Schonbrunn Palace has a long history that dates back to mid-16th century. The area was originally used as royal court's recreational hunting ground. The Schonbrunn Palace in its present form was built and remodeled during the mid-18th century during the reign of Empress Maria Theresa who received the estate as a wedding gift. Holy Roman Emperor, Francis 1 who married Maria Theresa was the founder of the Habsburg-Lorraine dynasty. This couple had eleven daughters and five sons. But only ten survived to adulthood. Her reign as Archduchess of Austria, Queen of Hungary and Croatia lasted forty years from 1740 to 1780. In those days, political alliance, inter-state peaceful co-existence and even expansion of empire were forged by marriages. It was for these purposes that royalties would have as many children as possible.
I had no knowledge of who Franz Joseph was when I set foot on Franz Joseph Glacier in New Zealand on 23 February 2016. In the tour of the Schonbrunn Palace, we were given a better picture of this man.
Franz Joseph 1, the last monarch of the Habsburg-Lorraine dynasty was born in Schonbrunn Palace in year 1830. He spent his entire life in this palace. He was an illustrious king who ruled for 68 years until his death in 1916, aged 86. He ruled at a time when his state started to rise against monarchy and clamored for greater freedom and autonomy. His rule was punctuated with personal tragedies. He saw the execution of his brother, Emperor Maximilian of Mexico in 1867, the suicide of his only son and heir, Crown Price Rudoff in 1889, the assassination of his wife, Empress Elizabeth in 1898 and finally the assassination of his nephew, Archduke Franz Ferdinard in Sarajevo which triggered World War 1.
The interior of the Palace is a display of life styles of a family who lived in opulence and extravagance. Unfortunately, no photography was allowed inside the Palace to capture some of these scenes.
Was Franz Joseph 1 a victim of his time? Would he be absolved because he inherited a life style that was passed down to him?
But no matter how history is to judge the Habsburg-Lorraine dynasty, the fact remains that the generations after them in Austria have benefited from them, at least the tourism money earned from visitors to these "attractions" has contributed to some extent the nation's coffer!
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Have subsequent governments of states learnt anything out of this sort of tragedy? Definitely not. Dynasties come and then disappear, many for the same reason. Power corrupts and corrupts absolutely. Malaysia is no exception.
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