An Austro-Hungarian love story

[petrusplancius]

Comments

[fire_watch]

I had no idea ole Franz was such a romantic! Thanks for posting this!

[twinkelbelpeach]

Any idea what became of their children after the assassination?

[stellypippin]

Been wonderin' about that too

[petrusplancius]

Graf (Count) Jaroslav Thurn, an intimate friend of their father, became their guardian, and I think Sophie's sisters helped to bring them up. FF had been fully aware of the dangers of his position and had made all the necessary arrangements beforehand. Although his main home had been a castle in Bohemia, his children were deprived of their properties in the Czech lands after the war and went to live in Austria, where they were apparently able to keep most of their inheritance; the fact that they had been excluded from the Imperial family and the succession would have been an advantage in that regard. I imagine that they would have lived the customary life of landed aristocrats. Sophie, who had been FF's favourite, married an Austrian nobleman, Graf von Nostitz-Rieneck, about whom I know nothing whatever. When the German entered Austria in 1938, her brothers opposed the annexation of their country and engaged in anti-Nazi activities; they were arrested and sent to the concentration camp at Dachau, but were eventually released and

[benicek]

Sophie lived until the 1980s. The guides at Konopiste Castle, her former home, told me that in her latter years she was invited to visit but that she politely declined, saying that she wished to remember it only as it had been when she was a child.

[dockrat]

Thats very interesting. My brother-in-law is from Austria.

[the_quiet_kid]

i love these kinds of posts! this one was especially good and very informative. keep up the good work!

[sophie1]

Beautiful photos and informative history of this couple and family . My ancestors (on both my Mother's and Father's side)are from Bohemia so it makes it even more interesting.
Thanks for posting!