Assen Hartenau

Assen or Asen Hartenau (16 January 1890 – 15 March 1965), in his early life styled as the Count of Hartenau, was an Austrian civil servant and the son of the deposed Bulgarian prince Alexander of Battenberg. Biography Early life Assen Hartenau was born in Graz on 16 January 1890, the son and eldest child of Alexander of Battenberg, deposed Prince of Bulgaria, and his wife Johanna Loisinger, an actress and singer. He was named after the medieval Bulgarian ruler Ivan Asen I, co-founder of the Second Bulgarian Empire (1185–1422). The name thus served to underline the claims of Alexander and his family to the Bulgarian throne. Hartenau had a younger sister, Svetana (1893–1935). After Alexander's early death in 1893, Johanna and the children moved to Vienna. The family was in exile provided with a yearly pension of 50,000 leva by the Bulgarian government. Following Alexander's deposition and marriage to Johanna, he had styled himself as the Count of Hartenau, a title inherited by Assen.