GLAMhack 2024, 6-7 September, Lucerne, Switzerland

Different Perspectives on the Habsburg

Project Idea

Originating from the territory of today’s Switzerland, the dynasty of the Habsburg has been present in many different countries, and its members have been associated with a variety of historical events that have left their traces in our collective memories. By means of this international cooperation project, we intend to tell the story of the Habsburg from the point of view of the various populations concerned. Putting the different memories side by side, we want to seize the occasion to reconnect on a different level, leaving the Habsburg family tree and the world it stands for behind us.

Project teams in several countries create artistic (and possibly participatory) coverage of the perceptions of the Habsburg in their respective country. The resulting creations (presentable on a screen) would then be integrated in a website and included in installations to be displayed at Habsburg memory sites in the participating countries, juxtaposing the different perspectives in a modular fashion. An additional module could be dedicated to a participatory project involving people from all participating countries, taking the history of the Habsburg as a starting point to think about how peoples and nations would live with each other in an ideal, utopian world.

The idea is to start with sub-projects in México (Chapultepec Castle), Switzerland (Sempach battle site), Austria (various sites), and Bosnia (Sarajevo site of the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand). Further countries and memory sites could be added as the project evolves.

Current State of Advancement (May 2024)

Pilot Project in Mexico

A student group at Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla (BUAP)^[1] is in the process of conceptualizing a pilot project for México. In parallel, it is reaching out to Chapultepec Castle (residence of Emperor Maximilian and his wife Charlotte) and another Habsburg memory sites in México.

International Project

The international project needs to be further specified. Several funding avenues have been identified that need to be evaluated.

Input Needed…

List of Participants

• Sandra Palacios (BUAP), coordination Mexico
• …
• Beat Estermann (Opendata.ch)
• Sylvia Petrovic-Majer (OpenGLAM.AT)
• Simon Meyer (Museum Nienetwil)

[1] As part of the CultureFLOW programme implemented in cooperation between BUAP and Opendata.ch in the context of the Swiss GLAMhack 2024.