I grew up with stories of Konopiste and my father’s sadness; because he could not continue to do what his father had done all his life, fight for Konopiste. However, at the time, Konopiste was behind the iron curtain, out of reach, and all my father could do was drive there regularly. We had decided that I would accompany him next time. But there was no next time, my father died in 1977.
Many years later the iron curtain had disappeared, my husband went to Prag for business, on a regular basis, he convinced me to come along and visit Konopiste. It was a very strange experience, for the first time I felt at home, I, who had grown-up in Luxembourg and felt Luxembourgish through and through; I suddenly knew where my roots lay. I was much moved.
A few years later, some friends from Luxembourg, invited us to a pheasant shoot in Konopiste. I had never felt what I felt then, it was as if Konopiste was calling to me. I fought against the tears all day long. It was strange, very emotional, that day I knew that I had to continue my grandfather’s fight, the injustice done to him had to be put (made) right.
Because his mother was not of royal blood, he was not allowed to be a member of the imperial family of Austria. But after the First World War, everything changed in the Czechoslovakian Republic, suddenly he and his siblings were considered as being Habsburgs, they were driven from their family home, deprived of their home country and their property was taken from them without compensation, all because they were their father’s children…
The law voted by the Czechoslovakian Parliament in 1921, so as to apply the treaty of St.Germain and seize the goods and properties of the former sovereign family of Austria and Hungary says: “the goods and properties of (…) particularly the former heir to the throne Franz-Ferdinand d’Este and his descendants.” But my Grandfather, Max Hohenberg never was a member of the former sovereign family of Austria and Hungary, and at that time my Great-grandfather, Archduke Franz-Ferdinand had been dead for almost 8 years. How can you take the goods and properties from a dead person?
My Parents taught me that a family is like a chain; every member is a link which is supposed to carry on and to pass onto the next generation what it has received. I don’t mean the material things we might receive. We have a responsibility not only towards the ones that come after us, but also towards the ones that have come before us. It is not only our deeds that mirror us, but also the way we have lived! My Grandfather set us all a great example.
So we drove to Konopiste once more, this time with our children. I had to show them and ask them if they wanted me to take up the fight, where my grandfather had left it.
It still took some time, but at the end of the year 2006 my lawyer Dr. Jaroslaw Broz, filed my legal action at the district court in Beneschov.
Since that day the question : « What will you do with Konopiste if you win? » Is regularly put to me.
I believe that this historical house should be opened to the public. I also believe that such a house if it was kept up by the family it historicaly belongs to, could give the public a much more personal insight into it's history. My aim is not to close Konopiste, but to erase a injustice and by doing so, contribute to the reconciliation with our history.
I put my trust into the czech justice and hope that my arguments will be heard.