Otto von Habsburg-Lothringen, son of
Charles, last monarch of the
Austro-Hungarian Empire,
died on July 4 at the age of 98.
Otto,
seen here with his great-granduncle
Franz Joseph (ruler of the Habsburg Domains 1848-1916), was hurried forward in the line of succession when his father's uncle,
Franz Ferdinand,
was assassinated by Serbian ationalists during a state visit to Bosnia-Herzegovina in the summer of 1914,
starting World War I and ultimately ending the power of a dynasty which had ruled in Europe for 700 years, including, in the 1500s,
large chunks of Europe (the vast overseas empires of Habsburg Spain [1516-1700] and Habsburg Portugal [1580-1640] are not on this map).
While the Habsburg Empire is now seen as an "artificial" or "outdated" construction, which produced nationalist infighting (as recorded by Mark Twain in Harper's when he visited the "Austrian" parliament in the 1890s:
Part I,
Part II,
Part III), more recent historians, such as Pieter Judson, are reconsidering the view of the Habsburg lands as a "prison of the peoples":
listen to his podcast (49 minutes) on the subject. Some social science research has shown that Habsburg administration may have been more trustworthy, or at least perceived to be, than that of many of the surrounding polities:
previously on the Blue.
Otto himself lived an interesting life, not only as a witness to but as an actor in history. Near the end of World War I, his father "renounced participation" in the Austro-Hungarian government,
and briefly tried to return to power in Hungary without much success, dying in exile when Otto was not yet 10. The Emperor-King Charles was
beatified by Pope John Paul II in 2004, for his attempts to broker peace in the Great War.
Otto went on to live in exile around various parts of Western Europe, including Switzerland and Belgium (
itself largely a former Habsburg domain),
where he received a degree in law. He was bitterly opposed to Hitler and the annexation of Austria, leading the Nazis to name the potential (
unnecessary) armed invasion of Austria "Case Otto."
Otto, whose claim to the thrones of numerous lands
occasionally made him persona non grata in same, later made a name for himself as a
pan-Europeanist and member of the European Parliament from its founding in 1979 until 1999 (sitting as a member from the conservative Bavarian Christian Social Union). He was controversial,
the Catholic prince apparently getting into fisticuffs with the ultra-Protestant Northern Irish MEP Ian Paisley in the chamber. He called for Europe
to adopt mentions of God, while
also calling for "interfaith" dialogue.
The Habsburgs are still going strong,
inspiring nostalgia, and Otto's nephew
Lorenz is continuing the tradition of
marrying well, in this case
a woman who would be Queen.
posted by dhens at 4:40 PM on July 5, 2011 [1 favorite]