As we reported in a previous post, at the initiative of our Foundation, we are planning an exhibition and commemoration of the centenary of the birth of Regina von Saxe-Meiningen, the spouse of Otto von Habsburg, on 6 January 2025. The events will take place in Meiningen, nearby Heldburg and later, towards the end of the year, in Budapest. In preparation for this and to formulate a possible concept, on 27 September 2023, we visited our namesake’s daughter, Gabriela von Habsburg, who accompanied her mother on several occasions to her former homeland after the fall of the Iron Curtain. The meeting, which took place in a house on the shores of Lake Starnberg, not far from her parents’ home in Pöcking, was attended by Philipp Adlung, Director of the Meiningen Museum.
Alongside a wealth of personal memories, Archduchess Gabriela has in her possession numerous objects, documents and photographs that help to shed light not only on the personality of Regina von Habsburg but also on the historical and cultural role of the Saxon-Meiningen dynasty. In the outlined exhibition, in addition to presenting the relationship and marriage of Otto and Regina, we intend to focus on the cultural activities of Regina’s ancestors – some of which, in fact, also extended to Hungary – and on how this undoubtedly marriage of love embodied Otto von Habsburg’s ideal of Europe. In the face of the Prussian-Austrian hostilities that erupted in the Battle of Königgrätz in 1866, their marriage was an example of how the Habsburg Empire could work as an ally with Bismarck’s united Germany and its smaller ruling houses.
Gabriela von Habsburg is a renowned sculptor. Today, her inspiration and talent are a manifestation of the artistic sensibility of the Saxe-Meiningen dynasty. We had the chance to see some of her works in her studio, and she presented our Foundation with a small cross inspired by the so-called Kruzifix-Urteil, a highly publicised court ruling in Bavaria in 1995, which regulated the placement of crosses in public buildings. Archduchess Gabriela has also donated some previously unknown photographs from her family collection, which are presented below.
Preparations for the exhibition in Meiningen are continuing in earnest. We are delighted that the Habsburg family continues to support our work and we would like to thank Gabriela von Habsburg for her active contribution!
