5 Year Celebration and Coronation of Arthur I
The long-awaited 5-year celebration of Duckionary and the coronation of Archduke Arthur I took place from August 24-26, 2023 in Austria and the Czech Republic.
The three-day event and the coronation ceremony were planned in months of preparation.
The celebrations began on the evening of August 24, 2023 in Duckionary Archducal Garden. 16 people came to enjoy cool drinks and small dishes. Duckionary's kiosk was also open and a party tent with a small Duckionary exhibition was also on display. The highlight of the evening was the sinking of Duckionary's time capsule. Many citizens and friends submitted contributions. A papal honorary chaplain spoke poignant words about the future and peace, then blessed the capsule with holy water before it was buried by the archduke. A sign marks the place where the time capsule will be excavated again in 20 years. Then the garden party continued with cocktails, snacks and nice table talks.
August 25th, 2023 will go down in the history books of the micronational world and especially Duckionary. After long planning work, the planning committee booked the Great Salon in the Renaissance castle of Hagenau in Austria's Innviertel region in May 2023. The program began at 2 p.m., when the twelve guests had gathered, with a presentation on Archduke Arthur's fifth anniversary. Duckionary's new national anthem, composed by Jordan Grigg, was then presented. Afterwards, President Tsar Antonov of Obscurium gave a short speech on the friendship between the two nations. After a short break and some refreshments, the high point of the day had come. A papal honorary chaplain, dressed in a ceremonial robe, gracefully carried the archducal insignia (sword, imperial pear, scepter and crown) into the room. When the jewels were laid down, the specially composed coronation fanfare sounded and Archduke Arthur entered the room - dressed in state uniform and a purple cloak. The priest began the ceremony with a short welcoming speech and then presented Arthur I with a Bible on which the monarch to be crowned swore an oath. This oath was immediately signed by the archduke. After the national anthem was played, Arthur I was anointed with holy chrism oil. Solemn music was played, followed by brief pauses. When the music ended, the priest donned the regalia to the Archduke. Now the moment for the coronation had come, the papal honorary chaplain placed the crown on Archduke Arthur I. Shortly thereafter, the citizens present swore an oath to their newly crowned monarch. After the national anthem was sung, Arthur I bestowed a peerage, knighthood, decorations and government positions on the participants. The ceremony ended with the blessing and closing words.
The assembled community then met at CastleFrauenstein for a cozy and informal dinner.
On the morning of August 26, 2023, eleven participants met in the Lower Bavarian town of Zwiesel. From there the cultural trip to Bohemia started. But before crossing the border into the Czech Republic, the participants stopped in the Bavarian town of Ludwigsthal to visit the parish church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. The neo-Romanesque parish church of the Holy Heart of Jesus was built in 1893/94 according to plans by Johann Baptist Schott. It has a uniform neo-Romanesque interior by the Munich artist Franz Hofstötter (1871-1958). The rich painting of the interior is particularly unusual.
After this cultural treat, the journey continued to the small Czech town of Velhartice. The town is eleven kilometers northwest of Sušice and belongs to Okres Klatovy. The center of Velhartice was declared a municipal monument protection area.
Then the Velhartice Castle was visited from the outside. Velhartice Castle was built by Count Bohumil of Budětice in the 14th century. Under various owners, including the von Neuhaus family, the castle experienced an eventful history. Spanish Colonel Martin de Hoeff Huerta expanded it into a Renaissance-style castle in the 17th century.
An exhibition on the Thirty Years' War in South Bohemia was presented in an outbuilding of the castle. Jakob Wünsch gave a guided tour of the exhibition because he was also involved in this Euregio project with his association.
After the meal in the restaurant “Kašperk” in Kašperské Hory we visited the Šumava Museum in Bergreichenstein (Muzeum Šumavy). Jakob Wünsch expertly guided you through the halls and you could marvel at a lot of sacred art, a meteorite and glass art.
An approaching storm marked the beginning of the journey home in the late afternoon and the assembled community said goodbye in the border town of Strážný (Kuschwarda) after passing through the town of Vimperk (Winterberg).
Also read the following article from microcosme.info
