Story
The multi-part documentary series “The Habsburgs in Europe” is a journey through European history and to the Habsburgs’ most beautiful and important places of activity.
The House of Habsburg was one of the most influential dynasties and a central figure in European history for centuries. The oldest traces of this dynasty can be found in Alsace and Aargau in Switzerland: picturesque castles, monasteries and ruins.
The rise of the Habsburgs from a regional German ducal family from what is now Alsace to the most powerful ruling dynasty in Europe is also reflected in the many architectural reminders of their rise and former power. The starting point of the cinematic journey to those countries and places that are still shaped by the Habsburgs today is the Vienna Hofburg. Starting from the former center of power of the German-Roman emperors, the journey first leads to the west, to Alsace and the Swiss canton of Aargau, where the Habsburg dynasty came to light around 900 years ago.
The Odilienberg monastery in Alsace, where the relics of Saint Ottilie from the 7th century are kept, still has a special significance for the Habsburgs today. The Habsburgs regard the noblewoman from the Frankish Etichon family as the progenitor of their dynasty. The ruins of Hohlandsbourg Castle, which was built many centuries later on the orders of Rudolf of Habsburg, also rise high above the Rhine Valley. It bears witness to the impressive political rise of the Habsburgs to become a German royal dynasty in the 13th century. Rudolf’s election as German king in 1273 meant an enormous increase in power and prestige, which also manifested itself in a lively building activity.
A detour to the south leads to the Swiss canton of Aargau, where the remains of the Habsburg castle, which also gave the dynasty its name, rise. Here, medieval archaeologist Peter Frey has spent years researching the building history of the castle, of which only part remains.
Just as Rudolf once moved east to the Duchy of Austria to defeat his rival Ottokar of Bohemia, the first part of the documentary series follows in his footsteps to Dürnkrut, the scene of one of the greatest battles of the Middle Ages. The importance of symbols for consolidating claims to power and status in the Middle Ages is also addressed. Rudolf I had himself buried in Speyer Cathedral alongside the German kings of earlier noble families, thereby underpinning the new status of his family. We also visit the Imperial Treasury in the Hofburg Palace in Vienna, where the imperial insignia of the imperial crown, sword and sceptre have been kept for around 200 years.
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