Today, I drug Susan to a military museum under the guise that we would visit a beautiful castle called Belvedere Palace afterwards. We DID visit the Museum of the Austrian Military. We kind of missed going to the palace. But only because it was raining. We WILL visit Belvedere later. Besides, after a stimulating museum tour of the history of Austria's military, who has the energy to see any old beautiful palace anyway?
I was too "frugal" to want to rent the audio tour headphones and plunged into the two story fort-turned-museum to see the Austrian's contribution to thinning out the world's population over its long and glorious past. I don't have a lot to write but my short synopsis is this:
Austria has known war and been involved in war on and off for centuries. Their allies as well as enemies have varied from war to war but the remaining constant seems to be that the common, everyday, soldier bore the brunt of the fighting and dying while the crowned heads/leaders of Austria as well as the other nations, got or lost the glory. Not too different of a story of any nation of the world. Now or in the past.
My main reason for visiting this museum was the fact that they have the car in which Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie were assassinated, sparking the events that led to WWI (which was just the first half of the story. WWI led directly to WWII). After perusing literally tons of war-making hardware, paintings, and trying to de-cipher German inscriptions, I found the car. Not only the car, but the tunic Ferdinand wore on that fateful day. A small bullet hole was noticeable just below the right side of the collar.
The one bullet that caused that tiny hole unleashed a firestorm of war the likes of which the world has never seen. Estimates set at no less than 40 million dead littered the world from Sarejevo to the Marne and Chateau Thierry and later, from Stalingrad to Midway, from Pearl Harbor to Normandy Beach, Iwo Jima, and Hiroshima before it was over. That small, singular hole created by Gavrillio Princip's pistol added to the one formed when another single bullet formed a self-inflicted hole in Adolf Hitler have had untold influence of this century as well as the last.
Having alluded to the Second World War, I noticed that there is barely a shred of a mention of the Austrian involvement in the Third Reich's war effort during WWII. This may have to do with laws passed after the war. In any event, the museum is very informative and impressive. They even have some up-to-date exhibits of today's Austrian military.
This is a collection of pictures we took on the tour (before and AFTER the staff told us "NO FLASH" Tip for Austrian Military Museum- put up some signs!).
Various uniforms of the early 1800s
The biggest artillery piece in the museum. It's shell (see below near the breech) is as big as a sofa!
Susan stands beside a WWI "flying machine".
WWI tank. Not sure how it got in the water.
Gatling Gun. Circa 1867
20 mm cannon on a carriage with seats on each side.
Panzer!!!
WWI uniform with chest-plate and face protector.
WWI gas mask apparatus
The car (with flash)
The car (no flash).
Ferdinand's Tunic.
The bullet hole is almost imperceptible on the upper left side of it as you face it (between the first and second buttons and to toward the neck). I do not know what caused the tear on the opposite side breast.
What child doesn't dream of a birthday party at the Museum of the Austrian Military!?!
Whose up for some cut-the-tail-off-the-donkey or some balloon break bingo with Mausers ???
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