the Czech Public TV. With a $4 1 1000 1000 budget, it became the most expensive computer programme ever shot past times the Czech Public TV together with I cry upwardly that they've proven that they nonetheless know how to create these things good (and I disagree with the numerous negative reviews past times the critics that receive got emerged inward recent days).
Just to live sure, it's a series close the life of Heinrich Mattoni, the guy who gave the cite to the most famous Czech mineral H2O brand. He was a guy from a wealthy German-speaking identify unit of measurement (with some Italian ancestry) inward Carlsbad, Sudetenland, Bohemia. He wasn't a terribly "nice" guy but he was real human together with skillful. As a immature man, he was selling the Carlsbad wafers, working every bit a gigolo, together with past times a trick, he took over a license to distribute the mineral H2O from a spring. His companionship grew, he married a immature lady from a rich identify unit of measurement who was fainting because she loved him thence much – but she despised him when they were old.
He bought lots of things, started novel business, spread his companionship all over the world, together with solved many problems past times payments. He bribed a immature guy whom his most dear immature lady (dying of tuberculosis) love inward monastic tell for them to receive got a romantic human relationship which would create this immature lady happy inward her terminal days. He bribed the fellow of his 2nd immature lady to leave her because he wasn't the correct 1 – although Mattoni later on decided it was a incorrect judgement. And in that place are many other women inward Mattoni's life who played some run – including his highly emancipated modern Czech immature lady whom he cruel inward love piece inward the U.S.
In the terminal episode, he had to care against the Czech bureaucracy. In Austria-Hungary, the Czechs (and their apparatchiks) already had a lot of autonomy which wasn't e'er skillful for the business. So Mattoni had to instruct a "flawless Czech" past times bribing lots of patriotic clubs together with similar things. He also sent a "Mattoni" balloon over Prague. The balloon crashed which seemed similar a bummer but this effect genuinely turned "Mattoni" into a household name.
He needed some stamps to receive got a railroad – he had already bought a beautiful locomotive inward Pilsen – together with the Czech aßholes inward Prague were deliberately delaying the bureaucratic process. At the end, the problems did instruct solved with the assist of Vienna. He's e'er had real closed relationships with the empress wife, the married adult woman of Franz Joseph I (of this weblog post), Elizabeth of Bavaria, who was assassinated (stabbed) inward Switzerland past times an Italian anarchist. (About 10 other relatives of Franz Joseph I died of similarly unnatural causes.) But some other of import guy from the majestic identify unit of measurement came to Carlsbad again, loved it there, together with asked something like: "Perhaps our Czech friends receive got some problems inward allowing the railroad to live built?" The Czech bureaucrats all of a precipitous šitted into their pants – something that worked non simply 110 years agone – together with the railroad was built before long afterwards.
He organized a large political party together with every bit a skillful manager, he used the meat from horses together with oxen that were no longer needed (because the era of trains was coming) to feed the guests. The lastly episode says that he died shortly after the railroad was built – together with shows his married adult woman how he kisses him etc. That disagrees with the omnipresent "story from a later on time" inward which Mattoni was sick for a long plenty fourth dimension to write a thick mass together with his obnoxious married adult woman was turning his life to hell – together with she did everything she could to foreclose him from publishing his memoirs.
This inconsistency was bothering me for some 12 hours but thence I realized that it may receive got a nice, consistent explanation. The twelfth episode – with the buss together with the curt life after the railroad success – could receive got shown the terminal days of Mattoni's life inward the way inward which his married adult woman wanted it, i.e. a flush censored past times his wife, piece the previous episodes were getting us laid upwardly to bring that Mattoni's married adult woman would censor it.
The Franz Joseph I yoke inward Pilsen, the lastly rock yoke inward Bohemia (built 1913). The flush how the yoke – together with the avenue going through it – was beingness renamed is a funny representative of how the Czech history had to rewrite things often. After 1918, when Czechoslovakia was founded together with the Austrian monarchy was no longer every bit good hot ;-), the yoke was renamed every bit Wilson Bridge, after Woodrow Wilson who helped Czechoslovakia to live born. In 1948, Wilson was every bit good capitalist together with the yoke got renamed to the Stalin Bridge. At some 2nd after Stalin died, Stalin became a liability fifty-fifty for his comrades, thence the cite was returned to the Wilson Bridge.
The avenue – the principal "commercial avenue" inward Pilsen, a form out of a counterpart of the Wenceslaus Square inward Prague – was called the Jungmann Avenue after 1918 (after a Czech patriotic revivalist Jungmann – don't live fooled past times his High German name) before it was renamed to the remarkably apolitical Bahnhofstraße (Train Station Street) inward 1939 for half dozen years of the Nazi occupation. After the war, it became the Moscow Avenue. After the autumn of communism inward 1989, Moscow sounded a flake obsolete thence the cite was changed to something similar, also a geographic cite related to a large country.
Well, every bit you lot may guess, it's called the American Avenue now. ;-)
My broader indicate is that most of the Czechs are unusually "flexible" if you lot desire to avoid the term "spineless". I commonly sentiment it every bit a graphic symbol flaw but in that place is a perspective from which this "flexible flavor" smells real modern together with I am almost proud close it together with the colorful history of bending together with re-bending that my state had to experience.
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