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Rudolf. Kronprinz und Rebell.
Der Suizid von Kronprinz Rudolf von Österreich (1858–1889) in Mayerling am 30. Januar 1889 war ein Schock für ganz Europa und sollte die Welt nachhaltig beeinflussen. Hier zeichnet die Bestsellerautorin Brigitte Hamann das detaillierte Bild eines liberalen Intellektuellen, der stets vehement gegen Antisemitismus, Nationalitätenhass und Klerikalismus eintrat und dessen politisches Ziel ein vereintes Europa liberaler Staaten war.
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Published January 1, 1995
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
May 11, 2021
Umfangreiche Biografie über den unglücklichen Kronprinz Rudolf...ein Standard Werk....
September 16, 2010
Ich bin zwar kein Historiker, aber für meine Begriffe ist Brigitte Hamanns Rudolf-Biographie sehr gut recherchiert, ordentlich strukturiert und wahrt jederzeit eine kritische Distanz zu ihren Quellen. Das Buch ist nur begrenzt chronologisch strukturiert: Natürlich beginnt sie mit der Kindheit und endet mit Mayerling, das Erwachsenen-Leben gliedert sich aber mehr thematisch (Rudolf und die Wissenschaft, Rudolf und Ungarn, Rudolf und Deutschland...). Das hat zwar den Nachteil, dass man als Leser manches nur schwer chronologisch einordnen kann, macht aber die einzelnen Ereignisse um Vieles verständlicher. Man sollte sich darüber im Klaren sein, dass Rudolfs Leben hier von einer stark politischen Perspektive aufgerollt wird. Das macht für Rudolf durchaus Sinn, da er sich ja sein Leben lang stark politisch interessierte und zu beteiligen versuchte, auch wenn Kaiser Franz-Josef und seine Regierung ihn als Politiker niemals ernst nahmen und so gut wie gar nicht an den Regierungsgeschäften beteiligten. Wer sich für den Hofklatsch der Zeit interessiert, wäre hiermit aber falsch beraten.
Das Bild, was Hamann von Rudolf zeichnet ist das eines aufgeklärten jungen Mannes, der zwar absolut kein Heiliger war und durchaus zuweilen unklug gehandelt hat, der aber mit seinen liberalen Vorstellungen alles andere als ein politischer Narr war, und dem man möglicherweise doch hätte mehr zuhören sollen. Wer weiß, wie die europäische Geschichte gelaufen wäre, wenn er mit seinen politischen Idealen tatsächlich Kaiser geworden wäre?
Warum er sich letztendlich umgebracht hat, wird man wohl nie zweifelsfrei klären können, zumindest aber macht Hamann ziemlich deutlich, dass alle Mordtheorien sehr unwahrscheinlich sind und man mit ziemlicher Sicherheit von Selbstmord ausgehen kann, auch wenn die ein oder andere Begebenheit in Mayerling im Januer 1889 noch immer merkwürdig erscheint. Zumindest aber macht Hamann klar, dass eine Reduktion von Rudolf auf seinen Mord an Mary Vetsera und Selbstmord zu kurz gegriffen ist, und sein Leben auch darüberhinaus von Interesse sein kann.
Das Bild, was Hamann von Rudolf zeichnet ist das eines aufgeklärten jungen Mannes, der zwar absolut kein Heiliger war und durchaus zuweilen unklug gehandelt hat, der aber mit seinen liberalen Vorstellungen alles andere als ein politischer Narr war, und dem man möglicherweise doch hätte mehr zuhören sollen. Wer weiß, wie die europäische Geschichte gelaufen wäre, wenn er mit seinen politischen Idealen tatsächlich Kaiser geworden wäre?
Warum er sich letztendlich umgebracht hat, wird man wohl nie zweifelsfrei klären können, zumindest aber macht Hamann ziemlich deutlich, dass alle Mordtheorien sehr unwahrscheinlich sind und man mit ziemlicher Sicherheit von Selbstmord ausgehen kann, auch wenn die ein oder andere Begebenheit in Mayerling im Januer 1889 noch immer merkwürdig erscheint. Zumindest aber macht Hamann klar, dass eine Reduktion von Rudolf auf seinen Mord an Mary Vetsera und Selbstmord zu kurz gegriffen ist, und sein Leben auch darüberhinaus von Interesse sein kann.
April 19, 2008
What I said about Brigitte Hamann in connection with "Elisabeth" also holds true for this book.
Rudolf, the son of Elisabeth and the Austrian Emperor Franz Joseph, died together with Baroness Marie (also known as Mary) Vetsera a mysterious death at the hunting lodge of Mayerling. Young Marie was by no means the love of his life, but she had limitless romantic adoration of a 17 year old for him. Books and films usually focus on the events at Mayerling and the many rumors. In fact, even today we still do not know what exactly happened although the official version is that Rudolf at a moment of mental imbalance shot Marie and then himself. Franz Joseph wrote a letter to the Pope, the content of which is not known, but one must bear in mind that a Catholic who has committed suicide would not get a religious funeral, something unthinkable for a Crown Prince of an arch-Catholic dynasty. Hence perhaps the 'mental imbalance', in any case, he did get a state funeral. Marie was secretly buried.
Hamann investigates above all the life of the Crown Prince - his upbringing, his unhappy marriage to Stéphanie of Belgium, his womanizing and drinking and above all his political outlook that was in opposition to his father and the Court. He saw the signs of the time, rebelled against them in vain and maybe this feeling of powerlessness and despair led - more than anything else - to Mayerling.
Rudolf, the son of Elisabeth and the Austrian Emperor Franz Joseph, died together with Baroness Marie (also known as Mary) Vetsera a mysterious death at the hunting lodge of Mayerling. Young Marie was by no means the love of his life, but she had limitless romantic adoration of a 17 year old for him. Books and films usually focus on the events at Mayerling and the many rumors. In fact, even today we still do not know what exactly happened although the official version is that Rudolf at a moment of mental imbalance shot Marie and then himself. Franz Joseph wrote a letter to the Pope, the content of which is not known, but one must bear in mind that a Catholic who has committed suicide would not get a religious funeral, something unthinkable for a Crown Prince of an arch-Catholic dynasty. Hence perhaps the 'mental imbalance', in any case, he did get a state funeral. Marie was secretly buried.
Hamann investigates above all the life of the Crown Prince - his upbringing, his unhappy marriage to Stéphanie of Belgium, his womanizing and drinking and above all his political outlook that was in opposition to his father and the Court. He saw the signs of the time, rebelled against them in vain and maybe this feeling of powerlessness and despair led - more than anything else - to Mayerling.
June 22, 2017
Excellent biography, readable and informative, well-researched. Makes one realize that the death of Rudolf was not just a tragedy for his family, but truly for Austrian monarchy as a whole.
Read
February 5, 2026There's a beautifully sung line in the Austrian musical 'Elisabeth' that haunts me to this day: "Kaiser Rudolf wird der Zeit entgegen gehn!"
It's tricky to translate for English speakers in a way that captures the nuance of the original while conveying the subtext, but variations that were kindly provided by fans subtitling the musical include: "Emperor Rudolf will move against time/rise against time/meet time/go against time" and so on. With my toddler-level German, I translated it to myself as "Emperor Rudolf will defy time," but I wished I could see a better way of capturing the essence of the statement and the mockery contained within it, because Rudolf never became the emperor, and he was more or less shattered to pieces by time.
To my shock, I found the perfect translation in this biography of Rudolf. The Nazi forerunner and antisemite Georg Ritter von Schönerer writes scornfully about the liberal crown prince having Jewish friends, noting: "[...] if someone wants...to challenge his time, he must put up with malicious gossip.”
This is a strategy used by Nazis in my country even today.
***
Brigitte Hamann's definitive biography of Crown Prince Rudolf is best suited to those who have already studied the royal family catastrophes of late 19th century Austria, Germany, and Hungary. I am not one of these people, but my Elisabeth Das Musical-infatuated ass still managed to travel through this biography and sketch out a rough map that will hopefully be filled in with more vibrant colours soon. Rudolf was a misogynist, a murderer, and an abusive husband, but he was also enlightened, tolerant, predicted World War 1, and fervently hoped for what we now recognise as the flawed but still heartening European Union. Brigitte Hamann brings these aspects together systematically and without sinking into poetry. Expect lots of first-hand source quotes and very little lyricism.
A final note:
I disagree with the way Mary Vetsera was depicted in this biography. I hope this child soon gets a biography of her own in a post-Epstein disclosures era that does justice to her own complex life and cruel death. I hope to one day put a gardenia on her grave and I pray for her happiness wherever she may be.
It's tricky to translate for English speakers in a way that captures the nuance of the original while conveying the subtext, but variations that were kindly provided by fans subtitling the musical include: "Emperor Rudolf will move against time/rise against time/meet time/go against time" and so on. With my toddler-level German, I translated it to myself as "Emperor Rudolf will defy time," but I wished I could see a better way of capturing the essence of the statement and the mockery contained within it, because Rudolf never became the emperor, and he was more or less shattered to pieces by time.
To my shock, I found the perfect translation in this biography of Rudolf. The Nazi forerunner and antisemite Georg Ritter von Schönerer writes scornfully about the liberal crown prince having Jewish friends, noting: "[...] if someone wants...to challenge his time, he must put up with malicious gossip.”
This is a strategy used by Nazis in my country even today.
***
Brigitte Hamann's definitive biography of Crown Prince Rudolf is best suited to those who have already studied the royal family catastrophes of late 19th century Austria, Germany, and Hungary. I am not one of these people, but my Elisabeth Das Musical-infatuated ass still managed to travel through this biography and sketch out a rough map that will hopefully be filled in with more vibrant colours soon. Rudolf was a misogynist, a murderer, and an abusive husband, but he was also enlightened, tolerant, predicted World War 1, and fervently hoped for what we now recognise as the flawed but still heartening European Union. Brigitte Hamann brings these aspects together systematically and without sinking into poetry. Expect lots of first-hand source quotes and very little lyricism.
A final note:
I disagree with the way Mary Vetsera was depicted in this biography. I hope this child soon gets a biography of her own in a post-Epstein disclosures era that does justice to her own complex life and cruel death. I hope to one day put a gardenia on her grave and I pray for her happiness wherever she may be.
October 21, 2023
Es una buena biografía política de Rudolf, si bien Hamann tiene algunas Opiniones que son medio cualquier cosa (TW suicidio: )
August 19, 2024
January 30th, 1889: Crown Prince Rudolf of Austria-Hungary and his mistress Baroness Mary Vetsera are found death after their mutual murder-suicide the previous night. Their deaths were the tragic prelude to the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand (then Heir to the throne) and his wife 25 years later, which sparked the First World War. Hamann’s monumental biography was released originally in 1978 and has been translated into English by Edith Borchardt, released in 2017.
It is a very thorough study of Rudolf’s life, his political and written legacy which of course concludes with the tragic events of 1889 but does not use them as a focal point, rather it focuses on the man who would have been Emperor.
It is a very thorough study of Rudolf’s life, his political and written legacy which of course concludes with the tragic events of 1889 but does not use them as a focal point, rather it focuses on the man who would have been Emperor.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews