Habsburg myth

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The Habsburg myth (German: Habsburgischer Mythos or Habsburgmythos; Italian: Mito asburgico) is a political myth or nostalgia present in the historiography and literature of some Central and Eastern European countries, particularly in Austria, which glorifies certain elements of Habsburg dynastic rule. The concept was coined by the Italian Germanist Claudio Magris in his 1963 thesis Il mito asburgico nella letteratura austriaca moderna ("The Habsburg myth in modern Austrian literature"). Magris notes three specific elements of the myth, particularly as it manifests in literature: (1) a benign, "kakanian" bureaucracy which nobly strove to maintain multi-ethnic cohesion in the empire, (2) Franz Josef as an embodiment of the "imperial ideal" nonetheless inclined towards "heroic mediocrity", and finally (3) the "sensuous and pleasure-loving hedonism" of the Viennese scene as represented in Die Fledermaus. In his thesis, Magris identified the myth, and discussion of fin de siècle imperial culture...

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