Chapter 32 Hohenzollern Castle
April 13, 1866.
Today is the day when the Hohenzollern Castle is completely completed, and Prince Constantine specially invited some important members of the family to come here to celebrate.
Hohenzollern Castle is the birthplace of the Hohenzollern family and the spiritual symbol of the family.
The castle was built in the 11th century. The founder, Burchard I, was granted the title of Count of Sollon in 1100 (the territory was between the present-day Upper Neckar River, the Swabian Mountains and the Upper Danube River), and he began to build the castle. However, the old castle was later destroyed.
The family reinforced the castle and added fortifications, making it a retreat for the Hohenzollern family to avoid war. Due to its rugged terrain, it was once a strategic location for the French and Austrians to fight for. There was once a brutal battle in which the enemy besieged the castle for nine months and the defenders starved to death. During the war, the castle was not completed as planned and was eventually abandoned after changing hands several times.
In 1844, William IV, who inherited the throne of Prussia, mentioned in a letter the good memories he had in the castle when he was 19 years old, especially looking out at sunset, so rebuilding the castle became a dream of his youth.
The reconstruction of the current Hohenzollern Castle began in 1850 and was jointly funded by Prussia and Hechingen. It was not completed until 1867.
However, after Ernst made money from industry, the Hechingen royal family had more funds, so Ernst decided to speed up the construction of the castle.
After discussing with the Prussian royal family, Ernst accelerated the construction of the New Hohenzollern Castle. The workers worked overtime every day and completed the castle one year ahead of schedule.
At the same time, Ernst increased the Hechingen royal family's ownership of Hohenzollern Castle to 50% by buying back the property rights of the Prussian royal family.
After all, this is their home, which not only represents the glory of the Hohenzollern family, but also represents the face of the Hechingen lineage.
King William I of Prussia, who was worried about the war expenses, happened to sell part of his property rights. Although the royal funds were separate from the national finances, it was cheaper for the royal family to use the money to invest in the construction of the kingdom than for commercial banks to purchase government bonds. After all, the middlemen would also charge a handling fee.
…
Those who attended the castle completion ceremony today were all well-known figures in the Hohenzollern family. There were only two people from the Hechingen line, Prince Constantine and Ernst.
Because William I was preparing for war, the Prussian royal family sent Crown Prince Frederick (Frederick III, the Hundred Days Emperor, after his death William II ascended the throne) as a representative to attend the ceremony.
There were also many members of the Sigmaringen family, including Prince Karl Anton and his two sons, the eldest son Prince Leopold (whose eldest son Leopold became a candidate for the Spanish throne in 1870, and Leopold's succession to the Spanish throne was one of the direct causes of the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-1871.)
As for Prince Karl Anton's youngest son Karl (the future Emperor Carol I of Romania), Ernst envied him. He was currently in Romania and was about to ascend the Romanian throne, so he could not attend.
Among the members of the Hohenzollern family present, only Ernst and Leopold had a "bright future". Leopold had a chance to become the King of Spain, but was stopped by the French. Ernst, on the other hand, only had the position of Prince of Hechingen to inherit.
The advantage Ernst has over Leopold is the East African colonies, so after World War I, Ernst can continue to bully others in East Africa, while poor Leopold's descendants can only live off their ancestral heritage on the European continent.
But from this perspective, his brother's descendants and the Prussian royal family are more pitiful. One lost the Romanian throne, and the other lost the German Empire throne. In this comparison, Leopold might feel better. (Smirk)
Ernst swore that if East Africa developed well in the future, he would help these relatives. He meant it. For example, the Prussian royal family supported Ernst a lot. Otherwise, it would not be easy for Ernst to get military orders and arsenals. This is the benefit of a strong family.
As for Ernst's deceased mother Eugenie de Beauharnais, she was the daughter of Eugene de Beauharnais, Duke of Leuchtenberg. Eugene de Beauharnais had many children, and the only one still alive is the former Queen Josephine of Sweden.
The above are almost all of Ernst’s important relatives. At present, the Hohenzollern family is Ernst’s real reliance.
…
"…The reconstruction of the Hohenzollern Castle is a sign that our Hohenzollern family has taken another step forward. I hope that it will always stand on German soil with the Hohenzollern family."
After Prince Hechingen finished his speech, applause broke out from the audience. Then Crown Prince Frederick and Prince Karl Anton gave speeches on behalf of the Prussian royal family and Sigmaringen respectively.
Night, cocktail party.
"Hey, cousin Leopold, why are you drinking alone?" Ernst greeted.
"I am mainly worried about whether Carl will be able to have a smooth life in Romania. After all, Romania is not a good place right now. Although I have the support of my family, the tragic experience of the previous Romanian Grand Duke shows that the situation in Romania is not stable."
"Don't worry. Carl has a lot of experience in leading troops, not to mention his other abilities. As long as Carl can get in touch with the Romanian military, those Romanian opponents will never dare to act rashly." Ernst comforted him. There was a basis for this. Carl had been in the army for many years and had participated in the Second Schleswig War.
"Well, I hope so! I heard that you've been doing well recently, Ernst. It seems that Uncle Constantine has not considered letting you develop in the army."
Hearing this, Ernst said self-deprecatingly: "Cousin, I know nothing about military affairs and cannot compare with you brothers, so I will not harm the kingdom's army."
"I heard from my father that you established a colony in East Africa. Is it going well?" Leopold changed the subject.
"Haha, East Africa really can't be compared with Europe. Now I'm just doing some agricultural planting there and producing some raw materials for my factory in the future. It's just a small business." Ernst said with a smile.
"What are you talking about?" Crown Prince Frederick came over.
Crown Prince Frederick was the oldest of the three. He and Leopold both served in the Prussian army. They had only met Ernst a few times, so they knew very little about him.
"Your Highness, Ernst and I were chatting about some small things. I was a little curious because I heard that Ernst developed a colony in East Africa." Leopold said.
"Colonies are indeed good places. The British rely on their vast colonies to maintain their maritime hegemony. Unfortunately, Germany has never been unified, and has wasted the opportunity for overseas expansion. Now those wealthy colonies have been divided up by Britain, France and other countries, and what remains are probably just scraps." Crown Prince Frederick sighed.
Ernst took the opportunity to say: "So our current energy should be focused on completing the unification of the German region. Only a strong Germany can compete with those powerful countries."
Leopold and Frederick nodded in agreement.
Frederick said: "This is Prussia's destiny. It is our responsibility as the Hohenzollern family to complete the unification of the German region."
This sentence was full of murderous intent and was obviously directed at the Austrian Empire. It seemed that the Prussian high-level officials had reached a consensus and would go all out to deal with the Austrian Empire.
(End of this chapter)
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