v08_1904 - AUTRICHE - FRANÇOIS-JOSEPH Ier 8 florins ou 20 francs or 1885 Vienne

AUSTRIA - FRANZ-JOSEPH I

(2/12/1848-21/11/1916)

François-Joseph I (18/081830-21/11/1916) is the son of Archduke François Charles and Sophie of Bavaria. He succeeded his uncle Ferdinand I of Austria in 1848 in the midst of the European revolution. His throne wavers in Hungary, Bohemia, Milan and Venice. It is with authority that he restores order and will reign over "Mitteleuropa" for 68 years. In 1854 he married Elisabeth of Bavaria (1837-1898), better known as Sissi. Their only son Rodolphe (1858-1890) committed suicide with his mistress in 1890 in Mayerling. Empress Sissi was assassinated in Geneva in 1898. Her nephew François-Ferdinand was assassinated with his wife in Sarajevo on June 28, 1914, triggering the First World War. The old emperor died in 1916 before the carving up of his empire two years later.