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| STUDY TRIP ABROAD, FALL 2007
A wonderfully intrepid group of Trust members from across the country gathered in Innsbruck, Austria, to follow the fame and fortune of generations of Habsburgs and to find what America might have gleaned for those times. One of our first stops was the Folk Art Museum attached to the Hofkirche in Innsbruck. There we found the American connection. We saw rooms almost identical to museum rooms at the Hans Herr house in Lancaster Country, PA. Exhibits of colorful furniture, interesting metalwork, textiles, etc., certainly related to the German Lutheran immigrant work of the 18th and 19th centuries here. Some highlights included the visit to Tratzberg Castle, which is open to the public, but we were honored by having Count Enzenberg as our guide. The beautiful water garden and the startling effects at Schloss Hellbrunn featured the 17th-century water sprays installed by Archbishop Marcus Sitticus in 1616! The Kunstkammer at Schloss Ambras, the amazing cabinet of curiosities from the 1500s, was intriguing.
Most museums had rooms of armor but the Arsenal, c. 1640, in Graz was extremely interesting not only for its contents and age but also, from a museum point of view, the displays, maps, and endless storage of armor, guns, powder horns, etc., communicated well the idea of purchasing and outfitting for early combat. Many felt that the “crowning” moment of the Study Trip was the visit to Kaiservilla with the Arch Duke of Austria, Markus S. Habsburg-Lothringen. It brought the Habsburg family up to the moment in their own family home with the words of Franz Joseph being uttered by his grandson, the current Duke. Many thanks to Trust Governor Jim Sanders for bringing this special connection to us. From the beautiful rural scenery of Austria as we traveled from town to town, to the glories of Tosca at the Vienna State Opera House, it was a breathtaking and wonderful trip.
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