Shoot To Kill – Hunting At Hluboka Chateau: The Fate Of Franz Ferdinand (A Czech Winter’s Journey: Part Seventeen)
Among the wealth of refined beauty on display at Hluboka Chateau were a series of natural wonders mounted along the walls of the Hunter’s Dining Room. The room’s walls were covered in antlers of big game that had been felled by the Schwarzenbergs and fellow aristocrats over the course of many decades. These antlers were the equivalent of athletic trophies on display to showcase – or show off – each man’s hunting prowess. Hunting was THE sport of the fin de siècle aristocracy in Eastern and Central Europe. The Schwarzenberg’s loomed large in this withering display of hunting skill, to such an extent that my eyes glazed over while looking at an endless succession of mounted heads and antlers bearing their name. Depending upon one’s perspective it was either very impressive or utterly disgusting. As for myself, I found it to be revealing.
A Bit Of Blood Sport - Haberd’s Hunts
The aristocracy in the old Habsburg lands not only ruled over diverse peoples and vast amounts of land, but also over nature and wildlife, often with disregard. This was a world where the natural world was bent to the will of aristocrats. Large hunts that took months to plan were both social and sporting occasions. A chance for the crème de la crème of male society to engage in a bit of blood sport. Such hunts were more than a hobby, they were a way of life. Franz Josef who ruled the empire from 1848 – 1916 would often spend part of his mornings reviewing the results of these hunts. Imagine a rabid sports fan pouring over box scores. That was Franz Josef anytime a hunt took place among with imperial grandees.
At Hluboka, what were known as Haberd’s hunts would take place in the autumn, usually occurring in later September or early October over the course of an entire week. Usually the Chateau had an average of twenty-five personnel on hand at any one time. During Haberd’s Hunts the number of personnel on hand would increase to upwards of 200, including beaters to roust out the game while trumpeters blared out triumphal tunes. These hunts were followed by grand feasts. The largest trophies were then stuffed and mounted inside the chateau. The walls of the chateau are still lined today with these mounts, which include the date and location where the game was bagged. Aristocrats came from all over Bohemia, Moravia and Austria to engage in these hunts. The Schwarzenbergs, as the landed elite of southern Bohemia, played host to royal glitterati on many occasions at Haberd’s Hunts.
Shooters Gallery - Hunting Trophies on display in a dining room at Hluboka Chateau
Animal Instincts - Many Murderous Rampages
Among the more memorable hunts were ones that occurred in 1878 and 1882. An attendee at both of these was Crown Prince Rudolf, who was heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne at that time. The popularity of these hunts with the aristocracy is shown by the numerous entries of imperial elites that can still be seen in the old guest registry book at the Chateau today. No less than 10 princes and counts were in attendance at one hunt where over 3,300 animals were bagged, including over two thousand hares and a thousand birds. These hunts were an exercise in murderous excess. It is hard to fathom just how popular such outings were. One can only imagine the competitiveness and competition, the social pageantry and grand decadence of the aristocrats engaged in what they considered a sporting pursuit. Viewed in hindsight, one cannot help but feel sad for the reckless disregard towards the wildlife of Bohemia. The imperial elites left their deadly marks on the region’s fauna, none more so than Crown Prince Rudolf’s successor as heir to the Imperial throne, Archduke Franz Ferdinand.
During the tour of Hluboka, one mounted deer head and set of antlers caught my eye. That was because they bore the name F. Ferdinand. I stared at this early 20th century trophy with fascination. All the other trophies surrounding it melted away. The singularity of the F. Ferdinand pair of mounted antlers was ironic. Archduke Franz Ferdinand had been a manic huntsman, visiting destruction on an unbelievable number of animals. To say that Franz Ferdinand liked to hunt is an understatement, this was a man who killed wildlife the world over with a dispassionate pleasure bordering upon the sinister. Oddly enough, he enjoyed documenting his kills just as much as he loved hunting. Franz Ferdinand kept insanely detailed records of the game he killed, including any that he bagged at Hluboka. He took the time to record every animal he shot. This has allowed historians to go back through to add up the final toll of 274,899 animals killed.
The Hunted - Contemporary Painting of Franz Ferdinand's Assassination in Sarajevo
A Single Shot - The Committed Killer
It is hard to believe that a single man could kill that many animals. It defies the imagination that any individual could rain so much death and destruction on wildlife. To do that and still maintain some degree of sanity is astonishing. There were many who felt Franz Ferdinand’s hunting mania was a serious form of derangement. No less a figure than Emperor Franz Josef remarked that Franz Ferdinand’s hunts were mass murder. Truer words were never spoken. The Archduke once gunned down 2,100 animals in a single day. Of course, Franz Ferdinand did not do any of this on his own. He was ably assisted by a large group of servants whose job it was to run prey in his direction. It was all done in the service of a mania that could never be satisfied. In his lifetime, Franz Ferdinand shot everything from kangaroos to elephants to grizzly bears. From Nepal to Yellowstone to Bohemia he took dead aim with little regard for wildlife. At Hluboka Chateau, I saw only one of Franz’s Ferdinand’s trophies, but one was more than enough to remind me of his many murderous rampages.
One shot from Franz Ferdinand felled the animal that was mounted for the sake of vanity and posterity on the wall at Hluboka Chateau. There is a dark and twisted irony to a single shot from Franz Ferdinand committing the deadly deed. As the Archduke knew, it only took one well aimed shot to kill. He got to experience this for himself in the final moments of his life, when a single shot fired from a pistol on a street corner in Sarajevo ended his own life on June 28, 1914. That shot set off a war that led to more killing than even Franz Ferdinand could imagine.