[Rudolph, crown-prince: the myth of a lost illusion].

The personality of Rudolf, the crown prince of Austria-Hungary evokes considerable interest even generations later. He had a charismatic and contradictory character that raised many hopes which he was not able to fulfill. His traumatic upbringing, the unhappy union of his parents and his mother's life-long depression all had a severe and damaging impact on him. Furthermore, his father's missing acknowledgement, Rudolf's own troubled marriage, his social isolation, alcoholism and morphine addiction along with his own depression and multiple physical illnesses have all contributed to the vulnerability of his personality. The author analyzes the developments that led to Rudolf s suicide in Mayerling and the impact of his life and death on the later myths about him.