Vienna (OTS) – An empire where the sun never sets – in the 16th century, the Habsburg Emperor Charles V (1500–1558) dreamed of the largest empire of all time. The ambitious ruler does not shy away from war to enforce his humanistic ideals and religious convictions – financed with stolen gold from the colonies. But the church in Europe is splitting. The world empire falls apart because Charles V resignedly throws away his crown and scepter and withdraws. A shock for people, many even see the end of the world approaching. With Wilfried Hauke’s documentary “Where the Sun Never Set – The World Empire of Charles V.”, “Universum History” is showing a film about the first “world ruler” of modern times 500 years ago on Friday, February 9th at 10:35 p.m. on ORF 2 , his visionary presumption and his fiasco – both political and human – which could also be a reflection of the global world and “powerful” of our day.
Charles V once dreamed of the largest empire of all time – under the motto: “One empire, one religion”. He fights with all means possible for the imperial throne, which he can only buy with the Fugger money. The grandson of Maximilian I, who came from Burgundy, came to three crowns as a very young man through sudden deaths and dynastic politics. With a deeply religious and humanistic upbringing, Karl wants to ensure peace in Europe and establish a universal Christian empire, especially at a time of religious crises and the Reformation. He soon feels that his dream could burst. Karl has to move from battlefield to battlefield against ever new opponents. Raids in the American colonies left a bloody trail and financed his wars. Nevertheless, he is the first emperor who will later abdicate – and with this the great Habsburg empire falls into two parts.
“Universum History” tells the story of the failure of a ruler whose true face is known only to his closest family, his aunt Margarete, his brother Ferdinand and his sister Maria. And even without his wife, the beautiful and faithful Isabella of Portugal, he would not be able to rule the huge empire, which includes Spain, Germany, Austria, parts of the Netherlands and Italy as well as colonies in Latin America, Africa and what was then the West Indies. In the end, the world that Charles V had prayed and fought for falls apart. In addition to the gripping feature film parts, which come from a Spanish television series (“Carlos, Rey Emperador”), and documents and objects from Charles’ reign, internationally renowned historians provide an exciting and nuanced picture of an emperor who liked to remain silent behind his black and gold armor hid.
Only a few years after winning the Battle of Mühlberg in 1548, when Charles V celebrated his greatest triumph against the Protestant camp, the tide turned. In Germany in 1554, brother Ferdinand negotiated the famous treaty for the free exercise of religion with the princes in the Peace of Augsburg – cuius regio, eius religio – in order to prevent further wars. This meant that Karl’s dream of a universal empire of Christianity was shattered forever. Sick and resigned, his only option was to resign and retreat to the Spanish monastery of San Jerónimo de Yuste. The 36 years of his reign have left deep marks across Europe, on the continent’s political map.
“Where the sun never set – The Empire of Charles V.” is a co-production by Interspot Film with ORF, ZDF and ARTE, supported by Fernsehenfonds Austria and the collecting society for audiovisual media. The film was shot at original locations in Flanders, Spain and Germany as well as in museums and libraries in Vienna.