Open Access

Miroslav Urbanec

• The Austrian poet Franz Grillparzer is often presented in scholarly literature as an opponent of nationalism. Indeed, Grillparzer did oppose nationally motivated separatist tendencies, which he viewed as a threat to the existence of the supranational Habsburg Monarchy. However, his tragedy 'König Ottokars Glück und Ende' includes clear examples of the early Habsburg ideology which emerged along with the Austrian Empire during the Napoleonic Wars (a time of nationalist tensions) and which - at least initially - was imbued with a form of German Romantic nationalism. This ideology is displayed by the character of Rudolf von Habsburg, who - in the spirit of Romantic nationalism - is depicted as the embodiment of Germany. Rudolf's fervent Germanness - which appears to have been one of the reasons behind Grillparzer's problems with censorship under the Metternich regime - is not only evident in the character's words, but also in the clothes he wears. The grey coat that is one of Rudolf's most distinctive features may be a reference to what was known as an 'Old German' folk costume ('Altdeutsche Tracht'); after the Napoleonic Wars, this garment became a symbol used by the German nationalist student movement known as the 'Burschenschaftler'.