• Source: Archduke Rainer Ferdinand of Austria

Archduke Rainer Ferdinand Maria Johann Evangelist Franz Ignaz of Austria (11 January 1827 – 27 January 1913) was an Austrian prince and politician who served as Minister-President of Austria from 1861 to 1865. Later in his life, he took up the collection of preserved papyri, largely from Egypt, and served as a benefactor and patron while working with the Oriental studies department of the University of Vienna. His purchases of papyri from Egypt formed the Rainer collection at the Austrian National Library.




Biography


Archduke Rainer Ferdinand was born in Milan, the capital of the Austrian Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia. He was a son of the viceroy, Archduke Rainer Joseph, and Princess Elisabeth of Savoy. He spent most of his youth at the Royal Villa of Monza. Rainer studied law at the University of Vienna and in 1843 joined the Austrian Imperial Army in the rank of an Oberst (Colonel).

In 1852, Archduke Rainer married his cousin Archduchess Maria Karoline (1825–1915), whose father, Charles, was known for his victory at the 1809 Battle of Aspern. The marriage was a very happy one, and, with numerous public appearances and charitable activities, the couple was probably the most popular amongst the Habsburg family. The lavish celebration of their diamond wedding in 1912 was rated as one of the last great events of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy before World War I. However, the marriage remained childless.
In 1854, Rainer achieved the rank of Generalmajor in the Imperial Army and in 1861 was raised to Feldmarschall-Leutnant (Field marshal lieutenant). In 1857, Archduke Rainer was appointed president of the Austrian Imperial Council by Emperor Francis Joseph I. In the course of the implementation of the 1861 February Patent constitution, he took up office as nominal Minister-President chairing the liberal cabinet of State Minister Anton von Schmerling.
Rainer was popular with the nonaristocratic population of Vienna, often walking the streets on foot.




Papyrus collection



While Rainer's military and political career was largely forgotten, his interest in art and science proved more lasting. Later in his life, Archduke Rainer became interested in the emerging science of papyrology, the study of preserved papyrus in the deserts of Egypt that offered primary source documents from centuries earlier. In 1878–1879, the Viennese dealer in antiquities Theodor Graf purchased recently found papyri from Faiyum, known as Arsinoe in the Hellenistic period. Graf contacted Professor of Oriental History at the University of Vienna Josef Karabacek and arranged the shipping of around 10,000 papyri to him. The papyri made their way to Vienna in 1881 and 1882 while awaiting a buyer; at the end of 1883, Archduke Rainer agreed to purchase the papyri. Professor Karabacek managed and processed both the sale and the collection. The collection was initially stored at the Österreichischen Museum für Kunst und Industrie (the predecessor of the modern Museum of Applied Arts). Archduke Rainer continued to expand the collection with new purchases that Graf arranged, including papyri from digs at Hermopolis, Heracleopolis Magna, and other sites in the Faiyum area such as Soknopaiou Nesos. Rainer gifted the collection to his uncle Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria on August 18, 1899 as a birthday present. At Rainer's request, Franz Joseph incorporated them as a special collection at the Imperial and Royal Court Library (now known as the Austrian National Library). Rainer's vast purchases provided the core of the collection that still exists today as one of the most significant collection of papyri in the world. The Rainer collection at the Austrian National Library was given the honour of becoming part of the UNESCO Memory of the World Register in 2001.




Honours and awards


Austro-Hungarian
Knight of the Golden Fleece, 1852
Grand Cross of the Royal Hungarian Order of St. Stephen, 1862
Military Merit Cross, in Diamonds
Bronze Military Merit Medal on Red Ribbon
Foreign




Ancestry






References

Kata Kunci Pencarian:

• Rainer dari Austria (1783-1853)
• Amadeo I dari Spanyol
• Archduke Rainer Ferdinand of Austria
• Archduke Karl Ludwig of Austria
• Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria
• Archduke Franz Karl of Austria
• Archduke Rainer Joseph of Austria
• Archduke Karl Ferdinand of Austria
• Archduke Leopold Salvator of Austria
• Archduke Peter Ferdinand of Austria
• Archduke Joseph Ferdinand of Austria
• Archduke Eugen of Austria