The Emperor is an Ass, and the Court a Brothel

An Intriguing Example of an Insult to Franz Joseph from 1910

Abstract

In 1910 the first international hunting exhibition took place in Vienna. Visitors were also invited to the exhibition via special posters in the compartments of passenger trains. In July 1910 an incident took place at the Ljubljana train station. An unknown person scribbled on the posters insults to the emperor and his court such as “an ass”, “a brothel” (Hurenhaus) or “a circus” (Affentheater). After the disclosure of the criminal act of an insult to His Majesty, which according to § 63 of the 1852 Penal Code was punishable with one to five years of close arrest, an extensive investigation was launched by the provincial court in Ljubljana. Critical remarks about the emperor were strictly prosecuted until the decline of the Austrian monarchy. Cleaners and other workers with access to passenger train cars became the suspects. The investigating judge questioned many suspects and witnesses, and two legal experts – graphologists – were called in to perform a handwriting test (Schriftprobe) with the suspects and provide an expert opinion. Both concluded that Rudolf Schönemann, a painter with the imperial royal Railways, had scribbled the insults on the posters. There followed numerous inquiries about the suspect, which presented Schönemann as a patriot disposed to Germanness who had never shown anti-dynastic disposition nor belonged to any political organization. Unfortunately, it remains unknown whether charges were brought against him.