“The dozen is full!” – Major General iTR Michael Blaha, MSc, euphorically opened the 12th Kaiserball on February 15, 2020 in the historic city hall in Korneuburg. And the organizers – the k.u.k. Dragoons regiment Nikolaus Graf Pejacsevich No 2 and the k.u.k. Infantry Regiment FM Heinrich Freiherr von Hess No 49 – come up with many small and large attentions.
But one after the other. The evening started with a reception in the town hall Korneuburg at the invitation of Mayor Christian Gepp, MSc, where the evening’s guest of honor Archduke Ferdinand von Habsburg was allowed to register in a historical book and even received the chain of honor of the Mayor for this ceremony. Ferdinand von Habsburg, who is currently completing basic training in Korneuburg, followed this invitation in the basic uniform of the Austrian Armed Forces and thus showed his close relationship to the military and military tradition.
Arrived in the ballroom, the ceremonial entry of the guests of honor and the grand opening immediately continued. To the delight of the numerous guests, a few couples from Korneuburg came forward this year to open the ball – in combination with the historically uniformed dancers a really beautiful and elegant performance.
Member of the National Council Andreas Minnich delivered the words of greeting from Governor Johanna Mikl-Leitner before SKKH Ferdinand von Habsburg took the microphone for the official ball opening. As a special surprise, the chef de cuisine, Christian Sehner, handed over a cake in the shape of an Aston Martin racing car before the archduke took the waltz himself – the competitive athlete also met all expectations in this regard.
As a specialty this year, a wine bar with a smoking lounge could be visited in the inner courtyard of the building. There the high-quality wines of the Maximilian von Habsburg winery were served and the wine bar quickly became an insider tip. But the rest of the culinary delights were also enjoyed and those who did not visit the wine bar found their way to the champagne and long drink bar in the gallery.
During a break of the Lower Austria Military Music Dance Orchestra, Elisabeth Jahrmann and Max Buchleitner delighted the auditorium with lively operetta melodies before moving on to the draw ceremony of the tombola. Of course for the 12th Kaiserball there were also 12 main prizes and the 12 winners were impressed by the high-quality prizes. The new day was started in an atmospheric manner with the traditional imperial anthem, sung by all ball guests to candlelight at midnight. With the rapid quadrille you could work out your midnight goulash and recharge your batteries for the rest of the ball night.
In the early hours of the morning, many guests took the opportunity to stop at the Habsburg wine bar before the 12th Kaiserball ended officially. For all guests and contributors one thing was clear – the 13th Kaiserball is a fixed point in the 2021 ball calendar!
