A portrait of a remarkable dynasty that, whether we like it or not, has influenced the character of our homeland, Europe, and the entire world. The beginnings of the Habsburgs in the 15th century were modest, but within a few decades, they gained dominance over a significant part of Europe, from present-day Slovakia to Spain. Their empire, as a seemingly incoherent tangle of larger and smaller territories, with various systems of privileges and laws and a multitude of languages, always appeared chaotic and provisional. Martyn Rady shows what the incredible resilience of the Habsburg family consisted of: the belief that their destiny was to be defenders of the Roman Catholic Church, guardians of peace, and pioneers of education. The Habsburg rulers were incredibly diverse: among them were military leaders and intellectuals, clever and foolish rulers, lazy and overly industrious ones, but they were united by the idea of their family’s mission. In Central Europe, their dominance ended only with World War I.