The Habsburgs were a solid ruling family committed to strict traditions. Distinctive and polished, they were the figureheads of the Danube Monarchy. But in the shadow of the throne there were also the black, crazy and lovelorn sheep of the family. Characterized by strange characters, peculiar preferences or unusual leisure activities. The new documentary by Christian Papke for "Erbe Österreich" traces the Habsburg oddballs, their favorite places and remarkable biographies. The dear money. Even if you would think that a ruling house should have unlimited resources, life was sometimes difficult for the Habsburgs. This made it all the easier for some members of the ruling house to spend money with both hands. Archduke Ferdinand Maximilian, the later Emperor of Mexico, was very expensive to realize his dreams and to compensate for his envy of his ruling brother Franz Josef. It is well known that his ancestors suffered from chronic financial difficulties due to numerous wars. However, it is less common knowledge that people in the Hofburg, like Empress Zita, applied for housing assistance despite considerable allowances, salaries and wealth. Above all, the affairs and immorality, which increased or at least became more publicly noticeable by the 19th century at the latest, increasingly damaged the reputation of the imperial family. One of Emperor Franz Joseph's problem children was Archduke Johann Salvator. The military man, a friend of Crown Prince Rudolf, a "rascal" according to cultural historian Hannes Etztstorfer, decided one day to "leave his family". He wanted to marry his lover Milli Stubel, a dancer at the Vienna Court Opera, and sail off into the sunset. However, the maneuver failed and the member of the ruling family sank under mysterious circumstances near Africa along with his ship and lover. Archduke Leopold Salvator caused another scandal. Like many of the Habsburg Tuscan line, he was fond of the navy and scandals. When one day he fell in love with the prostitute Wilhelmine Adamovic and intended to marry her, the emperor initially sent him to an institution for the mentally ill. But Leopold stuck to his decision and got married. Failed. Got divorced. Married a second demimonde lady. Finally, he married a third time. But he had long since ceased to be a member of the ruling house. He had forfeited all claims and privileges. Just like his sister Luise of Austria-Tuscany. She fled the dynastic marriage with the Crown Prince of Saxony with her children's language teacher. Later she also broke away from him. Married an Italian composer, which also failed. And she too had long since been thrown out of the Austrian arch-house. Only one had a happy ending: Lieutenant Field Marshal Archduke Henry, stationed in Graz, fell in love with the singer Leopoldine Hofmann, who also lived almost window to window with him. In order to marry her, he tricked two church fathers in Bolzano, married in secret and went into exile himself. He was very surprised when the emperor personally welcomed him back into the family. After all, his majesty himself had a woman with an extreme character at his side in the form of his beloved Sisi, the Empress Elisabeth, who was not always easy to get along with and who, among other things, carried a travel toilet in the shape of a dolphin. From then on, Heinrich had a secluded and happy marriage with his Poldi in Bolzano and became a benefactor of the pretty South Tyrolean town.