Anna Nahowski, Mistress of Franz Joseph I, Emperor of Austria

by Susan Flantzer © Unofficial Royalty 2020

Anna Nahowski; Credit – Wikipedia

Anna Nahowski was the mistress of Franz Joseph I, Emperor of Austria from 1875 – 1889. Anna never spoke publicly about the affair during her life. She did keep a diary which was released in 1976 after the death of her daughter Helene. The diary revealed the true nature of the relationship between Anna and Franz Joseph.

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Emperor Franz Joseph in 1875

Anna Nowak was born on June 19, 1860, in Vienna Austria. When she was 14 years old, Anna married silk manufacturer Johann Heuduck, a gambler, and an alcoholic. The couple had one child, Carola Heuduck (1877 – 1946). On May 8, 1875, in the early morning, Anna, the not-quite 15-year-old, was walking in the park of Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna with her maid. In Anna’s words from her diary, she met an “officer” who “stared at me in amazement and could not see enough”. “My maid told me, this is the emperor.” Emperor Franz Joseph was 45 years old and had many affairs but mostly short-term ones. Every day during her early morning walk, Anna looked for Franz Joseph and he looked for her. Their first kiss occurred on June 26, 1875, in the rain.

Anna continued coming to the park of Schönbrunn Palace to “kiss” the emperor while Anna’s maid served as a lookout. Their encounters became more and more intense. At one point, Franz Joseph wanted their physical relationship to go further and was insulted when Anna refused. It took three years for them to consummate their relationship.

Schönbrunn Palace; Photo Credit – Susan Flantzer.

In 1878, Anna divorced her husband Johann Heuduck who had no idea about her affair with Franz Joseph. From funds given to her by the emperor, Anna deposited a large amount of money in her husband’s bank account. She married again, with Emperor Franz Joseph’s permission, to Franz Nahowski, a railroad official. The money continued to flow and arrangements were made for Anna to move to a villa near Schönbrunn Palace with a secret entrance for Franz Joseph. Anna was told not to wear a bodice when he came and to be “ready in bed”. Nahowski was agreeable with his wife being Franz Joseph’s mistress and with the generous gifts to Anna.

Anna gave birth to three children during her marriage to Franz Nahowski:

  • Anna Nahowski (1883 – 1973)
  • Helene Nahowski (link in German) (1885 – 1976) married composer Alban Berg
  • Franz Joseph Nahowski (1889 – 1942)
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Anna Nahowski in 1885

There were rumors regarding the paternity of all three children. The eldest child, also named Anna, was probably the daughter of Franz Nahowski because she closely resembled him. In 1885, when Anna gave birth to a daughter named Helene, she received 100,000 guldens (worth millions today) from Franz Joseph. In her diary, Anna wrote that Helene did not look like her husband Franz Nahowski. Helene’s photos strongly resembled Franz Joseph as a young man. In Viennese society, it was an open secret that Helene was the daughter of Emperor Franz Joseph.

The paternity of Anna’s son Franz Joseph is more questionable. According to Anna’s diary, her last meeting with the emperor occurred a year before her son was born. However, many believe he was the emperor’s son and Anna’s son himself believed he was the emperor’s son. On August 18, 1930, the hundredth anniversary of Emperor Franz Joseph’s birth, the younger Franz Joseph cut off his left little finger with a razor while at the tomb of Franz Joseph in the Imperial Crypt at the Capuchin Church in Vienna. He left the severed finger “as an atonement” on the emperor’s tomb. The younger Franz Joseph was diagnosed with schizophrenia and remained in the mental asylum for a long period. After his release, he retired to the country house of his sister Helene Berg, where he died in her arms in 1942.

Franz Joseph and Anna’s relationship lasted for fourteen years, overlapping Franz Joseph’s long-standing private relationship with actress Katharina Schratt. While Anna’s relationship with Franz Joseph was entirely sexual, the exact nature of Katharina Schratt’s relationship with him is unclear. Some historians believe that Katharina and Franz Joseph were lovers and others believe their relationship was platonic. Franz Joseph, whose wife was emotionally distant from him and fled from him and her duties at court by frequent traveling, needed someone to support him emotionally. Franz Joseph found the 29-year age gap and the lack of common interests between Anna and himself difficult. Although his affair with Anna lasted until 1889, Franz Joseph found Katharina Schratt a more compatible companion, and their relationship continued until he died in 1916.

In 1889, after Franz Joseph’s only son Crown Prince Rudolf killed his mistress Baroness Mary Vetsera, and then killed himself, Franz Joseph broke off all contact with Anna. She was summoned to Hofburg Palace in Vienna on March 14, 1889, where she met with Baron von Mayr, General Director of the Habsburg Family Fund. Baron von Mayr informed Anna that she could determine her severance payment “for the fourteen years in the service of the emperor.” She asked for 200,000 guldens (millions of dollars today) and in return, she had to sign the following statement: “I hereby confirm that I received 200,000 guldens as a gift from His Majesty the Emperor today. I also swear that I will remain silent at all times about the relationship with His Majesty.”

Because of the payments from Emperor Franz Joseph, Anna’s children grew up in prosperity.  Anna Nahowski died in Vienna, Austria on March 23, 1931, at the age of 70. She was buried at Hietzing Cemetery (link in German) in Vienna, Austria, adjacent to Schönbrunn Palace. Katharina Schratt was buried in the same cemetery when she died in 1940.

Works Cited

  • De.wikipedia.org. 2020. Anna Nahowski. [online] Available at: <https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anna_Nahowski> [Accessed 2 April 2020].
  • De.wikipedia.org. 2020. Helene Berg. [online] Available at: <https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helene_Berg> [Accessed 2 April 2020].
  • DER SPIEGEL, G., 1986. „Er Zog Mich Mit Gewalt Nach Meinem Bett“-DER SPIEGEL 45/1986. [online] Spiegel.de. Available at: <https://www.spiegel.de/spiegel/print/d-13520215.html> [Accessed 2 April 2020].
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2020. Anna Nahowski. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anna_Nahowski> [Accessed 2 April 2020].
  • Fr.wikipedia.org. 2020. Anna Nahowski. [online] Available at: <https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anna_Nahowski> [Accessed 2 April 2020].
  • Redaktion, M., 2015. Helene Berg. [online] Mugi.hfmt-hamburg.de. Available at: <https://mugi.hfmt-hamburg.de/artikel/Helene_Berg.html> [Accessed 2 April 2020].
  • Sternenkaiserin. 2018. Kaiser Franz Joseph Und Die Frauen. [online] Available at: <https://sternenkaiserin.com/tag/uneheliche-kinder-kaiser-franz-joseph/> [Accessed 2 April 2020].
  • Van Der Kiste, John, 2005. Emperor Francis Joseph; Life, Death And The Fall Of The Habsburg Empire. Thrupp: Sutton Publishing Limited.

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