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No other European noble family has left more traces than the Habsburgs, no other dynasty was more powerful in the long term. Their castles and palaces have survived the centuries.
As elected emperors and kings of the Holy Roman Empire, the Habsburgs exerted great influence on its political, economic and cultural development. The film takes us through numerous regions that were often administered and ruled by them for centuries.
As one of the largest palace buildings in the world, the Hofburg in Vienna reflects the meteoric rise of the House of Habsburg with its construction phases. The former imperial wine cellars now house plaster models of various statues and monuments from the time of the dual monarchy. The expansion of Habsburg power in the east is also highlighted, where the duchies of Austria and Styria fell to the Habsburgs following King Rudolf I’s victory over Ottokar of Bohemia. Carinthia, Carniola and Tyrol were added later.
The enormous importance of Innsbruck becomes clear during a visit to the Hofburg Innsbruck, which Emperor Maximilien I particularly loved. At Tratzberg Castle high above the Inn Valley, you can marvel at an important Habsburg family tree and even the emperor’s bedroom, which has remained unchanged for more than 500 years. In the court church in Innsbruck, the magnificent tomb with the larger-than-life “Black Men” that Maximilian had built for himself is impressive. The journey continues to the Imperial Castle in Wiener Neustadt, where Maximilian was finally buried in a simple tomb.
A visit to St. Stephen’s Cathedral in Vienna leads to the burial place of Maximilian’s father, Emperor Frederick III. also sheds light on the rivalry between Duke Rudolf IV and his father-in-law, Emperor Charles IV, in Prague. Charles IV of the Luxembourg dynasty had St. Vitus Cathedral built there and founded the oldest German university. Rudolf then founded St. Stephen’s Cathedral and the University of Vienna, the Alma Mater Rudolphina. The cinematic journey takes us from Vienna to Prague and across the famous Charles Bridge to Prague Castle and the magnificent St. Vitus Cathedral.
We continue south to the Benedictine monastery of St. Paul in the Lavant Valley in Carinthia. Since the transfer of their mortal remains more than 200 years ago, some of the earliest Habsburgs lie here in a crypt in the abbey church. Their descendants were laid to rest in the Capuchin crypt in Vienna in a much more magnificent manner. The baroque coffins of Emperor Charles VI or his daughter Maria Theresa and her husband Franz Stephan of Lorraine are impressive.