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Right: sarcophaguses of Their Imperial Highnesses Otto and Regina von Habsburg in the Kapuzinerkirche in Vienna on July 15 2011. Photo: Anton Marn. . MOURNING PUBLIC >>> IR 17 ON GUARD OF HONOUR >>> IR17 IN FUNERAL PROCESSION >>> ACKNOWLEDGMENT >>> . . IR17 WITH OTTO VON HABSBURG <<< BACK TO IR17 <<<	Desno: krsti s posmrtnimi ostanki njunih cesarskih visokosti Otta in Regine von Habsburg v Kapucinski grobnici na Dunaju 15. julija 2011. Foto: Anton Marn. . ZALUJOCA JAVNOST >>> IR 17 NA CASTNI STRAZI >>> IR17 V ZALNEM SPREVODU >>> ZAHVALA >>> . . IR17 PRI OTONU HABSBURSKEM <<< NAZAJ NA IR17 <<<

On July 4th 2011 we receive a word that the last nameholder of the 17th Infantry Regiment, His Imperial Highness, Archduke Dr. Otto von Habsburg has passed away. Our Vienna friends invited us, the 17th Regiment Memorial Unit, to be part of the Guard of Honour in the Kapuzirerkirche and to attend the funeral on July 16th. The funeral concluded a unique, unrepeatable period when IR17 memorial unit functioned with an approval and encouragement by the nameholder of the original WW1 unit, in this particular case the IR17. A privilege never again to be given to any other unit preserving the memory of the WW1 period.

4. julija 2011 smo prejeli zalostno novico, da je preminil zadnji imejitelj 17. pespolka "Kranjskih Janezov", njegova cesarska visokost, nadvojvoda Dr. Oton Habsburski. Kot ponazoritveno enoto, ki je ohranjala spomin na 17. pespolk, so nas nasi dunajski prijatelji povabili, naj sodelujemo v castni strazi v Kapucinski cerkvi in se udelezimo pogreba 16. julija. Slednji je zakljucil neko enkratno, izjemno in neponovljivo obdobje, ko je spominska enota IR17 lahko delovala z odobravanjem in vzpodbudo imejitelja prave, dejanske enote, v tem primeru 17, pespolka. Privilegij, kakrsnega ni in nikoli vec ne bo imela nobena spominska enota, ki obuja spomin na obdobje prve svetovne vojne.

People queuing to pay their last respect to the deceased imperial couple lying in repose in the Kapuzinerkirche in Vienna on July 15, 2011. Photo: Anton Marn.	Ljudje so v dolgi vrsti cakali, da se poslovijo od cesarskega para, ki je tega dne, 15.7.2011, lezal na parah v Kapucinski cerkvi na Dunaju . Foto: Anton Marn.
While watching a documentary playing on a big screen in the middle of the square, many must have wondered if Vienna will ever again witness an imperial funeral? Photo: Anton Marn.	Gotovo so se mnogi, medtem ko so spremljali dokumentarec na velikem ekranu sredi trga, sprasevali, ce bo Dunaj se kdaj prica cesarskemu pogrebu? Foto: Anton Marn.

Members of the IR17 Memorial Unit Marjan Ros and Miha Eric as members of the Guard of honour by the sarcophagus of Otto von Habsburg, covered by the imperial yellow and black flag. Photo: Anton Marn	Clana spominske enote IR17 Marjan Ros in Miha Eric kot clana castne straze ob krsti Otona Habsburskega, pokriti s cesarsko crno-zolto zastavo. Foto: Anton Marn

Aleksander Jankovic Potocnik and Anton Marn (second and third from the left). Beside Alexander Simec the two take credit for organising a private audience at the Archduke Otto von Habsburg for the then still re-enactment group IR17 in 2007. Photo: Alexander Simec.	Aleksander Jankovic Potocnik in Anton Marn (dugi in tretji z leve), ki sta poleg Alexandra Simca najzasluznejsa za pripravo zasebne audijence za skupino IR 17 pri nadvojvodi Otonu Habsburskemu leta 2007. Foto: Alexander Simec.

On the next day, Saturday, July 16, 2011 we participated at the funeral. According to Wikipedia's report about the funeral around 1,000 invited guests and 100,000 members of the public attended the funeral, which was broadcast live by Austrian Television. A funeral procession was over one kilometre long. 21 cannon shots were fired in Otto's honour.

Naslednjega dne, v soboto 16. julija 2011 smo se udelezili pogreba. Po porocilu Wikipedije o pogrebu se je le-tega udelezilo okrog 1,000 povabljenih gostov in 100,000 ljudi. Pogreb je v zivo prenasala avstrijska drzavna televizija. Pogrebni sprevod je bil dolg vec kot kilometer. V pokojnikovo cast je bilo zstreljenih 21 topovskih strelov.

Members of IR17 Memorial Unit in the funeral procession. Photo: Aleksander Simec.	Clani spominske enote IR17 v pogrebnem sprevodu. foto: Aleksander Simec.

Today Habsburgs and never again? Couple of reasons are cited as why this was the last imperial funeral. Supposedly there is no more room left in the imperial crypt. Archduke Otto was the last to hold a constitutional position in Austria-Hungary, his children were born later, after monarchy's dissolvent. Other's claim the remains of the last emperor, Otto's father Karl are still to be entombed in the crypt. Whatever the case, the grand funeral in Vienna on July 16, 2011 marked an ending of a grand era of a grand man. With his intellect and work he assured himself honours given to him by his birth and then denied to him as a youngster by the History. He will be remember as both the last representative of the ancient monarchy and a great campaigner for Europe's unification. As a footnote to the great history there remains another interesting fact. In November 1918 the nameholder of the 17th Infantry Regiment was left without his regiment. In July 2011 the 17th Regiment Memorial Unit was left without that very same nameholder. The time lapsed was 93 years !!!

Danes Habsburzani in nikoli vec? Navedenih je kar nekaj razlogov, zakaj naj bi bil to zadnji cesarski pogreb. V grobnici naj bi ne bilo vec prostora. Nadvojvoda oto naj bi bil zadnji, ki je imel ustavni poolozaj v Avstro-ogrski, njegovi otroci so bili vsi rojeni dolgo po njenem razpadu. Drugi spet opozarjajo, da posmrtni ostanki zadnjega cesarja in Otovega oceta Karla se cakajo na prekop v cesarsko grobnico. Kakorkoli ze, z velicastnim pogrebom na dunaju 16.7.2011 se je koncalo veliko obdobje velikega moza. Z razumom in delom si je priboril nazaj tiste casti, ki so mu bile dane z rojstvom, a mu jih je zgodovina kot mladostniku zanikala. V zgodovino bo zapisan ne le kot zadnji predstavnik nekdanje monarhije, ampak tudi kot veliki borec za sodobno evropsko zdruzevanje. Kot obrobna opomba pod veliko zgodovino pa ostaja se eno zanimivo dejstvo. Novembra 1918 je imejitelj 17. pespolka ostal brez svojega pespolka. Julija 2011 je spominska enota 17. pespolka ostala brez taistega imejitelja. Vmes je minilo 93 let !!!

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