Schönbrunn Palace is a massive estate just outside Vienna, Austria. The Habsburg family, rulers of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, used it for their summer home. You don’t have to go inside to get some idea of the Habsburg’s power. You’ll know just by seeing the grounds at Schönbrunn Palace.
The palace grounds occupy something like 400 acres of manicured greenery. Landscape architects designed the grounds just like they’d design a building. Designing fancy gardens used to be all the rage for the ruling class.
Schönbrunn Gardens
The Medici’s set the bar high when they created Florence’s Boboli Gardens. (Remember?) And then of course, there’s Versailles. The Grounds at Schönbrunn Palace are just as impressive, and in a way, they project even more power than the others.
The grounds in front of the palace set the scene. They’re beautiful. But the grounds behind the palace are in another class altogether.
A large Fountain of Neptune stands midway towards the rear of the grounds. Perched on an elevated knoll, off in the distance, stands a large monument called the Gloriette.
Maria Theresa, (who we’ll meet later), had the Gloriette built specifically to glorify Habsburg power. When it comes to the Habsburg’s, it seems to have been all about power.
We touched on how the Habsburgs managed to amass so much wealth last time. But let’s go back and look more closely now.
2,000 Years Ago…
Way back in the first century AD, Eastern Europe was populated with independent, unique groups of people. Tribes, you could say. And humans being humans, (for better or for worse), tribes were often fighting with each other.
Eventually one tribe started to become dominant. Over hundreds of years, they assimilated other tribes into one massive group of people. They were called the Magyars.
I don’t remember ever learning anything about the Magyars in school. But they’re an important part of European history. I would have thought that I’d have at least heard the word, “Magyar.” Nope.
The Magyars
At their peak, the Magyars controlled lands extending from the Carpathian mountains to where France is today. And since some of us didn’t learn anything about the Magyars in school, we probably didn’t learn where the Carpathian mountains are, either.
The Carpathian mountains run mostly north and south, starting in Slovenia and the Czech Republic, then reaching down from Poland, skirting the western boundary of Ukraine. One could say they roughly divide Eastern and Western Europe.
Magyar territory included most of what we call Europe today. If you lived back in those days and had Magyars as neighbors, your castle had better have some high, sturdy walls, because you were going to be invaded. It wasn’t a question of “if,” but “when.” That’s just the way it was.
Don’t Mess with the Magyars
The Magyars invaded everyone around them, gradually expanding their territory. They were deadly with bows and arrows. They were sneaky, too. Maybe sneaky is the wrong word. They were clever.
Let’s say you’re the commander of an army that’s about to do battle with the Magyars. Your men are prepped and ready to fight. The battle is imminent.
Unfortunately for you, it’s likely that many of your men will be killed by a Magyar arrow before anyone figures out that the battle has started. I know I wouldn’t want to fight ‘em.
The Magyars met their match when they invaded a group of people living roughly where Germany is now. This group’s king, Otto I, had a pretty decent army. Wait ’til you hear what happened next.
To be continued…
