After the corona-related postponement, the time has now come: Leopold Altenburg, great-great-grandson of Emperor Franz Joseph and Empress Elisabeth “Sisi”, is coming to Utzenaich. At the invitation of the healthy community, on Tuesday, June 14, at 7:30 p.m., he will organize a very special evening in the auditorium of the Utzenaich elementary school and will not only read his biographical book “The Emperor and His Sunshine”, but will also present it through acting and music . A book that Iris Lengauer (head of the healthy community in Utzenaich) read. It is by no means the only connection between the Innviertel and the great-grandson of Empress Sisi, because Leopold Altenburg’s uncle and aunt also live in Utzenaich.
Loving anecdotes
The native of Graz and actor did not write the book as a historian, because “that would be presumptuous”, as he himself says, but as a collection of loving anecdotes. Although he has researched these historically, they are primarily based on sources that were available to him: the stories of grandparents, parents, aunts and uncles. Leopold Altenburg will describe events from the family history of the imperial house. Central roles are played by his grandfather Archduke Clemens Salvator, the favorite grandson of Emperor Franz Joseph, and his father Prince Peter.
Engagements as an actor repeatedly lead the cosmopolitan, who lives in Berlin, to Austria and on June 14 to Utzenaich. For Iris Lengauer and her team, the perfect occasion “for an informal, convivial evening, which I hope will be a good laugh. That’s also important for your own health,” says Lengauer, who is still working with the healthy community in addition to the reading show in 2022 numerous other events planned. Among other things, a vegetarian/vegan cooking course and a family hiking day on the national holiday in October. “We offer a wide variety of courses and information evenings for all age groups and try to put together a program that is as varied as possible. Of course, the reading show with Leopold Altenburg fits perfectly,” says Iris Lengauer.
After admission at 6.30 p.m. there is the opportunity for a small drink – possibly a good glass of wine from the young winegrowers Kerstin and Heidi Höckner from Utzenaich. The Thalia bookstore will be there with a book table. If desired, Altenburg will sign books there after the event.
Tickets are available in advance at the Thalia bookstore (Weberzeile), in the Utzenaich municipal office and from the healthy community team.
Three questions for Leopold Altenburg
How well do you know the Innviertel?
The Innviertel has a beautiful hilly landscape. I was also very impressed by the baroque Silberzeile in Schärding. I like the language, the dialect spoken in this region. Also, my father’s brother lives here. Around the performance in Utzenaich I now have the opportunity to visit my aunt and uncle. I’m really looking forward to that.
What do you associate with this region?
The Wittelsbachs and the Habsburgs fought again and again for the Innviertel. Coming from both families, I wouldn’t know who to stick with.
Since you are dealing with the subject very intensively: how important is family to you?
An extended family reminds me of a mobile. The individual family members may not have that much contact with each other – but they remain connected by invisible threads. When an emotional event happens, like the birth of a child or the death of a loved one, the whole mobile vibrates and shakes. These events provide occasions for a family to get back together. At such meetings we naturally chat about the ancestors and their peculiarities.
In my book I say: ‘A person’s truth also includes their own ancestors.’ It helped me to deal with the life and times of my grandparents and parents. For me, the history of Austria became more tangible in a very personal way. In the last 120 years, the world has turned upside down several times – one must not forget that – because what our ancestors experienced also shapes us. It is important for me that there is always a balance between “looking back” and “looking ahead” – both can complement each other wonderfully.
To person
Leopold Altenburg was born in Graz in 1971 and is an actor. From 1991 to 1995 he studied acting at the Vienna Conservatory. Among his teachers was Elfriede Ott. In 1999 he founded the music cabaret duo Leopold & Wadowski with Thorsten Wadowski. As a hospital clown he worked for the Red Noses in Vienna and since 2003 for the Red Noses in Berlin. In 2019 his book “The Emperor and His Sunshine” was published.
Source: Nachrichten
