Rudolf, Erzherzog von Österreich, * 1858

Rudolf, Archduke of Austria, b. Laxenburg (Lower Austria), Aug. 21, 1858, d. Mayerling (Lower Austria,), Jan. 30, 1889 (suicide), crown prince of Austria-Hungary, only son of Emperor Franz Joseph I, from 1881 married to Stephanie, daughter of the Belgian king Leopold II. His liberal attitudes brought him into opposition with his father and the court. R. also made a name for himself as a journalist and writer of travel and hunting literature. He promoted and partly authored the publication "Die Österreichisch-Ungarische Monarchie in Wort und Bild" (24 volumes, 1885-1902, ("Kronprinzenwerk"). Killed his mistress Baroness Mary von Vetsera and himself at Mayerling, the hunting lodge in the Vienna Woods ("tragedy of Mayerling").

Editions: Politische Briefe an einen Freund, ed. by J. Szeps, 1922; Majestät, ich warne Sie ..., ed. by B. Hamann, 1979.

Literature: F. v. Mitis, Das Leben des Kronprinzen R., 1928 (new ed. by A. Wandruszka 1973); E. Weill, Kronprinz R., 1936; F. Egger-Fabritius, Kronprinz R. von Ö. als Journalist und Schriftsteller, doctoral thesis, Vienna 1955; E. Franzel, Kronprinzen-Mythos und Mayerling-Legenden, 1963; B. Hamann, R., Kronprinz und Rebell, 1978; G. Holler, Mayerling, 1988; S. Mattl-Wurm (ed.), R. Ein Leben im Schatten von Mayerling, exhibition catalogue, Historisches Museum der Stadt Wien, 1989; F. Weissensteiner, Frauen um Kronprinz R., 1991.