Despite hiking over 20 miles yesterday, I woke up feeling surprising well. I was more exhausted than I had ever been after spending my day trekking through the alps, but I managed to get an incredibly good nights sleep at the hostel, so I was ready our scheduled walking tour of an Esterhazy castle. Our class planned stop by the castle on our way back to Vienna from the Alps, so before we could travel anywhere, we had to pack up everything we had brought along with us. Everyone managed to get there things together by 10 am, and we set off on our way home around 10:30. Unfortunately, the bus nearly broke down on our way to the castle, so our plans for the day were delayed. We were sitting in a stalled bus for about half an hour while the bus driver frantically called the charter company for another bus. However sometime around the point when Kathy started debating changing the days actives to include a picnic in the lovely meadow we happened to break down next to, the bus started running again, and we were able to progress on our way toward the castle.
We arrived there around 11 am and started a walking tour of the castle and it's various displays after a short lunch break. The architectural make up of the castle itself was interesting to see, because it consisted of two layers of construction. The lower sections of the castle were done in a Gothic style, and dated back to the castle's original construction in the middle ages. A second Baroque style facade rested on top of the Gothic section of the castle, and was added in the 17th century when parts of the castle were renovated or restored. The renovation and addition of a Baroque facade suggests that the castle remained important building for quite a long time, and indeed, this turned out to be true. The castle's tour guide told our group that the castle was given to the Esterhazy family as a gift from the Hasburgs, but it remained a very important strategical point against invading Turkish forces in the 16th and 17th centuries. The Baroque style renovations make a great deal of sense given the castle use in combat Kathy explained that 13th and 14th century fortifications were not designed to withstand cannon blasts and gun powder weapons, to the changes in design likely served a tactile purpose as well as a cosmetic one.
The military history of the castle was further explained by the large number of weapons, armor, and military uniforms displayed in the castle. Organized displays of showed everything from swords and steel breast plates to the brightly colored military dress worn on battle fields before the invention of smokeless gun powder. Much of the weapons and uniforms were of a Hungarian design, and were consisted of what the troops lead by the Esterhazy family would have worn into battle, but a great deal of foreign arms and uniforms were on display as spoils of war. The castle boasted a small collection of French uniforms, guns, and cannons, as well as a rather large collection of Turkish weapons, bows, and military tents. The assorted displays certainly portrayed the Esterhazy family as great military leaders and warriors, as the presence of such a collection was very impressive to see. As the tour continued, I wondered if the collection and preservation of such displays might serve some sort of public relations purpose. Our tour guide continued to two more exhibits, one was on hunting, and the other was a collection of Esterhazy family portraits. Viewing the portraits made it more clear to me that the collection and display of art and military gear was indeed attempting to create a narrative about the Esterhazy family as being a line of powerful military leaders. Nearly all the family portraits displayed the men in the family as warriors, wearing armor or military uniforms, and carrying a collection of weapons. Women were not displayed as warriors, but they were painted with symbols of wealth and status, such as gold and jewels. The paintings seem to be a type of advertisement as well as a work of art, as they displayed members of the family as part of a proud military tradition.
All of the paintings may display Esterhazy men as powerful and prestigious, however one painting in particular is especially demonstrative of a controlled attempt to create a narrative about the Esterhazy lineage. A portrait of Vlad the Impaler, the man who inspired the Dracula legend, was on display along with other portraits in the Esterhazy gallery. At first, it was not clear to us why the Esterhazy had this portrait, but our tour guide later explained that the Esterhazy displayed the portrait because they wanted to make a connection between the brutal Vlad and their own lineage because Vlad the Impaler was famous for fighting back the Ottoman Turks. The very same Turks had long been enemies of the Esterhazy and the Habsburgs, so the Esterhazy wanted to connect Vlads curtly with their war accomplishments. Having the portrait in their gallery was an attempt to put the Esterhazy name on this same level as Vlad when it came to defeating the Turkish threat in combat. After seeing this portrait, it became clear to me what kind of narrative the Esterhazy were trying to express with their display and collection. There saying that they are powerful protectors of the empire, and that they fight bravely against the Habsburgs great enemy, the Ottomans.
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