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In 1835 elected to the Order Grand Master Archduke
Maximilian of Austria-Este (1782-1863). The role of the
Grand Master for nearly half a century had become the
preserve of the Austrian Imperial Family.
The Grand Master allowed the Archduke Maximilian of
the Hapsburgs to exert considerable influence over the
decisions of the Order of Germany, who also had
detached from Austria with the dissolution of the Holy
Roman Empire occurred in 1806.
The new Emperor Ferdinand I issued a new decree on
July 16, 1839, by which it confirmed the privileges granted by his father and the
rules and statutes of the Teutonic Order in 1606 that were not in conflict with the
status of Austrian fief.
Maximilian strongly supported the work of the Jesuits, Redemptorists and the
Sisters of St. Francis. He also founded schools and hospitals and to give assistance
to the needy.
In 1894 it was named to Grand Master of the Teutonic
Order, Eugenio Ferdinando Pio of Habsburg-Teschen,
Archduke of Austria and Prince of Hungary and Bohemia.
He was the last Hereditary Grand Master of the Teutonic
Order.
In 1918, with the collapse of the Austrian Empire, the last
Habsburg Grand Master, Archduke Eugene, forced into
exile along with all the members of his dynasty, retired in
Lucerne and then in Basel where he lived from 1918 to
1934 . The continuation of the Order, in his old
organization, was no longer possible and the properties of
the Order were seen as houses of the Imperial House were threatened with
confiscation by the Republicans, eager to strike any institution associated with the
Habsburg Dynasty, but fortunately the Teutonic Order was independent within the
meaning of canon law: it was a religious institution as well and its properties could
be considered not as part of the heritage of the Habsburgs. In order to safeguard
the existence of the Teutonic Order and its possessions, Archduke Eugene
voluntarily resigned in 1923 to Pope Pius XI in his resignation from the position of
Hoch-und Deutschmeister.
The Hohenstaufen Dynasty - Page 107 of 200