Kafka and Empire

Franz Kafka is known as one of the most influential authors of the 20th century. He was born, and lived in Prague. His works consisted of the most utterly gothic stories. He betters my understanding of Empire because he is so widely know around the world. There are so many people out there with such respect for the famous man that his name is used and studied in so many classrooms around the globe.

Kutna Hora

Kutna Hora is where the bone church is located. An old monk had dug up over 400,000 dead bodies from a grave yard to make room for more bodies. It is said that the bones called out to him during the night, and in order to silence these voices he put the bones and skulls up for decoration around an old chapel.
This church is very gothic and sublime. As we walked into the musty church we were instantly surrounded by death and decay, which was very creepy. There were piles and piles of bones as well as little decorations created with bones. I think it can be sublime in the way that one person can feel so small surrounded by those masses of bones. The bones represent so many different people, that one person can look at the piles and be in total awe of the whole church.

Konopiste

Konopiste is a hunting lodge where Franz Ferdinand used to retreat. He hunted all types of game there, and shot and killed over 300,000 animals. Franz mounted and numbered every single one of them. Doing this made him feel empowered, and made others around him kind of weary of him. This Lodge is truly a symbol of empire, Franz made it that way by displaying all of his trophies for his guests to see as well as for his own enjoyment. I think having 6-10 trophies on the wall is enough to feel proud, but no, this man went above and beyond.

Sisi's role

Empress Sisi is an Empire Heroine. Her constant state of struggle was torturing her every day. She is certainly a figure to learn from and respect, because marriage at such a young age must have been so difficult for a country girl inheriting an entire Kingdome. She was only 15 at the time and her understanding was not fully developed. She had no idea the depth of her situation. Sisi later writes how marriage is something to regret for years and years to come. It was such a serious commitment for a young girl. Though Franz Joseph loved Sisi very much, his love for her was unrequited. Sisi did what she had to, to rule her contry without falling apart. She stayed storng though her hardships and rarly let her sadness show. Sisi is one great Empire Heroine to look up to for strength to get through any hard times.

Palaces

The palace of Schonbrunn in Vienna was the summer home for Franz Joseph and Sisi. Though out in the country much business was still being attended there. Upon arrival the guests would have a waiting room to wait in until their audience with the emperor. There was also room for large dinner parties as well as fancy balls and guest quarters. Outside there are beautiful gardens surrounding the palace which seclude it from all other civilization.The Hofburg palace was very similar only it was the official palace of Vienna. It is located in the center of the city. It is not as pretty as Schonbrunn, it has no gardens. The gray look made it feel very industrial.
The palace of Kew Gardens was the home of George III. It was considered the summer palace, and it is what one would imagine a regular summer home to be. Contrary to Schonbrunn, Kew did not have a large ball room, guest quarters or elegant waiting rooms. This red brick palace was much more homey and centered towards family than anything else. I do not recall seeing any sort of writing desks for business to be had. I think this summer palace is much more favorable than Schonbrunn even though it is a great deal smaller

Cathedrals

The Cathedral of St. Stephen in Vienna was the massive church absolutely covered in gothic décor. The trademark of the church is the tower, extremely tall, narrow and pointy. It was quite dark inside,  almost dependant on natural sunlight. The Cathedral of St. Vitus in Prague was anther large Catholic church. I thought this church was not nearly as pretty as St. Stephen's. St. Vitus was also very ill lit and covered with the gothic setting, from each painting to every little window.
The Basilica of St. George in Prague on the other hand was way smaller and so different than the cathedrals. St. George's was a quaint little Roman chapel. It had gray stone and round doorways, very early roman. There was not much in the way of decorations and it did not contain stained glass windows. I think the only somewhat gothic aspect of this church was the crypt, but even that did not show much creepiness. It was very plain, not what you would expect a crypt to be like.

Freuds Contribution to Empire

Freud Contributes to the understanding of Empire in a few different ways. Being that he is the father of modern phycology he holds a high rank in our society. So many people look up to him, read his books and study his life. Patients would trust Freud and take his advise to heart. He was the highest form of help for any mentally ill person. I think that Freud reined the modern physiological empire because of the enormous amount of power he possessed in the mental health industry in Vienna.