The Swiss origin of the Habsburg dynasty and the rise of the future Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I, who, in the 15th century, turned his small Viennese kingdom into a budding European empire.
How during the 18th century, Maria Theresa, the only Habsburg Empress and the last ruler from the House of Habsburg, brought the empire to the height of its cultural and political influence.
How Franz Joseph I of Austria failed to save his still culturally blooming empire as wars, political infighting, secessionist ethnic movements and social revolts eventually tore the empire down by the end of WWI.
