Weddings in the Imperial House were characterised for their pomp and splendour. The special exhibition shows aspects of imperial marriages, from courtship to widow- and widowerhood. But hidden behind all these elaborately staged festivities we can frequently find poignant life stories. Habsburg weddings were rarely affairs of the heart.

Marriage in ruling houses was not only an alliance between two individuals but between two dynasties. Love had little to do with it. Children of a marriageable age were the pawns of politics and had little chance to have a say in choosing a partner.

The exhibition section at Schloss Niederweiden gives an inside view of the procedure of imperial weddings, starting with the provisions prior to the betrothal, then the strenuous courtship journeys and finally the church marriage ceremony.
The stupendously spectacular festivities with fireworks, opera performances, wedding banquets and mighty triumphal arches show that weddings were in a league of their own as the most important events for the Imperial House.

The exhibition section at Schloss Hof estate deals with the question of what criteria the ideal bride or groom should fulfil ­– and most of all: who was good enough for the Habsburg Dynasty?

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