The Habsburgs and Hungary

Fact: most of the Hungarians do not like the Habsburg dynasty.

However, the situation is much more complex. The view that the Habsburgs were despotic and wanted to oppress the Hungarian nation and our national feelings was present since the Habsburgs became the ruling house of Hungary, but this view was over-emphasized during the communist era. Most of the Hungarians can think only about the numerous uprisings, revolutions and wars of independence against the dynasty, and because of this if a Hungarian is asked whether he likes the Habsburgs, the answer is probably a definite ’no’.

On the other hand, if a Hungarian is asked whether he likes Queen Maria Theresia and considers her as a good ruler, the answer is ’yes’ and ’she was a great queen’. She made important, mostly symbolic gestures towards the Hungarians – such as establishing the Order of Saint Stephen I, returning the Holy Crown to Buda, etc. –, so we don’t see her as someone who tried to abolish the Hungarian independence. If a Hungarian is asked whether he likes Palatine Joseph, the answer is ’yes’. He and his entire family – his wives and children – liked the Hungarians, and Palatine Joseph himself did so much for the improvement of Budapest. The descendants of the Palatine became the Hungarian or Palatine branch of the Habsburgs (nádori ág), who stayed in Hungary after the dethronement of the dynasty, and were popular members of the society in the 1920s, 1930s.

If a Hungarian is asked whether he likes Queen Elizabeth, née Princess in Bavaria, the answer is again a ’yes’ – she is one of the most popular and beloved queens in the history of Hungary. If a Hungarian is asked whether he likes King Charles IV (Emperor Charles I), the last king of Hungary, the answer wouldn’t be ’no’. (In fact, he is not a well-known figure, since he reigned for less than 2 years, but we kinda like him.) And finally, if a Hungarian is asked whether he likes Crown Prince Otto, the answer is probably a ’yes’. He was popular in Hungary after the regime change, and we do recognise his efforts to help the nation.

There are only a few members, mostly rulers, of the dynasty who are truly not beloved; the feelings towards other monarchs are neutral and we simply don’t know the rest of the dynasty. So, after all, from my viewpoint it’s not that the Hungarians loathe the entire Habsburg dynasty, neither we hate all of our Habsburg-monarchs – it’s just merely a „habit” to state that we don’t like them, a habit we learnt in elementary school and national holidays related to independence movements such as 15 March and 6 October.

by Alla