Editing Franz Joseph I of Austria (section)

==Early life==
[[File:Sophiebayern franzjoseph.jpg|thumb|upright|Franz Joseph and his mother [[Princess Sophie of Bavaria|Archduchess Sophie]], by [[Joseph Karl Stieler]].]]
[[File:Peter Fendi - The Evening Prayer, 1839 - Google Art Project.jpg|thumb|upright|Franz Joseph's family gathered in prayer, 1839.]]

Franz Joseph was born on 18 August 1830 in the [[Schönbrunn Palace]] in Vienna (on the 65th anniversary of the death of [[Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor|Francis of Lorraine]]) as the eldest son of Archduke [[Archduke Franz Karl of Austria|Franz Karl]] (the younger son of [[Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor|Francis I]]), and [[Sophie, Princess of Bavaria]]. Because his uncle, reigning from 1835 as the Emperor [[Ferdinand I of Austria|Ferdinand]], was disabled by seizures, and his father unambitious and retiring, the mother of the young Archduke "Franzi" brought him up as a future emperor, with emphasis on devotion, responsibility and diligence.

For this reason, Franz Joseph was consistently built up as a potential successor to the imperial throne by his politically ambitious mother from early childhood.

Up to the age of 7, little "Franzi" was brought up in the care of the nanny ("Aja") [[Louise von Sturmfeder]]. Then the "state education" began, the central contents of which were "sense of duty", religiosity and dynastic awareness. The theologian [[Joseph Othmar von Rauscher]] conveyed to him the inviolable understanding of rulership of divine origin (divine grace), and therefore a belief that no participation of the population in rulership in the form of parliaments was required.

The educators Heinrich Franz von Bombelles and Colonel Johann Baptist Coronini-Cronberg ordered Archduke Franz to study an enormous amount of time, which initially comprised 18 hours per week and was expanded to 50 hours per week by the age of 16. One of the main focuses of the lessons was language acquisition: in addition to French, the diplomatic language of the time, [[Latin]] and [[Ancient Greek]], [[Hungarian language|Hungarian]], Czech, Italian and [[Polish language|Polish]] were the most important national languages of the monarchy. In addition, the archduke received general education that was customary at the time (including mathematics, physics, history, geography), which was later supplemented by law and political science. Various forms of physical education completed the extensive program.

On his 13th birthday, Franz Joseph was appointed Colonel-[[Inhaber]] of Dragoon Regiment No. 3 and the focus of his training shifted to imparting basic strategic and tactical knowledge. From that point onward, army style dictated his personal fashion{{mdash}}for the rest of his life, he normally wore the uniform of a military officer.{{sfn|Murad|1968|p= 61}} Franz Joseph was soon joined by three younger brothers: Archduke Ferdinand Maximilian (born 1832, the future Emperor [[Maximilian I of Mexico|Maximilian]] of [[Second Mexican Empire|Mexico]]); Archduke [[Archduke Karl Ludwig of Austria|Karl Ludwig]] (born 1833, father of [[Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria]]), and [[Archduke Ludwig Viktor]] (born 1842), and a sister, Archduchess [[Archduchess Maria Anna of Austria (1835–1840)|Maria Anna]] (born 1835), who died at the age of 4.{{sfn|Murad|1968|p=101}}