He was the eldest son of the last emperor of Austria-Hungary, he was a passionate European, a family man, and had been a Pöckinger for decades.
Sunday marks the tenth anniversary of Otto von Habsburg's death.
It is still present in people's minds.
Pöcking
- Eva Demmerle, his long-time employee, can still remember an event shortly after Otto von Habsburg's death on Sunday ten years ago - it moved her to tears. “He was laid out for four days in his home town of Pöcking,” says the 53-year-old. Anyone who wanted to say goodbye to him should have the opportunity. "I was standing at the coffin with his daughter Walburga when suddenly a man came up to us," says the Feldafingerin. The gentleman introduced himself as a bus driver at Munich Airport. "Otto von Habsburg was the only person who shook my hand regularly," the man said to Demmerle at the time. A gesture that reveals more about the character of the last Austrian Crown Prince than a thousand words.
Otto von Habsburg, born in Reichenau an der Rax in 1912, was prepared from the start to ascend the throne of Austria-Hungary. After the end of the lost First World War and the fall of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy, this path ended abruptly. Otto and his family had to go into exile and were forbidden to travel to Austria for many years. As hard as this time was for the Habsburg, in retrospect he always said: “It's good that I didn't become emperor,” remembers Demmerle, who wrote a biography about her boss. So he could act more freely, especially in politics, which made up a large part of his life. "If I had become emperor, I would have had to say your Excellency to a donkey, as a parliamentarian I can say donkey to a donkey", was one of his sayings according to Demmerle.
For decades Otto von Habsburg sat for the CSU in the European Parliament, he was Honorary President of the International Pan-Europa Union. “He was a Homo Politicus with body and soul,” Demmerle recalls. "Central and Eastern Europe in particular was very important to him." In 1989 Otto von Habsburg was the patron of the Pan-European Picnic on the Austro-Hungarian border, during which more than 600 Germans from the GDR were released. “He had the idea of transferring the peaceful coexistence of different peoples, as in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, to the EU. He didn't care about the form of government, ”says Demmerle.
MEP Angelika Niebler (58), who succeeded Otto von Habsburg in the European Parliament, can still remember the passionate European well. When the EU expanded to the east in 2004, “what Otto von Habsburg stood for became a reality. He made the understanding of the people his personal credo, ”says Niebler. Otto von Habsburg himself had four different passports and spoke seven languages when he died - he was a European through and through. During his time as a member of parliament, Otto von Habsburg spent almost every day on the plane. “He kept a flight diary,” remembers Demmerle, who has accompanied him on many trips. “He always handwritten the flight time and flight kilometers in a small notebook. At the end of the year he always made a statement. "
After his career as an active politician, Otto von Habsburg spent a lot of time with his wife Regina, his seven children and his grandchildren in Pöcking. Until his death he lived in the villa on Hindenburgstrasse, which is now rented to a company. In 1953 the family moved to Lake Starnberg because Otto von Habsburg's mother-in-law was already living in Münsing. “He felt comfortable and welcome,” says Demmerle.
Albert Luppart (59) can still remember the time when the von Habsburg family lived in Pöcking. “For me as a child, weddings were always very exciting,” says the deputy mayor of the community. “The whole high nobility came to town. At that time they were dressed very differently than we were. ”Although Otto von Habsburg was a well-known man, he got involved in village life. “He was a citizen of the world, but he always felt connected to Pöcking.” The children went to the Pöcking elementary school, played with the village children and fetched milk from the neighboring farm. “I served as minister at the same time as his son Georg,” recalls Luppart.
In general, the family was very religious. When the parish church of Sankt Pius was built, the Habsburgs had just moved to Pöcking, says Amelie Erhard. "The pastor at the time wanted to build a kind of gallery for the family on the first floor," says the long-time councilor. “Otto von Habsburg said that that was out of the question. I think that was a great decision that shows his character. ”Mayor Rainer Schnitzler (55) also knew Otto von Habsburg as a child. When he was allowed to visit him in his villa for the first time as town hall chief, he was still excited. “The man would actually have become emperor and received me young mayor at home. At that time I went into the villa with great awe. ”Otto von Habsburg quickly took that away from him. “He was always very friendly.“In 2005, the long-time Pöckinger was given honorary citizenship at the suggestion of Albert Luppart. "He was very happy about it, although he has already been honored as an honorary citizen in many localities," says Erhard.
Otto von Habsburg died on July 4, 2011 at the age of 98 in Pöcking. "When he died, we knew that the Habsburg era was over in the town," says Luppart.