Maria Theresia

-

Maria Theresia has been so interesting to learn about! She was the Holy Roman Emperess and the ruler of the Habsburgs empire. She also had sixteen children! I come from a big family, but I could not imagine being one of sixteen kids. I think that it is very interesting that she had so many children because we have talked about how unsafe it was for women to give birth at this time, it's amazing that she was able to have so many. Maria Theresia also pushed for medical and educational reforms and thought that everyone should be getting an education. I also find it interesting that her husband didn’t become emperor and that she co-ruled with her son! I think this is one of the only women that I’ve heard of doing that! 

Maria Theresia made many contributions during her rule. One of them is that I think she helped to show that women are just as capable as men. She was a great ruler and brought a lot of unity to Austria. She also made contributions towards education and saw the importance of obtaining a higher education. Also improving public health was very important to her and listened to the advice of many different physicians. I think she focused on a lot of things that other rulers who are men tend to look past. She was known for being a great mother and I think it shows that she was also a great mother to the people she ruled over. 

She has definitely been commemorated well! Maria Theresia is who I have seen the most statues, paintings, and buildings for this entire trip! When we went to the museum Belvedere Museum one of the first things you see when you walk in is a big statue of Maria Theresia. I remember turning to Annie and saying, “She looks really important”, and I was right! It was also such a great experience to get to go to the Habsburgs house here in Austria, it had a lot of paintings of Maria Theresia, and it shows that she and her family were important enough to have their house preserved!


 






Comments

  1. Sam RichardsonJune 2, 2024 at 4:35 AM

    Love this post so so much! Maria Theresia was so fun for me to learn about as well! Her tumultuous start to her glorious ruling years show just how influential she was for her country. Even as a woman, she made so many reforms that still remain in place, to this day. I think learning about this woman deepens my understanding of Vienna as a cultural capital because it shows how a lot of the "glory days" of Vienna occurred under the rule of a woman, and now this country loves her so much!

    ReplyDelete
  2. EleaseJune 3, 2024 at 1:27 PM

    I love this post betsy! There are many things that hampered Maria Theresia in her time in royalty. Having such a big family is something that is difficult for any woman let alone a woman who is also leading a country. This is something that is still a struggle today.

    Learning about Maria Theresia helps us to understand all of the things that have helped Austria to be such a world power!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Sayler SchlosserJune 18, 2024 at 5:15 PM

    Betsy, learning about Maria Theresia really deepens our understanding of Vienna as a cultural capital. She wasn't just a ruler; she pushed for education and medical reforms, showing that Vienna values progress and care for its people. Her many children and her co-ruling with her son highlight the unique aspects of Vienna's history. Seeing her statues and paintings everywhere shows how much the city honors her legacy. It reminds us that Vienna's culture is built on strong, forward-thinking leaders like Maria Theresia

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Simone de Beauvoir

-
Image
During our trip, I've learned that Simone de Beauvoir played a big role in the feminist movement. She wrote the second sex and really focused on the oppression of gender roles placed on women by society. I also thought it was interesting to learn that she never got married, despite having a romantic relationship with Jean-Paul Sartre, and they are buried together. My reaction to Simone de Beauvoir is that she seems like a really brave and smart woman. I don’t think there were a lot of other women stating their beliefs and opinions like her, and there were probably not very many people who agreed with her. I would definitely say Simone de Beauvoir was a trailblazer as a feminist. Her contributions to the feminist movement were important because they challenged a lot of beliefs and caused a lot of women to question their gender roles and how they have been treated, and it sparked movements for women's rights. It's definitely changed society because gender roles have changed a
Read more

Woman of Choice- Paris

-
Image
  While walking around the D’Orsay I was really drawn to Marie Laurencins art so I am writing about her for my woman of choice. Some things I’ve learned about her is she was significant in the early 20th century in the Parisian art scene, and was known for her contributions to the Cubist movement and her style of painting usually had really delicate and pastel colors. The paintings that I saw were all very dreamy and looked soft but also striking at the same time. My reaction to Marie Laurencin is she is very inspiring because at the time there were definitely more male artists that were getting attention and she still was unique to her own artistic niche.  Marie Laurencin's contribution to the art world is important for several reasons. Firstly, she challenged the male-dominated art establishment of her time, asserting herself as a talented painter in her own right. Secondly, her distinctive style, characterized by its ethereal quality and gentle palette, offered a counterpoint to
Read more

Opera House (Cities post #1)

-
Image
Walking into the Opera House it is clear that it is a very expensive building, and that the building itself is a work of art just like the operas that take place there. The giant marble staircases that lead to the grand foyer are amazing and were clearly a place where the wealthy could go to be seen before entering the opera. Surrounding the staircases are statues of females holding up candles to lighten the room. The next room I went into was the grand foyer, it had beautiful chandeliers, paintings on the ceilings, and golden pillars and scaffolding. This room was very ornate and impressive, it showed that there was a lot of money put into this building. I also saw the auditorium and was impressed by the centerpiece chandelier and artwork, I thought the art was unlike the rest of the art in the building and it felt slightly more modern.  The Palais Garnier is one of the most famous opera houses in the world and is very Napoleonic in its design. It was a change for the wealthy, most pe
Read more