It’s all about the Kaiser ...

Like last year, there has again been an SGA information desk in Bad Ischl on the occasion of the Emperor’s Birthday. In spite of the partly stormy weather, we had the occasion to talk to a lot of people interested. Once more, it showed that Central Europeans are still in favour of monarchy as such and the Habsburg dynasty in particular.

After the traditional celebrations on Church Square, SGA president Mr. Manfred Körner bestowed honorary membership upon Prof. Erich Feigl, one of the pioneers of the Austrian restoration movement. Mr. Feigl (born 1931) has been supporting SGA ever since its foundation, and has been informing our dynasty about our activities. He has published outstanding books on their Majesties Empress Zita and Emperor Karl as well as detailed publications about HIH Archduke Otto. In September, Amalthea publishing house will release his upgraded biography of Emperor Karl.

Furthermore, Mr. Feigl has been so kind as to accept patronage over Black And Yellow Alliance (SGA). In Ischl, he was accompanied by Mr. Lacy Milkovics, one of the key figures of Austrian monarchistic activities in the 1950ies and 1960ies and then Archduke Otto’s secretary.

This event was followed by our quarterly meeting in Vogrsko near Nova Gorica in Slovenia. On Saturday, we had the chance to discuss political issues and thus proceeed in developing our programme. From September onwards, the programme update will be online in German language (please see button “Programm”).

Apart from political debates, we also had the chance to meet with members of imperial and royal infantry regiment no. 17 “Crown Prince Otto”. Their commander, Mr. Sašo Jankovič, guided us through the remains of Austrian WWI positions along the Isonzo front line next to the battleground of Doberdó/Doberdob. Who would have thought that, only 15 years after Slovenia’s independence, Old Austrian tradition would experience such a revival?

In the afternoon, we were joined by Reverend Marko Ivan Rupnik, deacon of Nova Gorica, the Slovenian part of divided Gorizia (see picture, first from left). Despite his forthcoming evening sermon, he took the time to greet us and enjoy a glass of red wine with us.

Later on, the Lower Austrian brass quartet “Kaiserblech” played the Old Austrian anthem they had just rehearsed with vice chairman Michael Vereno, and all were singing along in Slovene and German.

That lovely day was concluded by the presentation of a video documentary of HIH Archduke Otto’s April visit to the town of Brandýs nad Lábem (Bohemia). Interest in that documentary was huge, since vitality and lustiness of the 94-year-old head of our dynasty are really amazing.

Around midnight, our host Mr. Veljko Špacapan invited us to his wine cellars so as to taste his delicious muscatel.

On Sunday, there followed an utterly dignified final note to SGA’s third meeting in 2006: We visited the "Festa dei popoli mitteleuropei" festival in Cormòns and Giassico (Italy). Again, our appearance was being musically accompanied by "Kaiserblech".