Alfred, 1.Fuerst zu Windisch-Graetz,
(1787-1862)
Born 11 May 1787 Bruxelles
Died 21 March 1862 Wien
Married 15 June 1817 Frauenberg
Princess Eleonore zu Schwarzenberg
Born 21 September 1796 Wien
Died 12 June 1848 Prag
Joseph Nikolaus was followed as Lord of Tachau by his eldest son,
Alfred Candidus,
who at the time was only fifteen years old. The
Emperor, angered
by the defection to Napoleon of so many princes of
the Empire,
decided to create princes who would be unconditionally
faithful to
him as Roman Emperor of the German Nation. As a
consequence,
the ambitious mother of Alfred Candidus was able to
persuade the
Emperor to elevate the immediate estates Eggloffs and
Siegen in Wurttemberg
(Germany) to the princedom of Windisch-Graetz
and, by decree
of 24 May 1804, Alfred Candidus to Prince of the
Empire.
In contrast with his forebears, he decided on a military career.
During the revolutionary
years 1848-1849, he commanded the Austrian
Army as Fieldmarshal
and defeated the insurgencies in Prague and Wien.
His wife, Princess
Eleonore zu Schwarzenberg, was killed by a sniper
during the insurgency
in Prague (12 June 1848). He commanded the
campaign against
Hungary, but was recalled because his attitude was
considered too
conciliatory. He was instrumental in the abdication of
Emperor Ferdinand
and the installation on the throne of the young
Franz Joseph
in 1848.
He has been accorded an honoured place in Austrian history. He
lived the last
years of his life in Tachau, built the largest
hippodrome in
the Monarchy in Heiligen and began the building of a
"fantasy" castle
where he intended receiving King Ludwig II of
Bavaria, the
Emperor Franz Joseph and the Czar Nicholas I of Russia.
Before he could
finish this extravagant project, he died in Tachau on
21 March 1862.
Source: Leo van de Pas |
