Mathilde Hefel , Born From Austria (1906-1991): Two Letters Salzburg 1971/72

They bid on two letters of nobility from 1971/72 out of Salzburg.

Written by hand and signed with first name by Mathilde Hefel, b. of Austria (1906-1991), daughter of Archduke Franz Salvator of Austria-Tuscany (1866-1939) and Archduchess Marie Valerie Mathilde Amalie of Austria (1868-1924).

She had been the one since 1947 WifeofAustrian politician Dr. phil. Ernst Hefel (1888-1974).

Aimed at a Clara, di the countess Clara Ledochowska (*26. June 1911 in Sarns), secretary at the Austrian embassy to the Holy See (Vatican).

1.) 2-sided letter card (9.8 x 14.5 cm), dated Salzburg, the 4th May 1971.

Excerpts:"Dear Clara! Your lovely letter from April 16th. [...] with your kind and warm sympathy for the death of my brother Hubert has touched me very much and I thank you for it with all my heart! Yes, you're right, the older we get, the more goodbyes we have to say - probably in order to detach ourselves more and more from everything earthly and prepare for our eternal home. [...] He was the 'center' of our family, not only for his own 13 children, but also for us siblings; What I as the youngest and he the oldest, perhaps. felt the most. [...] Your faithful Mathilde."

2.) 2-page A5 letter, dated Salzburg, Nonnberggasse 12 A, the 2nd. November 1972. -- In the Genealogical Handbook of the Nobility, Volume 19 (1959), p. 74, it is listed at this address; her husband Ernst Hefel as former undersecretary of state and retired section head

Excerpts:"Dear Clara! I just want to let you know very quickly today that - if nothing else comes up! - on the 10th I'm going to Rome in Novemberonly as a 'pilgrim' for 3 days, with this trip to Rome 'Pro fide et ecclesia'. You probably already know about it; Prof. Balduin Schwarz here from Salzburg (who we know well) is the chairman and entrepreneur of this matter and you will certainly see him at the embassy beforehand [...]. Unfortunately, I don't know where we live (spiritual houses) yet. [...] My niece Marie Habsburg (daughter of my eldest sister Ella Waldburg and widow after my cousin Georg Toscana) is also traveling with us and we live together. [...] Seriously, I can leave under the circumstances, since I'll only be away from here for 4 days. [...] All the best from your Mathilde."

Condition: letter waterstained; Map in good condition. Please also note the pictures!

Internal note: Clara L. 75 Adel

About her husband and parents (source: wikipedia):

Ernst Hefel (*25. November 1888 in Schruns, Austria-Hungary; † 21. March 1974 in Salzburg) was a doctor of philosophy and an Austrian politician in the post-war period.

Family: Ernst Hefel was born as the son of Ferdinand Hefel and Elisabeth Amann.

His first wife Marthe Schnürer died on January 19th. June 1945. In 1947, the native of Vorarlberg married Mathilde Maria Antonia Ignatia Archduchess of Austria-Tuscany, the daughter of Marie Valerie of Austria from the Austrian Imperial House.

Hefels and Marthe Schnürer's daughter Annemarie (1916–1991) studied ethnology in Vienna, wrote her dissertation in 1941 and narrowly avoided being called up as a naval assistant in Flensburg at the beginning of 1945. Annemarie Schweeger-Hefel later worked as an ethnologist.

Merits: In the Renner Provisional Government, the first government after the liberation of Austria in April 1945, he became Undersecretary of State for Religious Affairs in the “State Office for Public Enlightenment, Teaching, Education and Cultural Affairs” under Ernst Fischer.

In 1949 he was appointed president of the Austrian Cultural Institute in Rome, a position he held until 1954.

Writings: The Estensian collections of the House of Austria-Este. To defend against Italian claims, Zurich, Amalthea-Verlag, 1919

Awards: 1954: Large Golden Medal of Honor with the star for services to the Republic of Austria

Archduke Franz Salvator of Austria-Tuscany (* 21. August 1866 in Altmünster; † 20. April 1939 in Vienna) from the House of Habsburg-Lorraine (Habsburg-Lorraine-Tuscany line) was Archduke of Austria and officer.

Life: The Archduke was baptized with the full name Franz Salvator Maria Joseph Ferdinand Karl Leopold Anton of Padua Johann Baptist Januaryius Aloys Gonzaga Rainer Benedikt Bernhard of Austria-Tuscany. Franz Salvator was the son of Archduke Karl Salvator of the Tuscan branch of the Habsburgs and his wife Maria Immaculata of Naples-Sicily.

After studying at the Theresian Academy, Franz Salvator became a lieutenant in the Uhlan Regiment No. 1881. 6, was with the Kaiserjäger in 1895 and then switched back to the cavalry. In 1911 he was appointed general of the cavalry and was ultimately commander of the cavalry division in Vienna. During the First World War, Franz Salvator served as general inspector of voluntary medical care between 1914 and 1918 and was deputy protector of the Red Cross in Austria and Hungary. Under the patronage of Franz Salvator, fencing in Vienna was reformed from 1895 onwards by introducing the Italian fencing method into the German-speaking area under Luigi Barbasetti. Franz Salvator and Marie Valerie

Family: Franz Salvator married on January 31st. July 1890 in Ischl the youngest daughter of the Austrian Emperor Franz Joseph I, Archduchess Marie Valerie (1868–1924). The wedding took place in the Ischl parish church, with Anton Bruckner playing the organ.

The couple had ten children:

Elizabeth (1892–1930)

Franz Karl (1893–1918)

Hubert Salvator (1894–1971)

Hedwig (1896–1970)

Theodor Salvator (1899–1978)

Gertrude (1900–1962)

Maria (1901–1936)

Clemens Salvator (1904–1974)

Mathilde (1906–1991)

Agnes (1911–1911)

Franz Karl (1893–1918), the eldest son, died unmarried and childless. Clemens Salvator (1904–1974) declared his resignation from the House of Habsburg-Lorraine after the First World War.

The marriage, which was harmonious at the beginning, deteriorated over time and Franz Salvator began to look for other women. He had an affair with Stephanie Richter (1891–1972) and was the father of her son Franz Josef zu Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst (1914–2008), born after her marriage to Friedrich Franz zu Hohenlohe-Waldenburg-Schillingsfürst. Franz Salvator recognized Franz Josef as an illegitimate son while his wife was still alive.

In 1934, 10 years after Marie Valerie's death, Franz Salvator married Melanie von Risenfels (1898–1984), daughter of the last Baron von Risenfels. Franz Salvator is buried in the crypt of the owners of Wallsee Castle at the Sindelburg parish church.

Awards

Dr. hc from the University of Innsbruck

Grand Cross of the Order of St. Stephen

Archduchess Marie Valerie Mathilde Amalie of Austria (* 22. April 1868 in Ofen, Hungary; † 6. September 1924 in Wallsee), from April 1919 Marie Valerie Habsburg-Lothringen, was the youngest daughter of the Austro-Hungarian ruling couple Franz Joseph I and Elisabeth.

Life: Marie Valerie was born as the imperial couple's fourth child after Elisabeth wanted another child in order to give Hungary a gift with the pregnancy and birth. No royal child had been born in Hungary for several centuries. A boy would have been named Stephen after the first Hungarian king and national saint.

Unlike her siblings, Marie Valerie remained in her mother's care and became her favorite daughter. In the imperial court environment she was therefore often referred to as “the only one”. During her childhood and youth, Marie Valerie had a close friendship with her cousin, Duchess Amelie in Bavaria. The two girls referred to each other as “body cousins.” Together with her cousin Marie Louise von Larisch-Wallersee, she spent a lot of time in Hungary, which earned her the nickname “the Hungarian child” among the Austrian population.

This became formative and, contrary to her mother's intentions, she later began to reject everything Hungarian and converse with her father in German. In addition to Hungarian and German, she spoke French, English and Italian and loved music and art. A long-time companion of the Archduchess was the Afro-Austrian Rustimo, whom her mother Elisabeth had received as a gift from the Egyptian Viceroy Ismael Pasha.

At 4. In June 1882, Marie Valerie was confirmed in the Schönbrunn Palace Chapel in the presence of her family. At a ball in 1886 she met Archduke Franz Salvator of Austria-Tuscany (1866-1939), son of Karl Salvator of Austria-Tuscany (1839-1892), a third cousin. the person she fell in love with. The two got engaged at Christmas 1888, on the 31st. In July 1890 (the year after her brother Crown Prince Rudolf committed suicide) they married in Bad Ischl. On the occasion of the wedding, the Mother of God Church in Vienna's Jacquingasse was founded, which still exists as a parish church today. The couple then moved to Wels at Lichtenegg Castle. In 1892 the first daughter Elisabeth Franziska, called Ella, was born. The children's educator included Elsa Köhler. The marriage had a total of ten children. Even after her marriage, Marie Valerie remained in close contact with her aging father, who greatly appreciated the informal atmosphere in his youngest daughter's large family. Marie Valerie was heavily involved in various charities.

The marriage with Franz Salvator, which was initially harmonious, deteriorated over time. Franz Salvator became involved with other women, including Princess Stéphanie zu Hohenlohe-Waldenburg-Schillingsfürst. With her he had a son, whom he acknowledged during Marie Valerie's lifetime. On the 11th In June 1895, Marie Valerie and Franz Salvator bought Wallsee Castle from the then owner, Duke Alfred of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, and had it completely renovated. After completion, the couple stopped on the 4th. September 1897 festive entry into the castle on the Danube. There was great rejoicing in Wallsee, as the emperor's daughter had a reputation for great charity and kindness. She was also called the Angel of Wallsee there.

After the murder of her mother Elisabeth, she inherited two-fifths of the total assets of 10 million guilders and the Hermesvilla, although in her will Elisabeth had granted lifelong right of residence to her husband Franz Joseph, who died in 1916. In 1900, Marie Valerie took on duties for the Red Cross, had hospitals built and provided donations. Unlike her mother, Marie Valerie enjoyed staying in the Hermesvilla and lived in the building with her family from 1903 to 1906. In 1911 she sold the Hermesvilla to the court, which had had the right of first refusal since 1890.

After the fall of the monarchy in 1918, the Nobility Abolition Act passed by the Republic of German-Austria on January 3rd. April 1919 her name changed to Marie Valerie Habsburg-Lothringen. Due to the “Law of 3. April 1919 regarding the expulsion from the country and the takeover of the assets of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine" (Habsburg Law), she made her declaration in 1920 in accordance with § 2 "to expressly [renounce] her membership of this house and all claims to power derived from it and “to profess to be loyal citizens of the Republic.” This not only meant that she was allowed to stay in Austria as an Austrian citizen, but that she and her descendants were also able to keep their Habsburg private assets and thus Wallsee Castle.

In 1924, Marie Valerie Habsburg was diagnosed with lymphatic cancer. She died on the 6th. September of the same year and was buried in the Habsburg crypt on the eastern outer wall of the choir of the Sindelburg parish church.

Honors: The Maria Valeria Bridge, built in 1895 and reopened in 2001 after its destruction in 1944, over the Danube between Esztergom and Stúrovo was named after the Archduchess. In Klagenfurt there was a Marie-Valerie-Siechenheim (today a commercial academy); It is not known whether it was named after her. In Baden she was also honored as a benefactor of the city by naming Valeriegasse.

Diaries: The diaries kept by Archduchess Marie Valerie are an important source for the history of the Austrian imperial family in the second half of the 19th century. century. Excerpts from their diaries were edited by Martha and Horst Schad in 1998. However, this edition is not based on the originals of the diaries, but on copies made by the writer Richard Sexau and which are in his estate. The edition incorrectly states that Richard Sexau's estate is located in the Bavarian Main State Archives. However, it is kept in the Bavarian State Library. As of now (2022), it is not known where the original diaries are and whether they have been preserved.

Progeny:

Hubert Salvator Habsburg-Lothringen (1894–1971), husband of Rosemary zu Salm-Salm

Hedwig, married Countess of Stolberg-Stolberg (1896–1970), wife of Count Bernhard von Stolberg-Stolberg

Theodor Salvator Habsburg-Lothringen (1899–1978), husband of Maria Theresa, née. from Waldburg-Zeil-Trauchburg. Owner of the castle in Wallsee, which is still owned by his descendants.

Gertrud Countess of Waldburg zu Zeil and Hohenems (1900–1962), second wife of Georg Graf von Waldburg zu Zeil and Hohenems after the death of her sister Elisabeth

Maria Habsburg-Lorraine, born of Austria (1901–1936)

Clemens Salvator of Austria-Tuscany, from 1930 shared surname Altenburg (1904–1974), husband of Elisabeth, née. Rességuier de Miremont

Mathilde Maria Antonia Ignatia Hefel, b. of Austria (1906–1991), wife of Ernst Hefel

Agnes of Austria, died a few hours after birth in 1911