Princess of Liechtenstein from 1929 to 1938
Elsa
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Princess Elsa with her husband, 1935
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Tenure
| 22 July 1929 ? 25 July 1938
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Born
| Elisabeth Sarolta von Gutmann
(
1875-01-06
)
6 January 1875
Vienna
, Austria
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Died
| 28 September 1947
(1947-09-28)
(aged 72)
Vitznau
, Switzerland
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Burial
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Spouse
|
Baron Geza Er?s de Bethlenfalva
(
m.
; died
)
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Father
| Wilhelm von Gutmann
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Mother
| Ida Wodianer
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Religion
| Catholicism
(previously
Judaism
)
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Elsa
(born
Elisabeth Sarolta von Gutmann
; 6 January 1875 – 28 September 1947) was
Princess of Liechtenstein
from 1929 to 1938 as the wife of
Prince Franz I
of
Liechtenstein
.
[1]
Early life
[
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]
Elisabeth (also known as Elsa) was born at
Vienna
,
Austria-Hungary
. She was the daughter of
Wilhelm Isak Ritter von Gutmann
and his second wife
Ida
. Her father was a
Jewish
businessman from
Moravia
. His
coal mining
and trading company, Gebruder Gutmann, was in a leading position in the market dominated by the
Habsburg
monarchy. He and his brother were ennobled in 1878 by
Emperor Franz Joseph I
. They were made knights of the
Order of the Iron Crown
which simultaneously meant being given a hereditary knighthood. Between 1891 and 1892 he was president of the
Vienna Israelite Community
.
[2]
Marriages
[
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]
First marriage
[
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]
In January 1899, she was baptised on the name Elisabeth Sarolta and became a
Catholic
. A few days later, on 1 February 1899, Elisabeth was married in
Vienna
to Hungarian
Baron
Geza
Er?s of Bethlenfalva
(1866?1908). He died on 7 August 1908. They had no children.
[3]
Second marriage and Princess of Liechtenstein
[
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]
In 1914, Elisabeth met the future
Franz I, Prince of Liechtenstein
at a relief fund for soldiers. Prince Franz's brother
Prince Johann II
did not approve of this relationship. On 11 February 1929, Prince Franz succeeded his brother as Franz I, as his brother had died unmarried and childless. On 22 July 1929, Elisabeth and Franz I married at the small parish church of Lainz near
Vienna
and she became known as Princess Elsa. They had no children. The couple were the first prince and princess of Liechtenstein to make proper contact with the public through active representation and Princess Elsa was the first Princess of Liechtenstein in 70 years at that point.
[3]
As Princess of Liechtenstein, she became active within the population of the country. Under her initiative she founded the medical Prince Elsa Foundation and when a
polio
outbreak occurred in
Vaduz
in 1931 she obtained medicine from the
United States
from her own expense. She, along with her husband, spent most of their time in the royal estates in Austria, yet visited the country annually where they would visit sick people in hospitals and children in schools. As a result, she enjoyed relative popularity during her time as Princess.
[3]
However,
Nazi
groups started to emerge in Liechtenstein from 1933, primarily due to the rise of Nazi Germany and the introduction of
anti-Jewish laws
in the country, which caused Liechtenstein to experience a large
Jewish
immigration.
[4]
[5]
As a result, there was continuing
antisemitic
agitation in Liechtenstein throughout the 1930s.
[6]
Due to Princess Elsa being of Jewish relation, she became a target hostility from Nazi groups such as the
Liechtenstein Homeland Service
and later the
German National Movement in Liechtenstein
. Opponents also criticized her by falsely speculating that she wanted to succeed Franz I to the throne upon his death.
[3]
On 31 March 1938, Franz I made
Franz Joseph
his regent following the
Anschluss of Austria
. After making him regent they moved to Feldberg,
Czechoslovakia
and on 25 July, he died while at one of his family's castles, Castle Feldberg, and Franz Joseph formally succeeded him as the Prince of Liechtenstein.
[7]
[8]
Although Franz stated that he had given the regency to Franz Joseph due to his old age it was speculated that he did not wish to remain in control of the principality if Nazi Germany were to invade, primarily because Princess Elsa's Jewish relations.
[6]
[9]
Later years
[
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]
After the death of her husband in 1938, she lived at
Semmering Pass
, until the
annexation of Austria
to
Nazi Germany
, when she went into exile in
Switzerland
, where she died at
Vitznau
on
Lake Lucerne
in 1947.
[10]
She was initially buried in Dux Chapel in
Schaan
, before being moved to
St. Florian Cathedral
in Vaduz in 1960.
[3]
Ancestry
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]
Ancestors of Princess Elsa of Liechtenstein
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| | | | | | | 8. Isak Kelin Gutmann
| | | | | | | 4. Marcus Leopold Gutmann
| | | | | | | | | | 9. Elise Wolf
| | | | | | | 2.
Wilhelm von Gutmann
| | | | | | | | | | | | 10. Anschel Spira-Frankel
| | | | | | | 5. Dobresch Spira-Frankel
| | | | | | | | | | 11. Dobresch
| | | | | | | 1.
Elisabeth von Gutmann
| | | | | | | | | | | | | 12. Rudolf Wodianer
| | | | | | | 6. Philipp Wodianer
| | | | | | | | | | 13. Rozalia Koppel
| | | | | | | 3. Ida Wodianer
| | | | | | | | | | | | 14. Moritz Porges
| | | | | | | 7. Emma Porges
| | | | | | | | | | 15. Henriette Reitlinger
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Notes and sources
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- Wodianer Family
- Genealogisches Handbuch des Adels, Furstliche Hauser, Reference: 1968
External links
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]