So it is with some relief that I announce Otto (von?) Habsburg had his big funeral today. I put "von" in parenthesis because noble families lost the right to use "von" at the end of WW I, when the Austrians abolished their monarchy and Austria lost 90% of its territory overnight. Some people still use the "von" when referring to Otto, some don't, but by rights it's just Otto Habsburg.
He was the son of the last Austrian emporer, and would have been emporer himself had not history kicked him in the nuts. But, fuck it---history gave his family luck way back when, and they milked it for all it was worth. So, tough shit, Otto. You had to live your life not as a royal, but merely as a really, really rich guy who knew all the "right" people. My sympathies.
It was strange watching archival footage of this guy as a small boy in 1916 at the funeral of his grand-uncle, Franz Joseph. He looked like a little girl, as was the custom in those days when small boys had long curly hair and wore what looked like dresses. And my disgust for royalty aside, any guy who started life in the early 20th Century and lived into the early 21st Century saw a lot of strange changes in his 98 years on this bizarre planet.
B and I drove into town, found a place several blocks from where the funeral procession was to march by, and headed over there. They'd already had a very lengthy and elaborate mass at St. Stephen's Cathedral, then they put the casket on a small wagon and marched him to his burial place.
There won't be another funeral like this in Austria again. Many thousands of people lined the procession route, and there were literally thousands of people in the procession itself. Every kind of group was represented, many of which B could identify by costume and / or banner. The king and queen of Sweden were there, flanked by a shitload of security. Everyone marched a couple of kilometers to the burial place.
Below, pics. Not all are captioned because I don't know what or who the hell I was looking at.
Click any pic to enlarge.
Laurel and Hardy made a special guest appearance from beyond the grave.
"Another fine mess you've gotten me into, Stanley!"
A Black Flag ain't just a kind of roach spray.
It's also something you fly when a Habsburg dies.
After the funeral procession, when we were on our way back to the Danube Canal to get some fish and chips at a canal-side restaurant, B asked: "So. What do you think of all this pomp and ceremony?"
I said, "Meh. You can see this sort of thing most weeks in Muskogee, Oklahoma, USA."
Except, you know....you can't.
We got our fish and chips and each drank an Ottakringer, a great local beer.
I drank a little silent toast to Otto. "98 trips around the sun, dude. Respect."
4 comments:
What my historically challenged husband forgot to mention:
It was the last roundup of the monarchy, or the final farewell, culturally speaking - you had delegations of people from all the parts of Europe that used to belong to the Austro-Hungarian Empire, plus tons of "Schützen", a kind of private militia founded in every Alpine valley hundreds of years ago by another emperor - they exist to this day, they were the ones with the most colourful uniforms.
Since Otto was a Member of the European Parliament for 20 years, I saw him in action nearly every day for just as long.
He was highly educated and charming (and not rich, contrary to what John thinks) but right-wing to a tee, which nobody took seriously. He never received the media scrutiny he should have had. I remember him defending apartheid South Africa, for example. Since they were no commies.
Everyone felt flattered when he decided to turn his attention toward them. He knew an incredible amount of languages, and I once witnessed how someone quoted(!) something in Latin in a meeting, whereupon Otto jumped up and answered fluently in Latin. His own words, no quote.
What's the most interesting aspect is the way the Habsburgs are buried: The Capuchin Crypt in Vienna is unique http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imperial_Crypt and that's where many of the Habsburgs are buried. Or part of them. Their hearts are often kept in a separate chapel in a different church, their intestines somewhere else - Otto wanted his heart to be buried in a Hungarian monastry, for example.
And when the coffin arrives at the gate of the crypt, an MC knocks on the door. "Who demands entry?" a Capuchin monk asks. The the MC rattles off all the dozens of titles of the deceased. (An Austrian emperor BTW also had the ancient titles of King of Jerusalem and Duke of Auschwitz..) "We don't know him/her", says the monk. Second knock, same ritual. This time only the top aristocratic titles are enumerated. Same answer. Third knock. "X, a mortal and sinful man/woman". Only then does the gate to the Crypt open.
B
Thank you, thank you for posting these great photos of the funeral! I read where his heart is to be buried in Hungary.
I enjoy following your blog.
- ein andere Otto in Oklahoma
Liebe Kaiser Otto:
You're the one palindromically-named individual whose company I enjoy. Maybe this means there can be peace between our peoples some day.
Thanks for following along on the blog...
Yes, the Habsburgs like to get sliced up and broadly distributed when they die. I always wondered who does the butchering---probably a trusted Metzger, nicht wahr?
This winter, when my Euro-Spouse visits, you and Die Kaiserin are invited to our castle for dinner and good wine. Hope you can make it.
I guess these people fought a lot of wars in order to wear all these colorful costumes. Makes the star trek fanatics seem pale in comparison! Thanks to you and B for the interesting commentary.
Soartstar
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