Ferdinand I of Austria

From Freepedia

Ferdinand I Karl Leopold Joseph Franz Marchlin Emperor of Austria King of Hungary and Bohemia (April 19, 1793 – June 29, 1875) succeeded his father (Franz II Holy Roman Emperor/Franz I of Austria) as Emperor and King in 1835 and was forced to abdicate in 1848. He was also King of Lombardy-Venetia.

He was feeble-minded and epileptic. He was placed on the throne by Metternich as a puppet for Metternich's own purposes. His marriage to Princess Maria Anna of Sardinia (1803-1884) was probably never consummated, nor is he believed to have had any other liaisons. He is famous for his one coherent command: when someone tried to keep him from eating dumplings because his digestive system could not stand them, he said “I'm the Emperor, and I want dumplings!” (German: Ich bin der Kaiser und will Knödel.)

With the breakout of revolution in Vienna in 1848, Metternich fled the country. As the revolutionaries were marching on the palace, Ferdinand is supposed to have said “But are they allowed to do that?” (German: Ja, dürfen sie denn das?) He was convinced to abdicate by Felix zu Schwarzenberg, and his nephew, Franz Joseph, would occupy the Austrian throne for the next sixty-eight years.

Ferdinand was the last King of Bohemia to be crowned as such. Due to his sympathy with Bohemia (where he spent the rest of his life in Prague Castle) he was given the Czech nickname “Ferdinand V, the Good” (Ferdinand Dobrotivý). In Austria, Ferdinand similarly nicknamed “der Gütige” (the Benign).