A dynasty full of power, intrigue and excess. Roman Sandgruber shows why the stories of the Habsburgs live on to this day.
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The Habsburgs appear again and again in the Austrian present – at the latest at Christmas, when Romy Schneider plays the eternal Empress of Hearts. This year it wasn’t a film, but a film-worthy story that made the monarchy’s legacy relevant: The Florentine was back, that super diamond, thought lost and supposedly even sawn in half. And the head of the family, Karl Habsburg, sat on ORF and explained why the jewel did not belong to the republic. When asked whether he saw himself as Emperor of Austria, he couldn’t bring himself to simply say no.
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