Visit of Archduke Franz Karl to Merano and the Passeier Valley

Tyrol.

Merano, 3 July. The day before yesterday in the evening after 9 o'clock, His Imperial Highness the most serene Archduke Franz Karl arrived here and was received with the liveliest expressions of joy by the numerous inhabitants of the town and surrounding area who had gathered. Although His Imperial Highness had completed on this day the extremely arduous journey from Cles in the Non Valley over the Mendel, Caldaro, and Gries — where the frescoes and oil paintings by our patriotic artist Martin Knoller in the beautiful local parish church, as well as a small exhibition of paintings by the deaf-mute painter Neubauer of Bolzano, were inspected —, His Highness deigned immediately upon arrival to receive the homage of the staff of the district court, the clergy, the economic magistrate, and the heads of the rural communities, conversing graciously with every single individual. Yesterday morning at 8 o'clock His Imperial Highness proceeded to the parade ground situated before his quarters, where the uniformed civic guard and the Landesschützen company of Merano were drawn up. His Highness was welcomed again with the loudest expressions of joy by the gathered crowd and the Landesschützen. After His Imperial Highness had inspected the parish church, His Highness made an excursion into the nearby Passeier Valley and returned to Merano via Scena (Schenna) at 8 o'clock in the evening. During dinner, the dilettanti of the local Casino Society presented a cantata, which was received with favor and even repeated by highest permission. Today at 6 o'clock in the morning His Imperial Highness, accompanied by a considerable company of the local nobility and citizenship, rode to the main castle of Tyrol, where His Highness was received by the castle captain von Lutterotti and the castle chaplain amid the parade of the Schützen companies of the village of Tirol. After His Imperial Highness had inspected the sights of this castle, venerable to every Tyrolean, and enjoyed the picturesquely beautiful view into the charming Etsch Valley, His Highness continued his journey towards the Vinschgau.

St. Leonhard in Passeier, 1 July. Today we were granted the ineffable good fortune of being permitted to show our deepest reverence to His Imperial Highness the most serene Archduke Franz Karl. Although it was raining heavily upon departure from Merano, His Imperial Highness did not allow himself to be deterred from the visit intended for us. Yet hardly had His Highness crossed the actual border of the Passeier Valley when the sky cleared, and the beneficent rays of the sun enhanced the general joy visible on every face of the inhabitants who had flocked together in great numbers. The report of countless mortar shots announced the arrival of the sublime guest; the entire valley was arrayed in festive attire. The path was everywhere decorated with many arches, and the festively dressed schoolchildren covered the street trodden by His Imperial Highness with flowers and branches. At the Sand, the Schützen company of Passeier was drawn up under the command of the court cashier Johann Hofer, highly deserving in the defense of the fatherland; Turkish music and general acclamation received the most serene imperial son. The surviving widow and three daughters of Andreas Hofer received His Imperial Highness, who deigned to dismount from his horse and be accompanied into the inn at the Sand, where His Highness conversed for nearly an hour with the family of the former leader of the defenders of the fatherland, highly honored by the monarch and the fatherland, with the most gracious condescension. Here a precious tear, honorable to all Tyrol, flowed from the eye of the noble-minded Archduke, dedicated to the memory of the man who, as a model of genuine Tyrolean sentiments towards the ancestral ruling house, sacrificed his life with Christian heroism. In St. Leonhard His Imperial Highness was received with general acclamations of joy by the staff of the district court, the clergy, and the municipal representatives, and had both them and the former comrades-in-arms of Andreas Hofer, covered with wounds, presented to him. Thereupon His Imperial Highness deigned to sample the specially prepared alpine food in the Teiß inn, and then to view several living tableaux depicting the occupations and customs of these valley inhabitants, famous for their devotion to the ancestral ruling house. The condescending kindness of heart with which His Imperial Highness deigned to converse with every single Landesschütze enchanted all hearts, and loudly and solemnly the vow was universally renewed to live and die for Austria's ruling house. At 3 o'clock in the afternoon the return journey took place via Scena. The memory of this day will not fade in Passeier and will be passed down to children and grandchildren.