The event, which presented the history of Charles von Habsburg and his family on the island, was attended by Nuno Brás da Silva Martins, Bishop of Funchal, Eduardo Jesus, Regional Secretary for Tourism and Culture, Rubina Maria Branco Leal Vargas, Vice President of the Board of the Legislative Assembly of Madeira, Pedro França Ferreira, Honorary Consul of Hungary, Nuno Mota, Director of the Archive, and Pedro de Almeida, grandson of João de Almeida, who was a great support to the Habsburg family in 1922. Our Foundation was represented by Gergely Fejérdy, Deputy Director, Szilveszter Dékány, Senior Collection Fellow and Laura Balázs, Communications Manager.
The exhibition commemorates the former monarch, who died a 100 years ago, and his family’s years in Madeira, and presents a substantial selection of diaries, photographs and press products, partly from the collection of the local archives and partly from the Otto von Habsburg Foundation. The showcases and canvases depict the days of Charles and his family in Madeira between November 1921 and May 1922. Subsequent visits by family members were also included in the exhibition, such as the visit to of our Foundation’s namesake in 1972. Visitors were able to see a number of archival sources that had never before been made public. The event had significant press coverage in Portugal. Yet one does not have to travel to the remote Portuguese island to see the exhibition, as according to our plans, it will be presented in Hungary as well, in November 2022, in the Royal Palace of Gödöllő. Our colleague Laura Balázs has already consulted with the Portuguese organisers about the preparation of the appropriate installations.
As a surprise at the opening, Pedro de Almeida presented the baptismal gown of Emperor Charles, in which Otto von Habsburg and his brothers were later also baptised. As we wrote in a short article on our Foundation’s website in 2020, the Almeida family, who are related to the Portuguese royal family, received this gown from Queen Zita in 1923 and they have kept it in great esteem ever since.
Before the event, a cooperation agreement was signed by Gergely Fejérdy, Deputy Director on behalf of the Otto von Habsburg Foundation, and Eduardo Jesus, Regional Secretary on behalf of the Regional Archive and Library (and the Regional Secretariat for Tourism and Culture). In the document, the two sides set out their intention to cooperate in the long term. This includes the presentation of the exhibition in Hungary, and the publication of a joint documentary book on the Habsburg family’s months in Madeira. In their short speeches at the signing ceremony, both parties stressed that this cooperation, in addition to strengthening Portuguese-Hungarian cultural relations, will contribute to the preservation and processing of the common European historical heritage.
During the official visit, the delegation of the Otto von Habsburg Foundation was given an insight into the functioning of the library and archives in Madeira. It was particularly interesting to take a close look at the institution’s conservation and digitisation unit. The climate and wildlife of the island often force professionals to use conservation techniques that are less or not at all known on the continent.
The photographic archivist of our Foundation, Szilveszter Dékány, also had a separate meeting with the directors of the Madeira Photography Museum (Museu de Fotografia da Madeira – Atelier Vicente’s). It was agreed that we could use images from their collection for our planned resource publication in the autumn. They discussed the display of previously unseen photographs in Hungary of Charles’s family’s stay in Madeira and the later visits of Otto von Habsburg.
The roll-up exhibition made by our Foundation entitled Charles von Habsburg – Life and Memory continues to be on display in the building next to the Church of Our Lady of the Mount, the final resting place of the last Emperor and King, on the hillside above Funchal.
The visit to Madeira strengthened the links established in April and deepened the opportunities for cooperation. We look forward to meeting again in Budapest in the autumn!
