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Schloss Artstetten in Lower Austria is probably best known as the home of the Hohenberg family, the descendants of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Este, whose assassination sparked the First World War. The castle's crypt is the final resting place of the Archduke and his wife, née Countess Sophie Chotek. However, the Schloss 's history stretches much further back than being the home and summer residence of the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne and his morganatic family. The building was firstly mentioned in 1263 and belonged to a 'Wolfgang von Owatsteten' at the time, later by a 'Albero von Avrstetten'. During the following decades and centuries, the ownnership of the castle changed numerous times. In 1329, it was sold to the Lords of Streitwiesen; who, in turn, sold Artstetten to the Lords of Murstetten in 1407. Until the late 15th century, the castle was owned by Aerendorf family. During all those years, Schloss Artstetten underwent numerou...

Why You Shouldn't Bother Watching "Sisi", the New TV Series By RTL

December 12, 2021

Hi there! I watched a series today that was so bad it made be write the first blog post in one and a half years. Will I write more again in the future? I don't know, I guess we'll see. In the meantime, follow all my latest castle adventures over on Instagram . See you there! Empress Elisabeth of Austria, the immortal Sisi, has inspired the imagination of the people for more than a century now. Her life, her love, her tragedies, her death. Adored, free spirited and one of the original royal IT girls. A face that could launch a thousands ships, well, bring peace to two feuding nations by simply being her charming self. A woman that, 120 years after her death, can still draw crowds and be the foundation stone of what seems like half the tourist industry of several regions. (Okay, that might have been slightly exaggerated but have you ever been to Vienna and seen the souvenir shops?) So it's not too surprising that time and time again, cinema and TV productions have tried to ca...

Twists and Turns of History: The Many Dimensions of the Hohenzollern Claim to Their Former Properties

September 26, 2019

Schloss Sanssouci is perhaps the best known of all Prussian palaces, it is not part of the current restitution claims The Hohenzollern, the heirs of the German Kaiser and King of Prussia, have made more headlines over the past couple of months than usual. Why? They have filed different lawsuit to reclaim former properties. One of the court cases, about Schloss Rheinfels in St. Goar along the most scenic part of the Rhine river in Western Germany, has been dismissed this summer . For a couple of years now and behind closed doors, there have also been negotiations between the Prussian branch of the Hohenzollern family, the federal government of Germany and the states of Berlin and Brandenburg in Eastern Germany concerning the restitution of tens of thousands of art objects, unpaid housing rights at Schloss Cecilienhof or two other residences in Potsdam, and compensation payments for expropriations following the Second World War. Due to the demands of the family that were de...

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