At the site of our commemorative exhibition on the last Hungarian monarch, which opened on 15 April, our colleagues, Gergely Prőhle, Director, Gergely Fejérdy, Deputy Scientific Director and Eszter Fábry, Archivist, answered questions from the host, András Liska, in front of a large audience. During the discussion, the professional director of the Erkel Ferenc Museum asked about the historical events of the reign of Charles, his family life, his two unsuccessful attempts to return to Hungary, his exile, his tragic death and its consequences, with special reference to the impact of these on the life of his son Otto von Habsburg. The event included the presentation of our volumes ‘Good Will and Misfortune’ and ‘Exiled in Madeira’ (both published in 2022), and a brief introduction to the work of our Foundation.
The event, originally announced as the closing ceremony for the exhibition, eventually only concluded the free university series of the Erkel Ferenc Museum. It is due to the great interest – at the request of the management of the Almásy Castle in Gyula – that the opening hours of the commemorative exhibition were extended by one month, until the end of June.
The many positive feedbacks and experiences encourage us to present our exhibition, which was originally exhibited in the Royal Palace of Gödöllő, in other Hungarian venues in the future, in order to make the fate of the last Hungarian king and the heritage of his eldest son – the eponym of our Foundation, Otto von Habsburg – known to a wider audience.
