18 CultureShock! Austria
In 1745, Maria Theresa’s husband, Franz Stephan of
Lorraine, was crowned Holy Roman Emperor, Franz I.
Although her father’s edict had allowed her to become ruler
of Austria, gender prevented Maria Theresa from becoming
the Empress of the Holy Roman Empire. When her husband
died in 1765, she named her son, Josef II, co-regent, in
effect retaining power. She was respected and popular
because of her reforms, which included making general
education compulsory and building an efficient centralised
administration, albeit at the expense of local governance.
Yet one of her most impressive feats was not political at all.
While concerned with the affairs of the empire, she gave birth
to sixteen children, one of whom, Marie Antoinette, would
lose her head during the French Revolution.Josef II (1780–90)
When Josef II came to power following his mother’s death,
he began to institute his own reforms. Influenced by the
Enlightenment, he issued the Toleration Patent in 1781,
granting freedom of religious worship. He also set out to
curtail the powerful Catholic Church. In addition, Josef II
abolished serfdom, made the aristocracy liable to taxation,
and opened the Prater, the imperial hunting grounds, to the
public. More famously, he allowed vintners to sell their own
‘new wine’ or Heurige. The government was unable to keep
pace with the reforms, and following his death, many of
them were repealed.The 19th Century
The Napoleonic Years
As was true for many European monarchies, the Habsburgs
were threatened by the ideals of the French Revolution and
the subsequent rise of Napoleon. Fighting erupted in 1792
when France declared war on Austria and most of Europe.
In 1804, Napoleon crowned himself Emperor of France. To
compensate, Franz II raised Austria from an archduchy to an
empire and named himself Emperor of Austria as Franz I. In
spite of his efforts, Franz was forced to renounce his crown
as Holy Roman Emperor when Napoleon consolidated his