Anna Nahowski
| Anna Nahowski | |
|---|---|
 Anna Nahowski | |
| Born | 1860 |
| Died | 1931 (aged 71) |
| Nationality | Austria |
| Occupation | Royal mistress |
Anna Nahowski (1860–1931) was the mistress of Franz Joseph of Austria from 1875 until 1888.
She was from the age of fourteen married to the silk manufacturer Heuduck, who was heavily indebted by gambling and alcoholism. She met Franz Joseph at a walk in the park of Schönbrunn. The relationship was arranged between Anna and Franz Joseph without the knowledge of her spouse. Franz Joseph visited her discreetly and regularly while her husband was away. The paternity of her issue is uncertain, but her daughter Helena is believed to have been the emperor's, and her husband's debts were paid. This arrangement continued also after she remarried the decadent Franz Nahowski. In 1889, Nahowski discovered that Franz Joseph was in parallel involved, and this time more publicly, with Katharina Schratt, which made Franz Joseph end the relationship to Nahowski. Anna Nahowski was given economic compensation for both herself and her children in exchange for signing a contract of silence.
Her diary was published in 1976.
Notes
Sources
Friedrich Saathen (Hrsg.): Anna Nahowski und Kaiser Franz Josef. Aufzeichnungen. Böhlau, Wien 1986, ISBN 3-205-05037-1.