Elisabeth von Gutmann

Elisabeth
Princess consort of Liechtenstein
Tenure	22 July 1929 – 25 July 1938
Spouse	Franz I, Prince of Liechtenstein
Father	Wilhelm Ritter von Gutmann
Mother	Ida Wodianer
Born	(1875-01-06)6 January 1875 Vienna, Austria-Hungary
Died	28 September 1947(1947-09-28) (aged 72) Vitznau, Switzerland

Elisabeth von Gutmann (6 January 1875 – 28 September 1947) was princess consort of Franz I, Prince of Liechtenstein.

Early life

Elisabeth was born at Vienna, Austria-Hungary, she was the daughter of Wilhelm Ritter von Gutmann and his wife Ida Wodianer. Her father was a Jewish businessman from Moravia, his coal trading company a leading position in the market occupied by the Habsburg monarchy, he was knighted in 1878 by Emperor Franz Joseph I. Between 1891–1892 he was president of the Vienna Israelite Community.

Marriage

First marriage

Elisabeth married in Vienna to Hungarian Baron Géza Erős of Bethlenfalva, on 7 August 1908, but he died young. They had no children.

Second marriage

In 1914, she met at the relief fund for soldiers, Prince Franz of Liechtenstein. Prince Franz's brother Prince Johann II did not approve of this relationship. On 11 February 1929 Prince Franz succeeded his brother as Franz I, as his brother had died unmarried and childless. In 22 July 1929 Elisabeth and Franz I married in Vienna. They had no children. His wife was, as a wealthy Jewish woman from Vienna, identified by local Liechtenstein Nazis as their Jewish "problem". Although Liechtenstein had no official Nazi party, a Nazi sympathy movement had been simmering for years within its National Union party. In early 1938, just after the annexation of Austria into Greater Nazi Germany, 84 year old Prince Franz I abdicated, naming his 31-year-old third cousin, Prince Franz Joseph, as his successor.

Later years

After the death of her husband in 1938, she lived at Semmering Pass, until the annexation of Austria to Nazi Germany she went into exile to Switzerland, where she died at Vitznau in 1947.

She was the first princess, who was buried not in Vranov, but in the new royal crypt next to the Vaduz Cathedral.

Titles and styles

• 6 January 1875 – 7 August 1908: Miss Elisabeth von Gutmann
• 7 August 1908 – 22 July 1929: Baroness Géza Erős of Bethlenfalva
• 22 July 1929 – 25 July 1938: Her Serene Highness The Princess of Liechtenstein
• 25 July 1938 – 28 September 1947: Her Serene Highness Princess Elisabeth of Liechtenstein

Notes and sources

This article incorporates information from the equivalent article on the German Wikipedia.

• thePeerage.com - Elisabeth von Gutmann
• Genealogics - Leo van de Pas - Elisabeth von Gutmann
• Genealogisches Handbuch des Adels, Fürstliche Häuser,, Reference: 1968

Liechtensteiner royalty
Vacant Title last held by Franziska Kinsky of Wchinitz and Tettau	Princess consort of Liechtenstein 1929–1938	Vacant Title next held by Georgina von Wilczek