Our Foundation preserves the wall map that once hung in our namesake’s residence in Lequeitio. At first glance, it appears to be a simple classroom teaching aid; in reality, however, it is far more than that: a material trace of the educational programme through which the young Archduke was prepared, even in exile, for his role as heir to the Monarchy.
On 5 June 2026, the Otto von Habsburg Foundation, in cooperation with the Embassy of Hungary in Madrid, organised an exhibition and a round-table discussion in Bilbao highlighting Otto von Habsburg’s years in the Basque Country and his family’s connections with the region.
Among the Otto von Habsburg Foundation’s holdings are numerous diaries by governesses and tutors, documenting the upbringing of the imperial children. These records provide valuable insights into the everyday life of the family up to the mid-1930s. Beyond the constraints of court etiquette – or at times operating entirely within them – they occasionally reveal lighter, more personal moments from the children’s formative years.
An interesting story led to the meeting between the MTK football team and Otto von Habsburg in 1923. It finally took place in the small Basque village of Lequeitio on the Atlantic coast, where the footballers played a demonstration match on the beach in honour of the young heir to the throne and the royal family.
