Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-03-04

VIENNA, February %, 1906.
~OURT and diplomatic circles are
n discussing with much eagerness
and curiosity various reports In
~ circulation regarding the future
ownership and occupancy of Arch
duke Ludwig Ylctor's magnificent palace
on the. Schwarzenbergplat2. For long
time the great windows on the principal
front of the palace have been shrouded
with white blinds, the great entrance doors
closed the sentry guards removed and the
beautiful apartments within given over to
servants and csretallers The imperial
owner the only surviving brother Of the
Emperor Francis Joseph is In the country,
hanished forever from the Austrian court
and capital for reasons that have been kept
mysterious Ii seems quite certain that he
will never occupy the palace again; in
fact. II is doubtful If he is any longer the
owner Of it, For he had debts many and
large. and rumor has it that his emperor
brother has paid the debts and taken over
the residence and It's magnificent contents
The Ludwig Victor palace is one OF the
most striking ard beautiful buildings on the
famous Kingstrasse. 1t occupies COM
rnaudiug position at the corner of the
Schwarzenbergplatz and Kolowratring and
would make an ideal embassy II the
State Department at Washington were pre-
pared TO begin acquiring homes for ambas-
SadorS ana ministers abroad, they could
make a good start In Vienna. For il has
been rumoTed more than once that the
American ambassador, Bethany Storer, was
going to occupy the Ludwig Victor palace
1t would certainly make an embassy of
which Americans would be proud. The sit
uation could not be better. 1t is within
easy reach OF the foreign office, in the Ball
platz. and the imperial Hhfburg, and also
OF the opera and the center of the city.
The palace Is In the Italian renaissance
style. with very rich facade. Ii was
built forty years ago by Ferstel, one of
NieHnas most renowned architects, who
designed the university and also the beau
tiful Notlve Church erected in commemora-
tloU OF Emperor Francis JoSeph's escape
from assassination in 1852. There is a fine
entrance. into which carriages can drive,
whence an imposing staircase leads to
splendid reception rooms and state apart
meuts on the first floor. The rooms are
filled with beautiful furniture. choice pic
lures and other art objects. II was recently
reported that these had all been removed.
but this IS not so; everything is just as
Il was when the archduke left.
=
Ludwig Victor is the emperors youngest
b:Cther and twelve years his Junior. Most
or his life was spent here, and he was a
very familiar figure I'm the streets and at
the opera and theaters. The archduke had,
however. an unenyable reputation in Aus
trlan society. The Viennese have become
pretty tolerant of scandals in imperial and
aristocratic circles, but some OF Iudwis,
Nictor's affairs" were too much even for
them. The eliminating event of the arch
dukes social career in the Austrian capital
was an incident about which the Austrian
papers were permitted TO say nothing al
though the facts were pretty well known
IL happened at the Centralized, the largest
and finest bath house in the city where
the archduke frequently went for Turkish
bath. just what really took place in the
beginning Is somewhat OF a mystery, but
subsequent investigation made II clear at
any rate that the archduke was wholly in
the wrong. There was a row of some sort
and the archduke was knocked down by
ono of the bathers, an athletic young man
OF the middle classes.
Although there was nothing on his dress
ing gown to Indicate the archduke's exalted
rank. and although 1t appears to have been
the opinion of the spectators that the young
man would have been justified I'm knocking
his assailant down even II he had known
who he was, yet the archduke took advxn-
tase of his position to get the youth ar