Religious Wedding of Archduke Martin of Austria-Este (*1959, MTD)
and Princess Katharina von Isenburg (*1971, MTD)
in Birstein/Germany on May 8th 2004
Birstein is a small village in Hesse with clean air. Unfortunately it rained a lot those days in that area. The wedding seemed to be a private one and it was very difficult to make (good) photos because of the location of the church directly at the main street and the good work of the security (men of the local fire brigade). There were also many people to watch the wedding. Maybe nearly all (female) inhabitants of this small town were present. Because of the rain there were a lot umbrellas and the area where we could stand was too small. There were also a few bigger busses who dropped the guests directly in front of the church. Because of the rain everybody was in a hurry to enter the church and later the busses again. It was chaotic. So it was hard for me to recognize the guests and to take pictures. There was not enough time and space for this! After the wedding all important persons went directly into the busses again and were driven to beautiful Birstein Castle and vanished inside. The fire brigade didn't let anybody else in even the press had to stay outside. I couldn't take a photo of bride and groom when they left the church because the church had two steps and they took the other one where I was not standing. They just posed a few seconds on the balcony of the church but I wasn't standing there either. At least I could takes pics of Crown Prince Philippe and his wife Mathilde (I asked him for that and he agreed!) and the Princes of Liechtenstein because they took the stairs where I was standing. It was not possible for me to change my place quickly enough because of all the other watchers. I do have pics of the bride but I think I missed Archduke Martin. I don't have any photo of the groom, what a shame!
Family members I have recognized:
- Archduchess Margherita of Austria-Este
- Archduke Lorenz of Austria-Este
- Princess Astrid of Belgium (I saw her but I did not recognize her because of the hat which covered her face totally)
- their children Maria Laura and Joachim
- Archduke Gerhard of Austria-Este
- Archduke Carl Christian of Austria and his wife Marie-Astrid (born Princess of Luxemburg)
- Prince Franz Joseph of Auersperg-Breuner and his wife Constanza (born Archduchess of Austria)
- Otto von Habsburg (I think I have seen him, although I seem to be the only one)
Royal guests I have seen:
- Crown Prince Philippe of Belgium with his wife Mathilde
- Prince Hans Adam and Princess Marie of Liechtenstein
- Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume of Luxemburg
- Duke Jean of Vendome
- Duke Friedrich of Wuerttemberg and his wife Marie
- Fürstin Benita von Schaumburg-Lippe
- Fürst Moritz and Fürstin Lioba von Oettingen-Wallerstein
- Princess Marie Louise of Baden with husband and daughter
Although I did not get good photos I had a great day. It was nice to meet Frau Reimann again and it was the first time that I saw E. Gerben, Jerome B. and Arturo and we had a lot to talk about! Jerome and Arturo recognized me because of the pics on Netty's homepage. Because of the internet the world can be very small, luckily!
Created May 10th 2004.
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