The conference sought to present and contextualise the activities of King and Emperor Charles and their reception in Hungary and internationally from a political-historical perspective, while at the same time providing an insight into some aspects of the private life of the monarch and his family through personal sources (diaries and photographs). Resonating with the main idea of the conference – that the last Austrian Emperor and Hungarian King’s well-intentioned political actions were mostly overridden by historical circumstances – the presentations raised a number of points that may be worth considering in the process of placing Charles I (IV) in historical memory and reconsidering the image of his career.
The memorial conference is also important for our Foundation in the light of the fact that this year we commemorate the 110th anniversary of the birth of Otto von Habsburg, for whom the public activity and experience of his late father, who was beatified in the meantime, were of fundamental importance throughout his long career. Given the importance of his father’s political principles and legacy, and the continuity of family and dynastic values, our Foundation also pays due attention to the memory of Emperor and King Charles. The guests of the conference had the opportunity to see our roll-up exhibition on Charles von Habsburg, entitled “Life and Memory” as well as the one on Otto von Habsburg, entitled “Life and Heritage”, which was also presented in Gödöllő two years ago.
The papers presented at the conference will be published in print in the near future.
Photos of the conference
