An ancient legend says about the ancestral curse of the Habsburg dynasty, one of the most powerful royal families in Europe. They sat on the thrones of Austria and Spain, France and Italy, let alone the courts of the Czech Republic, Bohemia and others. Virtually no country, thanks to dynastic marriages, was left without someone from the Habsburgs. There are many legends and traditions in this ancient family, but there is one - the most important - from which the Habsburgs lead their own family history.
According to legend, the ancient ancestor of the Habsburgs who lived in the middle of the 11th century, Count Radbot von Altenburg (985 - 1045), who owned lands in Saxony and Switzerland, once got lost in the mountains while hunting and could not find the servants and vassals accompanying him for a long time. As he wandered alone among the rocks, a huge flock of vultures suddenly attacked him. The sky darkened from black wings. Von Altenburg fought them off for a long time with a spear and sword, but there were a lot of vultures and soon he was exhausted. There was nowhere to wait for help in those deserted places, and in despair, von Altenburg began to ask God for help. And at this moment, a flock of crows that appeared over his head, dispersed the vultures, became a lucky coincidence for him.
Von Altenburg told the story of his miraculous rescue to his comrades who soon found him, and vowed to build a tower in this place where crows would nest. And soon the Habechtsburg tower (from German Habichtsburg), which meant "Hawk Castle", was erected there. According to legend, the name of the Habsburg dynasty originated from its name.
Centuries later, the history of the tower was forgotten by descendants, and once walking through those places, the Strasbourg bishop Werner decided to demolish the tower and build the Habsburg castle in its place. Then a monk in a black hood appeared to him, warning about the curse that would befall him and his descendants. However, Werner did not want to listen to him and ordered to seize the monk, but he suddenly disappeared.
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An ancient legend says about the ancestral curse of the Habsburg dynasty, one of the most powerful royal families in Europe. They sat on the thrones of Austria and Spain, France and Italy, let alone the courts of the Czech Republic, Bohemia and others. Virtually no country, thanks to dynastic marriages, was left without someone from the Habsburgs. There are many legends and traditions in this ancient family, but there is one - the most important - from which the Habsburgs lead their own family history.
According to legend, the ancient ancestor of the Habsburgs who lived in the middle of the 11th century, Count Radbot von Altenburg (985 - 1045), who owned lands in Saxony and Switzerland, once got lost in the mountains while hunting and could not find the servants and vassals accompanying him for a long time. As he wandered alone among the rocks, a huge flock of vultures suddenly attacked him. The sky darkened from black wings. Von Altenburg fought them off for a long time with a spear and sword, but there were a lot of vultures and soon he was exhausted. There was nowhere to wait for help in those deserted places, and in despair, von Altenburg began to ask God for help. And at this moment, a flock of crows that appeared over his head, dispersed the vultures, became a lucky coincidence for him.
Von Altenburg told the story of his miraculous rescue to his comrades who soon found him, and vowed to build a tower in this place where crows would nest. And soon the Habechtsburg tower (from German Habichtsburg), which meant "Hawk Castle", was erected there. According to legend, the name of the Habsburg dynasty originated from its name.
Centuries later, the history of the tower was forgotten by descendants, and once walking through those places, the Strasbourg bishop Werner decided to demolish the tower and build the Habsburg castle in its place. Then a monk in a black hood appeared to him, warning about the curse that would befall him and his descendants. However, Werner did not want to listen to him and ordered to seize the monk, but he suddenly disappeared.
In 1027, the construction of the Habsburg Castle on the site of the demolished tower was completed. According to the legend, before the construction of the castle, the crows nesting in the tower were destroyed with bows and crossbows. Soon after the construction of the castle, Werner saw a flock of black ravens with red eyes in the sky, feeling the chilling cold that crept into him. Soon after, he died, and all the bishop's possessions, along with the curse, went to his brother Radbor.
Since then, according to legend, if someone from the Habsburgs saw a flock of black ravens in the sky, then someone from their family would certainly die, or various misfortunes fell upon their possessions of the Habsburgs. It is also known that many representatives of the Habsburg dynasty suffered from a genetic disorder, due to which the chin protruded so much forward that the incisors of the upper jaw were behind the teeth of the lower jaw. Medieval healers and sorcerers, of course, explained the reasons for this defect by the influence of a generic curse.
One of the Habsburgs, Rudolph II, raved about mysticism, dreamed of the philosopher's stone, and therefore willingly accepted alchemists and sorcerers in his palace in the gold of Prague, for whom he had a special task: Rudolph passionately wanted them to create a bird elixir, having taken which a person learn to speak the language of birds. It was then, Rudolph dreamed, that he would be able to explain to the crows that he was the only Habsburg who wanted to win their friendship again. Alas, Rudolph's efforts were not crowned with success.
The final page of the legend about the prophetic crows was the belief that during the murder on June 28, 1914 of the last heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, Archduke Ferdinand and his wife Sofia, a flock of black ravens circled in the sky above their cortege in Sarajevo. Everyone knows the further development of events. Shot. Franz Ferdinand was killed and the First World War unleashed.
Eight years later, on April 1, 1922, the last emperor from the Habsburg dynasty, Charles, died in exile. On the day of his funeral, many black birds flocked to the family crypt. But since then, no one has seen the ominous ravens of the Habsburgs. Of course, the millennial dynasty has ceased to exist.