750 years Habsburg dynasty – history with a future

In October 1273, Rudolf I, the first Habsburg, was elected and crowned king. Our Grand Master actually wanted to commemorate the 750th anniversary of this historic event last autumn, but then he was diagnosed with cancer… Thankfully, he overcame this and was able to invite guests to a very special evening at the Palais Ferstel in Vienna on 13 June 2024. It was very important to Archduke Karl to use this event to create a link between Austria, Europe and the world. This combination of a certain value-based timelessness with an internationality deeply rooted in Austria still characterises the Habsburg-Lothringen family today and was reflected in the programme – both in terms of content and music.

As the Grand Master remarked in an interview, it would have been nice to have even more people connected to the archducal house around him, but then the Stadthalle would probably have been needed. As it was, the time-honoured palace in the heart of the former imperial capital and residence city could only hold just about 300 guests. Numerous members and friends of the imperial family, high-ranking personalities from the clergy, nobility, politics, diplomacy, economy, art, culture and media as well as, of course, the sponsors queued up to pay their respects to Archduke Karl.

The Order of St. George supported the success of this event on several levels: Our procurator Vinzenz Baron von Stimpfl-Abele was largely responsible for the conception of the event and its media support. His wife Gabriela, President of the Dames, was not only responsible for the overall organisation, but also led the evening in a charming and confident manner. All of the experts interviewed for the impressive film “750” are also members of our community. Chancellor Dr. Stefan Schermaier made it possible for a large number of Dames and Knights to attend this outstanding event by releasing a financial sponsorship amount, which also included this ticket contingent.

A film like this, which covers such a long and eventful period of time, can of course only be an incomplete run-through that highlights a few important milestones. But “750” nevertheless makes it impressively clear how important the House of Habsburg was – and still is…

Archduke Ferdinand Zvonimir’s statement in this film that Europe needs spiritual fuel to move forward actually stood for the entire orientation of this anniversary celebration, namely not only to be a proud retrospective, but above all to focus on the historical heritage and the associated mission, thus looking forward to the future. And this is exactly what our Grand Master did in his speech, which was the real highlight of the evening, interrupted several times by applause and met with thunderous applause at the end!

Another highlight of this unforgettable evening was a musical world premiere: the FALCO SYMPHONIC CHAMBER ORCHESTRA. Falco stood and stands like no other artist for modern Austrian music with an international dimension. His timeless work now connects generations. In order to emphasise all these facets and honour the occasion, not “only” the original Falco musicians played, but a classical ensemble accompanied and amplified them. The world hits of Austria’s only pop superstar were interpreted by local and international vocalists. Archduke Karl’s decision in favour of this unique musical melange was confirmed by the enthusiasm of the guests, who celebrated the artists frenetically.

It was indeed a unique, unforgettable evening! This is also confirmed by the media response.

For all those who were unable to attend on 13 June and for those who would like to re-experience the highlights, we recommend this reportage on oe24.at.