Pomposity and splendor of the Austrian nobility...
Manorial houses and their stories: This is a very special hobby-horse of moderator Karl Hohenlohe, and the audience appreciates these insights very much. In the previous three highly successful seasons, Kari Hohenlohe has already portrayed 17 palaces and villas - and being in touch with their present inhabitants, learned many fascinating and intimate details about the properties and their owners.
Clever Contents is happy to produce the fourth season of "Austria's Noble Mansions" that will be broadcast starting the autumn 2019, focusing on another five manor houses presented by our cultural expert.
A production of Clever Contents GmbH in cooperation with ORF III and funded by Fernsehfonds Austria
Genre | docuseries
Moderator | Karl Hohenlohe
Production manager I Jeannine Felzmann
Length | 5 films x 45 minutes each
Year of production | 2019
Broadcasting | October 2019 on ORF III
Contact
Patrick Pleisnitzer
+43 664 5042857
pleisnitzer@clevercontents.com
01 Palais Fries-Palavicini in Vienna | Visiting Edoardo Pallavicini
A special insight into the life of nobleman Edoardo Pallavicini shows us his world
One
is rarely enough invited to a famous palace and experiences what is
hidden behind the closed doors. How could a noble landlord live in a
palace that is qualified and well known only for elegant balls? Where
and how does he live in such a magnificent building?
First, the
documentary tells us about historical peculiarities of a magnificent
Viennese building, looking behind the behind the scenes. The landlord
personally opens the doors to his daily activities. Karel Hohenlohe,
being accompanied by the most elegant noble landlord of Vienna,
discovers what is hidden in the heart of the mysterious Palais
Pallavicini. A cinematic journey from the cellar to the splendid rooms
of the Pallavicini, during which the diversity of the colorful
neighborhood of the famous house is also presented.
A film by Gigga Neunteufel
02 Greillenstein Castle in Lower Austria | Visiting Kuefstein Family
For half a millennium, this Waldviertel Renaissance castle has been owned by the same family. The Kuefsteins are happy to open their doors to visitors - and demonstrate the lifestyle and traditions of the historic noble family. The highlight is the medieval courtroom, in which all criminal records are still preserved! Grillparzer's "Ahnfrau" is still hanging on the wall scaring the guests with its presence.
Our expert for historic manor houses in Austria, Kari Hohenlohe, speaks with the castle manager Elisabeth Kuefstein, one of the great-great-granddaughters of the Empress Sisi, the actual castle owner Andreas Kuefstein and their daughters Marie-Carolin and Marie-Amelie as well as the the next inheritor of the castle Greillenstein, their son Karl.
A film by Susanne Pleisnitzer
03 Burg Heidenreichstein in Lower Austria | Visitng Nette Kinsky
In the northern Waldviertel, near the Czech border, one of the
best-preserved and most impressive moated castles in Central Europe is
located in the market town of Heidenreichstein. Since the middle of the
20th century, the castle is owned by the Kinsky family. Netty Kinsky
grew up in Heidenreichstein together with her siblings. For them, the
castle is still home and retreat, combining many beautiful memories
locked in the old walls, including the old super 8 films with their
father Christian Kinsky that we overtook for our production.
Kari
Hohenlohe is guided by Netty Kinsky through the history of the family
and the rooms of the castle. He encounters prominent personalities from
the family such as Maria von Ebner-Eschenbach, Bertha von Suttner and
above all Rudolf von der Straten, the first head of the Spanish Riding
School after 1918. There was also Straten, who inherited the castle from
his friend, Landislaus Pallfy, after World War II. He passed it to his
daughter, Netty Kinsky's mother, who married Christian Kinsky, who was
expelled from the Czech Republic.
A film by Martin Vogg
04 Rohrau Castle in Lower Austria | Visiting Waldburg-Zeil Couple
The small Lower Austrian town of Rohrau, located on the border with
Slovakia and Burgenland, is best known as the birthplace of Joseph
Haydn. The Renaissance castle near Haydn's birthplace has been owned by
the Harrach family since the beginning of the 16th century. Visitors to
the castle come mainly to see the Harrach family collection. It is well
known for its baroque masterpieces far beyond the borders of Austria.
Kari
Hohenlohe visits the present owner of the castle, the farmer Johannes
Waldburg-Zeil and his wife Ursula. Johannes Waldburg-Zeil is the
grandson of Stephanie Harrach, who sold the palace of the family at the
Freyung after the war to save the run-down farming and the completely
ruined castle in Rohrau after fleeing from the Czech Republic. Johannes
Waldburg-Zeil Even grew up in Rohrau and is thus closely linked with the
place and the community since his childhood.
The couple
Waldburg-Zeil grants Kari Hohenlohe an insight into their diverse
activities, which go far beyond agriculture, and their contribution to
preserving this cultural and historical jewel in the 21st century. In
addition to the museum, he visits the private workshop, the concert and
event hall as well as the tower that was completely destroyed during the
war and has not yet been erected. We also accompany Johannes
Waldburg-Zeil climbing one of the wind turbines in its fields for the
first time to experience the amazing view over the castle via the
Leithaau.
A film by Martin Vogg
05 Loosdorf Castle in Lower Austria | Visiting Piatti Family
If one hears the name Loosdorf, one always thinks of the market town situated by the West Motorway. There is also a small village with a castle in the northern Weinviertel region, which is mentioned for the first time as Veste Lostorff in the 12th century. It owes its current appearance to the Liechtenstein family, who transformed the castle into a model agricultural estate. Since 1834, Loosdorf Castle has been owned by the Piatti family, who manages the fields and forests around the castle.
Kari Hohenlohe visits Alfons Piatti, a pioneer of organic agriculture in Austria and co-founder of bio austria, and his wife Verena Piatti, who not only looks after the castle and the castle museum, but is also an astrologer and therapist working with Bach and Australian bush flowers as well as singing bowls. However, Karl Hohenlohe also meets their daughter Magdalena, who filmed the video at Schloss Loosdorf for her song "It's too late". She connects many beautiful childhood memories with the business-oriented present of the building. In her childhood she learnt not only from playing in the Schlossbrunnen and among the museums, but also participated in cleaning up the splinters of the impressive porcelain collection, which today, by chance, is brought back to life.
A film by Martin Vogg
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