Basilica of Saint-Denis in Saint-Denis, France

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2022

Basilica of Saint-Denis; Credit – © Susan Flantzer

The Basilica of Saint-Denis, which this writer has visited, is a Roman Catholic church in the Paris suburb of Saint-Denis, France. The current Gothic cathedral was built in the 12th century. The Kings of France and their families were buried for centuries at the Basilica of Saint-Denis and it is often referred to as the “royal necropolis of France.” The remains of all but three monarchs of France from the 10th century until 1789 are interred at the Basilica of Saint-Denis. The basilica is named after Saint Denis, a patron saint of France, who became the first Bishop of Paris in the third century. He was decapitated on the hill of Montmartre and is said to have carried his head to the site of the current church, indicating where he wanted to be buried.

Saint Denis holding his head – Notre Dame de Paris; Credit – Wikipedia

A shrine-mausoleum was erected on the site of Saint Denis’ grave in about 313 AD. It was enlarged into a basilica with the addition of tombs and monuments and became a place of pilgrimage during the fifth and sixth centuries. Dagobert, King of the Franks (reigned 628 to 637) re-founded the church as the Abbey of Saint-Denis, a Benedictine monastery, and commissioned a new shrine to house Saint Denis’ remains. Abbot Suger (lived c. 1081 – 1151), a confidant of French kings and Abbot of Saint-Denis from 1122, began work around 1135 to rebuild and enlarge the Abbey of Saint-Denis into the Gothic cathedral we see today.

The interior of the Basilica of St. Denis; Credit – By Rita1234 – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=8784509

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Coronations of the Queen of France

The Coronation in Saint-Denis of Marie de Medici by Peter Paul Rubens; Credit – Wikipedia

Not all Queens of France, wives of the Kings of France, were crowned. A queen’s coronation could take place years after her marriage or her husband’s accession to the throne. Queens of France were crowned either together with their husband at Notre-Dame de Reims, or alone at Sainte-Chapelle or the Basilica of Saint-Denis. Marie de Medici, the wife of King Henri IV, was the last of Queen of France to be crowned. She was crowned ten years after her marriage and her husband was assassinated the day after her coronation.

The Queens of France who were crowned at the Basilica of Saint-Denis include the following:

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Destruction and Restoration

Violation of the royal tombs of Saint-Denis by Hubert Robert (Musée Carnavalet, Paris); Credit – https://uk.tourisme93.com/basilica/desecration-of-the-royal-tombs.html

During the French Revolution, the remains of French royals were desecrated and some tombs and effigies were destroyed. By the decree on August 1, 1793, the National Convention ordered: “The tombs and mausoleums of the former kings, mounted in the Church of Saint-Denis, in temples and in other places, across the entire Republic, will be destroyed.”  This occurred systematically from August 1793 – October 1793. The remains of 46 kings, 32 queens, and 63 other royals were thrown into two large pits in the monks’ cemetery adjacent to the Basilica of  Saint-Denis and covered in quicklime and soil. A combination of seventy effigies and tombs were saved because of the efforts of archaeologist Alexandre Lenoir who claimed them as artworks for his Museum of French Monuments.

Crypt where Louis VII, Louis de Lorraine, Louis XVI, Marie-Antoinette, and Louis XVIII are buried at Saint-Denis; Credit – By Fbrandao.1963 – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=64407677

Napoleon I, Emperor of the French reopened the Basilica of Saint-Denis in 1806 but left the royal remains in their mass graves. One of the first things King Louis XVIII, a younger brother of the guillotined King Louis XVI, did after the Bourbon Restoration in 1814 was to order a search for the remains of his brother and sister-in-law, King Louis XVI and Queen Marie Antoinette. They had been originally been buried in the cemetery at the Madeleine Church and covered with quicklime. The few remains that were found were reburied at the Basilica of Saint-Denis on January 21, 1815, the twenty-second anniversary of King Louis XVI’s execution.

Door leading to the crypt where the desecrated royal remains were re-interred at Saint-Denis. The large plaques on either side of the door are engraved with the names of those who were re-interred; Credit – © Susan Flantzer

In 1817, King Louis XVIII ordered the mass graves adjacent to the Basilica of Saint-Denis to be opened but due to the damage from the quicklime, identification of the remains was impossible. The remains were collected into an ossuary, a site serving as the final resting place of human skeletal remains, in the crypt of the basilica. Large marble plates on either side of the gated door leading to the crypt are engraved with the names of those whose remains are buried in the crypt. The seventy effigies and tombs that Alexandre Lenoir saved were returned to the Basilica of Saint-Denis and are now mostly in their original places.

Some of the effigies rescued and preserved by archaeologist Alexandre Lenoir; Credit – © Susan Flantzer

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The Heart of Louis-Charles, Dauphin of France, son of King Louis XVI

Louis-Charles, Dauphin of France, son of King Louis XVI and Queen Marie Antoinette, and sometimes called King Louis XVII, died from tuberculosis on June 8, 1795, at the age of ten while imprisoned at the Temple, the remains of a medieval fortress in Paris. He was buried at the Cimetière Sainte-Marguerite in Paris in a grave without any marker. However, before Louis-Charles was buried, an autopsy was performed. Following the tradition of preserving royal hearts, Louis-Charles’s heart was removed and smuggled out during the autopsy by Dr. Philippe-Jean Pelletan, a royalist, who then preserved the heart in alcohol. After the Bourbon Restoration in 1815, Dr. Pellatan offered the heart to Louis-Charles’ paternal uncle King Louis XVIII but he refused because he could not bring himself to believe that it was the heart of his nephew. Following the July Revolution in 1830, Dr. Pelletan’s son found the heart in the remnants of a looted palace and placed it in the crystal urn where it still resides. After the death of Dr. Pelletan’s son in 1879, Eduard Dumont, a relative of Dr. Pelletan’s wife, took possession of the heart.

Louis-Charles’ heart in the crystal urn; Photo Credit – © Susan Flantzer

In 1895, Carlos, Duke of Madrid, the Legitimist claimant to the French throne, accepted the heart from Eduard Dumont. The heart was kept at Schloss Frohsdorf near Vienna, Austria. Upon the death of his father Carlos, Duke of Madrid in 1909, Jaime, Duke of Madrid, the next Legitimist claimant to the French throne, inherited the heart and gave it to his sister Beatriz.

During World War II, Schloss Frohsdorf suffered damage and the heart was rescued by descendants of Carlos, Duke of Madrid and ultimately came into the possession of his granddaughter Princess Marie des Neiges Massimo. In 1975, the princess offered the heart to the Memorial of Saint-Denis in Paris, the organization that oversees the royal graves at the Basilica of St. Denis. The heart was placed in an underground crypt at the basilica where the remains of French royals that were desecrated during the French Revolution were subsequently interred.

In 2004, DNA tests using mitochondrial DNA proved the heart really did belong to Louis-Charles. Comparison samples were taken from descendants of Marie Antoinette’s sisters, members of the Bourbon-Parma family including Queen Anne of Romania who was born a Princess of Bourbon-Parma, and a strand of Marie Antoinette’s hair. With the approval of the French government, the Legitimists organized a ceremony at the Basilica of St. Denis on June 8, 2004, the 209th anniversary of Louis-Charles’ death. His heart was placed in a niche near the graves of his parents Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette whose remains were transferred to the basilica in 1815.

The resting place of Louis-Charles’ heart; Photo Credit – © Susan Flantzer

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Royal Burials

*Unofficial Royalty article

https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liste_des_personnes_enterr%C3%A9es_dans_la_basilique_Saint-Denis

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Works Cited

  • Basilique cathédrale de Saint-Denis. 2022. Basilique cathédrale de Saint-Denis. [online] Available at: <http://www.saint-denis-basilique.fr/en/> [Accessed 14 March 2022].
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2022. Basilica of Saint-Denis – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basilica_of_Saint-Denis> [Accessed 14 March 2022].
  • Flantzer, Susan, 2018. French Royal Burial Sites – House of Bourbon, House of Bonaparte, House of Orléans. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/current-monarchies-article-index/french-royal-index/french-burial-sites-house-of-bourbon-house-of-bonaparte-house-of-orleans/> [Accessed 14 March 2022].
  • Flantzer, Susan, 2019. French Royal Burial Sites – House of Valois. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/french-royal-burial-sites-house-of-valois/> [Accessed 14 March 2022].
  • Fr.wikipedia.org. 2022. Basilique Saint-Denis — Wikipédia. [online] Available at: <https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basilique_Saint-Denis> [Accessed 14 March 2022].
  • Fr.wikipedia.org. 2022. Liste des personnes enterrées dans la basilique Saint-Denis — Wikipédia. [online] Available at: <https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liste_des_personnes_enterr%C3%A9es_dans_la_basilique_Saint-Denis> [Accessed 14 March 2022].

Ippolita Trivulzio, Princess of Monaco

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2022

Ippolita Trivulzio, Princess of Monaco; Credit – Wikipedia

Ippolita Trivulzio was the wife of Honoré II, the first Prince of Monaco, and therefore she was the first Princess Consort of Monaco. From 1331 – 1612, the rulers of Monaco were styled Lord of Monaco. In 1612, Honoré II began to style himself as Prince of Monaco. Born circa 1600 in the Duchy of Milan, now in Italy, Ippolita was the only daughter and the third of the four children of Carlo Emanuele Teodoro Trivulzio, Count of Melzo (1565 – 1605) and Caterina Gonzaga (1574 – 1615).

Ippolita had three brothers:

  • Gian Giacomo Teodoro Trivulzio, 1st Prince of Musocco (1597 – 1656), married Jeanne Marie Grimaldi (sister of Honoré II) had two children, after the death of his wife in 1620, he became a priest and was created a Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church in 1629
  • Girolamo Trivulzio (died young)
  • Alfonso Trivulzio (1600 – 1621), unmarried

Ippolita’s father Carlo Emanuele Teodoro Trivulzio was in the service of the Spanish army and fought in the Eighty Years’ War (1568 – 1648), initially a revolt of the Seventeen Provinces, today’s Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg, against King Felipe II of Spain, who was also the sovereign of the Habsburg Netherlands. Carlo Emanuele died in battle in 1605 when his children were very young. The education and upbringing of Ippolita and her siblings depended solely on their widowed mother and Ippolita, the only daughter, received her education from nuns in a convent.

Ippolita’s husband Honoré II, Prince of Monaco; Credit – Wikipedia

When Honoré II, Prince of Monaco reached the age of majority, a marriage to provide an heir was one of the first issues to be solved. Honore’s sister Jeanne Marie was married to Ippolita’s brother and marriage to Ippolita was a simple and suitable solution. Fifteen-year-old Ippolita and nineteen-year-old Honoré were married on February 13, 1616.

Hercule Grimaldi, Marquis of Baux; Credit – Wikipedia

Ippolita and Honoré’s marriage was happy and they had one son:

Honoré II spent much time extending, rebuilding, and transforming what was originally the 1191 fortress of his Grimaldi ancestors into what is today’s Prince’s Palace of Monaco. Court customs and religious ceremonies were devised to create a connection between the monarchy and the people of Monaco. Ippolita was given a bigger role than her predecessors and participated in the decision-making.

Ippolita died on June 20, 1638, at the Prince’s Palace in Monaco at the age of thirty-seven. She was buried at the Church of Saint Nicholas in Monaco. During the late 19th century, a new and larger church, the Cathedral of Monaco, was built on the site of the Church of Saint Nicholas. The original church was demolished in 1874 but the current cathedral was built over the areas of the previous church and the old burial site so that the sovereign princes and consorts originally buried at the Church of Saint Nicholas are now buried in the Cathedral of Monaco.

Entrance to the common vault where the Grimaldi family members originally buried at the Church of St. Nicholas are buried; Credit – www.findagrave.com

Sadly, Ippolita’s son Hercule had an early death. On August 1, 1651, twenty-seven-year-old Hercule went on a visit to the Convent of Carnoles in Mentone, then in Monaco but now in France. After the visit, he engaged in some recreational shooting with some guards in the garden of the convent. Hercule was interested in how the gun worked and asked one of the guards to show him. The guard mishandled the gun and accidentally shot it towards Hercule and two other guards. All three were wounded. Fatally wounded in the spine, Hercule died the next day. He was buried at the Church of St. Nicholas.

Honoré survived his wife Ippolita by twenty-four years, dying on January 10, 1662, after a reign of fifty-eight years, at the age of 64, and was buried with his wife at the Church of St. Nicholas. He was succeeded by his twenty-year-old grandson Louis I, Prince of Monaco.

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Works Cited

  • Edwards, Anne, 2017. The Grimaldis of Monaco. Blue Ridge Summit: Lyons Press.
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2022. Ippolita Trivulzio – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ippolita_Trivulzio> [Accessed 5 January 2022].
  • Flantzer, Susan, 2022. Honoré II, Prince of Monaco. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/honore-ii-prince-of-monaco/> [Accessed 5 January 2022].
  • Flantzer, Susan, 2020. Royal Deaths from Firearms Accidents. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/royal-deaths-from-firearms-accidents/> [Accessed 5 January 2022].
  • It.wikipedia.org. 2022. Carlo Emanuele Teodoro Trivulzio – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carlo_Emanuele_Teodoro_Trivulzio> [Accessed 5 January 2022].
  • It.wikipedia.org. 2022. Ippolita Trivulzio – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ippolita_Trivulzio> [Accessed 5 January 2022].

Theatinerkirche St. Kajetan (Theatine Church of St. Cajetan) in Munich, Germany

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2022

Theatinekirche; Photo Credit – © Susan Flantzer

The Theatinerkirche St. Kajetan (Theatine Church of St. Cajetan), which this writer has visited, is a Roman Catholic church located in Munich in the German state of Bavaria. The church was founded by Ferdinand Maria, Elector of Bavaria (reigned 1651 to 1679) and his wife Henriette Adelaide of Savoy, in gratitude for the birth of a long-awaited male heir. Ferdinand Maria and Henriette Adelaide had married in 1650. Henriette Adelaide had a daughter in 1660, a stillbirth in 1661, and finally gave birth to a male heir, the future Maximilian II Emanuel, Elector of Bavaria, in 1662, twelve years after her marriage.

The Theatinekirche has two patron saints. Gaetano dei Conti di Thiene (1480 – 1547), known as Saint Cajetan, was an Italian Catholic priest and co-founder of the Theatine Order and was canonized as a saint in 1671. Saint Adelaide (Adelheid) of Italy (931 – 999) (also known as Saint Adelaide of Burgundy) was the wife of Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor. Adelaide was devoted to charitable work and supported the founding of monasteries. Because of her charity, Adelaide was widely revered after her death and was canonized in 1097.

Italian architect Agostino Barelli introduced Italian Baroque architecture to Bavaria with his design for the Theatinekirche. The design was modeled after the mother church of the Theatine Order, Sant’Andrea della Valle in Rome. Construction began in 1663. Barelli completed the shell of the church and left Munich in 1674 because of arguments with the site manager Antonio Spinelli and Henriette Adelaide’s confessor. The incomplete church was consecrated in 1675. Barelli’s successor as the chief architect of the Bavarian court, Enrico Zuccalli, actually Johann Heinrich Zuccalli, a Swiss architect, added the two towers which were not in the original plans, from 1684 -1692. The interior was completed in 1688 and the dome in 1690. For a long time, the outer facade of the Theatinerkirche remained unfinished. Despite many discussions, no agreement was reached. Finally, in 1765, the Bavarian court architect François de Cuvilliés the Elder designed a facade in the Rococo style which his son François de Cuvilliés the Younger completed.

During World War II, the Theatinekirche was bombed four times by the Allied Forces and suffered great damage. An altarpiece by Italian painter Antonio Zanchi was destroyed, along with the choir (the area between the nave and the sanctuary), the altar, and the south chapel. Reconstruction began in 1946 and was completed enough by 1955 to allow church services to resume.

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Interior of the Theatinekirche

Photo Credit – © Susan Flantzer

Stucco Decorations

Stucco decorations; Credit – By marsupium photography – https://www.flickr.com/photos/hagdorned/10382855675/, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=57528584

The interior of the Theatinekirche is richly decorated with stucco in the Baroque and Rococo styles with Corinthian columns decorated with acanthus leaves, ornaments, and religious figures.

The Pulpit

The pulpit; Credit – By © José Luiz Bernardes Ribeiro, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=62189862

The 1686 black oak pulpit is the work of Austrian sculptor Andreas Faistenberger (link in German).

The High Altar

The high altar; Credit – By © José Luiz Bernardes Ribeiro, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=62189854

Before the World War II bombing, over the high altar hung a 1675 painting (below) by Italian painter Antonio Zanchi that depicted the patron saints of the church St. Cajetan and St. Adelaide, the founders of the church Ferdinand Maria, Elector of Bavaria and his wife Henriette Adelaide of Savoy with their children, and two pages holding a model of the Theatinekirche. Sadly, the painting was destroyed during a bombing in 1944.

A draft of Antonio Zanchi’s destroyed painting: Credit – Wikipedia

The high altar now contains a 1646 painting (below) by Flemish painter Gaspar de Crayer showing an enthroned Mary holding the infant Jesus surrounded by saints.

Gaspar de Crayer’s painting; Credit – By © José Luiz Bernardes Ribeiro, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=62189858

Statues of the Four Evangelists

The statues of the four evangelists on the high altar can be seen in this photo; Credit – Von © José Luiz Bernardes Ribeiro, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=62189657

In 1722, Bavarian sculptor Balthasar Ableithner (link in German) created the larger-than-life statues of the four evangelists, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, which were placed around the high altar. Only the statues of Mark and John survived the World War II bombing intact. The statue of Luke was able to be reconstructed. A new statue of Matthew was created by Italian sculptor Giuseppe Ducrot and placed on the altar in 2017.

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July 11, 2011: Requiem Mass for Otto von Habsburg

 

Otto von Habsburg, the last Crown Prince of Austria and later in his long life, a member of the European Parliament, was the eldest and the longest surviving of the eight children of Karl I, the last Emperor of Austria and his wife Zita of Bourbon-Parma. Otto and his wife Regina of Saxe-Meiningen lived at Villa Austria in Pöcking, Bavaria, Germany, and Otto died there on July 4, 2011, aged 98. Multiple requiem masses were celebrated for Otto von Habsburg including one at the Theatinekirche in Munich, in Bavaria, Germany.

On July 11, 2011, a requiem mass was celebrated in the Theatinekirche by Cardinal Reinhard Marx and his predecessor Cardinal Friedrich Wetter. Munich’s Chief Rabbi Steven Langnas recited a Jewish funeral prayer. At the end of the requiem mass, the “Kaiserhymne” (Emperor’s Hymn), the old Austrian imperial anthem, was sung.

The requiem mass was screened on big screens at the Odeonsplatz, the large square in front of the Theatine Church, and was broadcast by Bavarian Television. Following the requiem mass, the Prime Minister of Bavaria Horst Seehofer hosted a reception for 700 invited guests in the Kaisersaal of the Munich Residenz, the former royal palace of the Wittelsbachs. Among the royalty and nobility attending the requiem mass and reception were Otto von Habsburg’s seven children: Andrea von Habsburg (born 1953), Monika von Habsburg (born 1954, twin of Michaela), Michaela von Habsburg (born 1954, twin of Monika), Gabriela von Habsburg (born 1956), Walburga von Habsburg (born 1958), Karl von Habsburg (born 1961), and Georg von Habsburg (born 1964). Also attending were members of the House of Wittelsbach – Prince Luitpold of Bavaria, Prince Max, Duke in Bavaria and his wife Princess Elisabeth, Duchess in Bavaria – and Gloria, Princess Dowager of Thurn and Taxis.

On July 16, 2011, following a requiem mass at St. Stephen’s Cathedral in Vienna, Austria, Otto was interred in the Crypt Chapel of the Imperial Crypt at the Capuchin Church in Vienna, the traditional burial site of the House of Habsburg. His mother Zita of Bourbon-Parma was interred in the Crypt Chapel in 1989. At the time of his burial, Otto’s wife Regina who died in 2010, was also interred in the Crypt Chapel.

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Royal Burials

Coffins in the Princely Crypt of the Theatinekirche; Photo Credit – © Susan Flantzer

Besides the Theatinerkirche, rulers of the House of Wittelsbach have been interred at the Frauenkirche (Church of Our Lady) in Munich, Michaelskirche (St. Michael’s Church in Munich, and Andechs Abbey in Andechs. In 1977, Albrecht, Duke of Bavaria, Head of the House of Wittelsbach and pretender to the former Bavarian throne from 1955 until his death in 1996, set up a Wittelsbach private family cemetery near Andechs Abbey due to the lack of space in the other Wittelsbach burial sites. The cemetery complex is now the main burial place of the Wittelsbach family.

The Theatine Church has two burial areas.

The side chapel with the tombs of Maximilian II, King of Bavaria (on left) and Marie Friederike of Prussia, Queen of Bavaria (on right); Credit – By User:Mattes – Self-photographed, CC BY 2.0 de, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=40079208

Interred in stone sarcophagi in a side chapel of the main nave:

Sign for the Princely Crypt; Photo Credit – © Susan Flantzer

When I visited the Theatinekirche, my husband did not want to pay the two euros admission to the Princely Crypt, and so I went into the crypt alone – just me and 47 coffins of members of the House of Wittelsbach – no one else was there. Being alone was a fairly creepy experience. I looked around, took photos, and exited quickly!

A view of the dark and creepy (if you are alone!) Princely Crypt; Photo Credit – © Susan Flantzer

Interred in the Princely Crypt:

  • Luise Margarete Antonie of Bavaria (1663 – 1665) – daughter of Ferdinand Maria, Elector of Bavaria
  • Ludwig Amadeus Viktor of Bavaria (born and died 1665) – son of Ferdinand Maria, Elector of Bavaria
  • Stillborn son (1666) – son of Ferdinand Maria, Elector of Bavaria
  • Kajetan Maria Franz of Bavaria (born and died 1670) – son of Ferdinand Maria, Elector of Bavaria
  • Henriette Adelaide of Savoy, Electress of Bavaria (1636 – 1676) – wife of Ferdinand Maria, Elector of Bavaria
  • Ferdinand Maria, Elector of Bavaria (1636 – 1679)
  • Leopold Ferdinand of Bavaria (born and died 1689) – son of Maximilian II Emanuel, Elector of Bavaria
  • Anton of Bavaria (born and died 1690) – son of Maximilian II Emanuel, Elector of Bavaria
  • Wilhelm of Bavaria (1701 – 1704) – son of Maximilian II Emanuel, Elector of Bavaria
  • Alois of Bavaria (1702 – 1705) – son of Maximilian II Emanuel, Elector of Bavaria
  • Maximilian Emanuel Thomas (1704 – 1709) – son of Maximilian II Emanuel, Elector of Bavaria
  • Maximiliana Maria of Bavaria (born and died 1723) – daughter of Karl VII, Holy Roman Emperor, Elector of Bavaria
  • Maximilian II Emanuel, Elector of Bavaria (1662 – 1726)
  • Therese Kunigunde of Poland, Electress of Bavaria (1676 – 1730) – 2nd wife of Maximilian II Emanuel, Elector of Bavaria
  • Josef Ludwig of Bavaria (1728 – 1733) – son of Karl VII, Holy Roman Emperor, Elector of Bavaria
  • Maximilian Joseph Franz of Bavaria (1720 – 1738) – son of Ferdinand Maria Innocenz of Bavaria and grandson of Maximilian II Emanuel, Elector of Bavaria
  • Ferdinand Maria Innozenz of Bavaria (1699 – 1738) – son of Maximilian II Emanuel, Elector of Bavaria
  • Karl VII, Holy Roman Emperor, Elector of Bavaria (1697 – 1745)
  • Maria of Bavaria (born and died 1748)
  • Unnamed prince (born and died 1753)
  • Maria Anna of Bavaria (born and died 1754)
  • Unnamed prince (born and died 1755)
  • Maria Amalia of Austria, Holy Roman Empress (1701 – 1756) – wife of Karl VII, Holy Roman Emperor
  • Clemens Franz de Paula of Bavaria (1722 – 1770) – son of Ferdinand Maria Innocenz of Bavaria and grandson of Maximilian II Emanuel, Elector of Bavaria
  • Maria Anna of Bavaria, Margravine of Baden-Baden (1734 – 1776) – daughter of Karl VII, Holy Roman Emperor, wife of Ludwig Georg, Margrave of Baden-Baden
  • Maximilian III Joseph, Elector of Bavaria (1727 – 1777)
  • Maria Anna of Pfalz-Sulzbach, Princess of Bavaria (1722 – 1790), wife of Clemens Franz de Paula of Bavaria
  • Maria Anna Sophia of Saxony, Electress of Bavaria (1728 – 1797) – wife of Maximilian III Joseph, Elector of Bavaria
  • Karl Theodor, Elector of Bavaria (1724 – 1799)
  • Maximilian Joseph Karl Friedrich of Bavaria (1800 – 1803) – son of Maximilian I Joseph, King of Bavaria
  • Maximiliana Josephe Karoline of Bavaria (1810 – 1821) – daughter of Maximilian I Joseph, King of Bavaria

Tombs of Maximilian I Joseph, King of Bavaria and his 2nd wife Caroline of Baden, Queen of Bavaria; Photo Credit – © Susan Flantzer

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This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Works Cited

  • De.wikipedia.org. 2022. Theatinerkirche (München) – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theatinerkirche_(M%C3%BCnchen)> [Accessed 6 January 2022].
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2022. Death and Funeral of Otto von Habsburg – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_and_funeral_of_Otto_von_Habsburg> [Accessed 6 January 2022].
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2022. Theatine Church, Munich – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theatine_Church,_Munich> [Accessed 6 January 2022].
  • Mehl, Scott, 2012. Royal Burial Sites of the Kingdom of Bavaria. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/royal-burial-sites/german-royal-burial-sites/royal-burial-sites-of-the-kingdom-of-bavaria/> [Accessed 6 January 2022].
  • Theatinerkirche.de. 2022. Theatinerkirche München. [online] Available at: <http://www.theatinerkirche.de/> [Accessed 6 January 2022].

Honoré II, Prince of Monaco

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2022

Honoré II, Prince of Monaco; Credit – Wikipedia

From 1331 – 1612, the rulers of Monaco were styled Lord of Monaco. Honoré II was the first Prince of Monaco. Born in Monaco on December 24, 1597, Honoré II, Prince of Monaco was the only son and the second of the three children of Hercule, Lord of Monaco (1562 – 1604) and Maria Landi (? – 1599), a member of a noble family from Piacenza, now in northern Italy. Honoré II’s paternal grandparents were Honoré I, Lord of Monaco (1522 – 1581) and Isabella Grimaldi (? – 1583). His maternal grandparents were Italian noble Claudio Landi, 3rd Prince of Val di Taro (? – 1589) and Juana Fernández de Córdoba y Milá de Aragón, a descendant of the Royal House of Aragon through her mother.

Honoré had two sisters:

Honoré lost both his parents in childhood. When he was two years old, his mother died on January 19, 1599, due to childbirth complications after the birth of her third child. On November 29, 1604, Honoré’s father Hercule, Lord of Monaco was stabbed to death while walking through the streets of Monaco at night. His body was dumped into the sea by the murderer(s) and was later found washed up on the shore. The cause of his murder remains unclear. A month short of his seventh birthday, Honoré succeeded his father as Lord of Monaco. For their protection, Honoré and his two sisters were hidden until their maternal uncle Feredico Landi, 4th Prince of Val di Taro (? – 1630), arrived to rule as regent, a position he held until 1616. Feredico Landi was a loyal ally of Spain and he allowed the occupation of Monaco by Spanish troops in 1605.

In 1612, Honoré II started using the title of Prince, becoming the first Prince of Monaco. Monaco was recognized as a sovereign principality by King Felipe IV of Spain in 1633 and by King Louis XIII of France in the Treaty of Péronne of 1641. Under the Treaty of Péronne, the Principality of Monaco became a French protectorate and the Spanish troops in Monaco were finally removed. The Princes of Monaco became vassals of the Kings of France while remaining sovereign princes. Many successive Princes of Monaco and their families spent most of their lives in France and intermarried with French and Italian noble families.

Because of the treaty with France, Honoré lost his Spanish lands and their income. To make up for the loss, King Louis XIII gave Honoré the Duchy of Valentinois, the Marquisate of Baux, the County of Carladès, the City of Chabeuil, the Baronies of Calvinet, Buis, and the Lordship of Saint-Rémy-de-Provence. Although the lands connected to these titles eventually reverted to France, some of these titles have been bestowed upon members of the Princely Family of Monaco over the years. The Marquis of Baux has become the traditional title of the heir apparent to the throne of Monaco. Albert I, Prince of Monaco gave his granddaughter Charlotte the title Duchess of Valentinois in 1919. In 2014, upon the birth of his twins Princess Gabriella and Hereditary Prince Jacques, Albert II, Prince of Monaco created them the Countess of Carladès and the Marquis of Baux. Albert II had also held the title Marquis of Baux while he was the heir apparent.

Honoré’s wife Ippolita Trivulzio, Princess of Monaco; Credit – Wikipedia

On February 13, 1616, Honoré married Ippolita Trivulzio, the daughter of the Italian nobles Carlo Emanuele Teodoro Trivulzio, Count of Melzo and Caterina Gonzaga. Ippolita’s brother Gian Giacomo Teodoro Trivulzio had married Honoré’s sister Jeanne Marie in 1615. Ippolita predeceased her husband, dying on June 20, 1638, at the age of 37.

Hercule Grimaldi, Marquis of Baux; Credit – Wikipedia

Honoré and Ippolita had one son:

On August 1, 1651, Honoré’s son and heir, twenty-seven-year-old Hercule, Marquis of Baux, went on a visit to the Convent of Carnoles in Mentone, then in Monaco but now in France. After the visit, he engaged in some recreational shooting with some guards in the garden of the convent. Hercule was interested in how the gun worked and asked one of the guards to show him. The guard mishandled the gun and accidentally shot it towards Hercule and two other guards. All three were wounded. Fatally wounded in the spine, Hercule died the next day. Hercule’s nine-year-old son Louis became heir apparent and succeeded his grandfather Honoré II as Louis I, Prince of Monaco.

The palace of Honoré I, Lord of Monaco, the grandfather of Honoré II (on the left) and the palace of Honoré II with some additions by Louis I, Honoré II’s grandson and successor (on the right)

During his reign, Honoré II did much to extend, rebuild, and transform what was originally the  1191 fortress of his Grimaldi ancestors into what is today’s Prince’s Palace of Monaco. Honoré I, Lord of Monaco, the grandfather of Honoré II, had done some renovations but his palace still had a grim, fortress-like appearance. Over a 30-year period, Honoré II transformed his grandfather’s palace into a palace suitable for a prince. Well-educated and a patron of the arts, Honoré II began collecting artworks by Albrecht Dürer, Michelangelo, Raphael, Peter Paul Rubens, and Titian which formed the basis of the art collection at the palace.

Today’s Prince’s Palace in the right foreground; Credit – By Nathanaël Martel – nat.fam-martel.eu, CC BY 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=6296088

After a reign of fifty-eight years, Honoré II, Prince of Monaco died in Monaco on January 10, 1662, at the age of 64. He was buried at the Church of Saint Nicholas in Monaco. During the late 19th century, a new and larger church, the Cathedral of Monaco, was built on the site of the Church of Saint Nicholas. The original church was demolished in 1874 but the current cathedral was built over the areas of the previous church and the old burial site so that the sovereign princes and consorts originally buried at the Church of Saint Nicholas are now buried in the Cathedral of Monaco.

Entrance to the common vault where the Grimaldi family members originally buried at the Church of St. Nicholas are buried; Credit – www.findagrave.com

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Works Cited

  • De.wikipedia.org. 2022. Honoré II. (Monaco) – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honor%C3%A9_II._(Monaco)> [Accessed 3 January 2022].
  • Edwards, Anne, 2017. The Grimaldis of Monaco. Blue Ridge Summit: Lyons Press.
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2022. Honoré II, Prince of Monaco – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honor%C3%A9_II,_Prince_of_Monaco> [Accessed 3 January 2022].
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2022. Prince’s Palace of Monaco – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prince%27s_Palace_of_Monaco> [Accessed 3 January 2022].
  • Flantzer, Susan, 2020. Royal Deaths from Firearms Accidents. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/royal-deaths-from-firearms-accidents/> [Accessed 3 January 2022].
  • Hello Monaco. 2021. Hercule I, Doctor of Law and Father of The First Prince of Monaco. [online] Available at: <https://www.hellomonaco.com/sightseeing/grimaldi-family/hercule-i-doctor-of-law-and-father-of-the-first-prince-of-monaco-en/> [Accessed 3 January 2022].
  • Palais.mc. 2022. Prince’s Palace of Monaco. [online] Available at: <https://www.palais.mc/en/the-institution/the-prince-s-palace-of-monaco-1-16.html> [Accessed 3 January 2022].

Michaelskirche (St. Michael’s Church) in Munich, Germany

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2022

Michaelskirche in Munich; Credit – By Andrew Bossi – Own work, CC BY-SA 2.5, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2918246

Michaelskirche (St. Michael’s Church), which this writer has visited, is a Roman Catholic church located in Munich in the German state of Bavaria. The patron of the church is Saint Michael the Archangel. In 1556, Albrecht V, Duke of Bavaria granted the Jesuit Order permission to establish a school in Munich which is still in existence and known as the Wilhelmsgymnasium. A church was to be built in conjunction with the founding of the Jesuit school. However, the school and the church did not get beyond the planning stage during Albrecht V’s lifetime.

Neuhauser Street and Michaelskirche, 1830s; Credit – Wikipedia

Eventually, the school and church were built during the reign of Albrecht V’s son and successor Wilhelm V, Duke of Bavaria, hence the name of the school, Wilhelmsgymnasium. Wilhelm V had received a Jesuit education and was a strong supporter of the Counter-Reformation, the Roman Catholic Church’s reaction to the Protestant Reformation. The Michaelskirche, built in the Renaissance architectural style, and the school built from 1583 – 1597 were spiritual centers of the Counter-Reformation. With the abolition of the Jesuit order in 1773, Michaelskirche and Wilhelmsgymnasium came into the possession of the House of Wittelsbach. After the end of the Kingdom of Bavaria in 1918, the church passed into the possession of the State of Bavaria. In 1921, the pastoral care of Michaelskirche returned to the Jesuit Order.

After the severe damage caused by bombings during World War II, Michaelskirche was renovated and then rededicated at Pentecost in 1953. Most recently, the interior was renovated from 1980 – 1983 for the 400th anniversary. From 2009 to 2013, the facade including the statues was renovated.

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The Facade of Michaelskirche

The facade of Michaelskirche; Credit – Credit – By Luidger – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=718322

The large, impressive facade of Michaelskirche has bronze statues of Wilhelm V, Duke of Bavaria and earlier rulers of the Bavarian House of Wittelsbach in the form of a family tree. A large bronze statue between the two entrances shows Saint Michael the Archangel battling Lucifer. The statue was made by Dutch sculptor Hubert Gerhard.

Saint Michael the Archangel vanquishing Lucifer; Credit – By pingnews.com – Sculpture in Munich, Germany, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=97462767

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The Interior of Michaelkirche

The interior of Michaelskirche; Photo Credit – © Susan Flantzer

The main altarpiece has a painting of Saint Michael the Archangel fighting Lucifer by Bavarian painter Christoph Schwarz.

The main altar; Photo Credit – © Susan Flantzer

The church contains the 1830 monument by Danish sculptor Bertel Thorvaldsen to Eugène de Beauharnais who is interred in the crypt. Eugène was the son of Josephine de Beauharnais, Napoleon Bonaparte’s first wife, and her first husband Alexandre de Beauharnais, who was executed by guillotine during the French Revolution. Eugène de Beauharnais marrried Princess Auguste of Bavaria, daughter of King Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria, and was created Duke of Leuchtenberg.

The monument by Danish sculptor Bertel Thorvaldsen to Eugène de Beauharnais; Photo Credit – © Susan Flantzer

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The Princely Crypt

Sign with a photo of King Ludwig II at the entrance to the Princely Crypt; Photo Credit – © Susan Flantzer

The House of Wittelsbach ruled as Dukes, Electors, and Kings of Bavaria from 1180 until 1918. A princely crypt was in the original plans of Michaelskirche. Wilhelm V, Duke of Bavaria was buried in the crypt at his request, as was his son Maximilian I, Elector of Bavaria.

Stairs down to the Princely Crypt; Photo Credit – © Susan Flantzer

The best-known Bavarian ruler interred at Michaelskirche is Ludwig II, King of Bavaria, the builder of Neuschwanstein Castle who died in 1886 under mysterious circumstances. Ludwig’s brother Otto, King of Bavaria is also interred at Michaelskirche.

Tomb of Ludwig II, King of Bavaria; Photo Credit – © Susan Flantzer

Besides Michaelskirche, rulers of the House of Wittelsbach have been interred at the Theatinerkirche St. Kajetan (Theatine Church of St. Cajetan) in Munich, the Frauenkirche (Church of Our Lady) in Munich, and the Andechs Abbey in Andechs. In 1977, Albrecht, Duke of Bavaria, Head of the House of Wittelsbach and pretender to the former Bavarian throne from 1955 until his death in 1996, set up a Wittelsbach private family cemetery near Andechs Abbey due to the lack of space in the other Wittelsbach burial sites. The cemetery complex is now the main burial place of the Wittelsbach family.

The following members of the House of Wittelsbach are interred in the crypt:

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Works Cited

  • De.wikipedia.org. 2022. St. Michael (München) – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Michael_(M%C3%BCnchen)> [Accessed 28 February 2022].
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2022. St. Michael’s Church, Munich – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Michael%27s_Church,_Munich> [Accessed 28 February 2022].
  • Mehl, Scott, 2012. Royal Burial Sites of the Kingdom of Bavaria. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/royal-burial-sites/german-royal-burial-sites/royal-burial-sites-of-the-kingdom-of-bavaria/> [Accessed 28 February 2022].
  • St-michael-muenchen.de. 2022. St. Michael – die Jesuitenkirche in der Münchner Innenstadt. [online] Available at: <https://www.st-michael-muenchen.de/index.php> [Accessed 28 February 2022].

Countess Franziska Kinsky of Wchinitz and Tettau, Princess of Liechtenstein

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2022

Franziska Kinsky of Wchinitz and Tettau, Princess of Liechtenstein; Credit – Wikipedia

Countess Franziska Kinsky of Wchinitz and Tettau was the wife of Alois II, Prince of Liectenstein who reigned from 1836 – 1858. Born Franziska de Paula Barbara Romana Bernharda on August 8, 1813, in Vienna, Austria, she was the second of the two daugters and the third of the five children of Count Franz de Paula Kinsky of Wchinitz und Tettau (1784 – 1823) and Countess Therese of Wrbna and Freudenthal (1789 – 1874).

Franziska had four siblings:

  • Countess Maria Anna Kinsky of Wchinitz and Tettau (1809 – 1892), married Friedrich Wilhelm of Solms-Braunfels, had seven children
  • Count Dominik Kinsky of Wchinitz und Tettau (1810 – 1875), unmarried
  • Count Rudolf Kinsky of Wchinitz und Tettau, (1815 – 1889), unmarried
  • Count Eugene Kinsky of Wchinitz und Tettau, married Maria Zauner (1818 – 1885), had eight children

The Kinsky von Wchinitz und Tettau family was a prominent noble family from the Kingdom of Bohemia, then part of the Austria Empire, now part of the Czech Republic. The family served the Habsburgs during the Holy Roman Empire and the Austrian Empire. Like many of the aristocratic families, the Kinskys were great landowners and patrons of the arts. They resided in the Palais Kinsky in Vienna, Austria, the Kinsky Palace in Prague, Kingdom of Bohemia, the Karlova Koruna Chateau in the Kingdom of Bohemia, and the Burg Heidenreichstein in Lower Austria, Austrian Empire. Franziska’s paternal uncle Ferdinand, 5th Prince Kinsky of Wchinitz and Tettau was an important patron of composer Ludwig van Beethoven and provided him with an annual salary until Beethoven’s death.

Alois II, Prince of Liechtenstein; Credit – Wikipedia

On August 8, 1831, in Vienna, Austria, 18-year-old Franziska married 35-year-old Alois, Hereditary Prince of Liechtenstein. Upon the death of his father Johann I Josef, Prince of Liechtenstein on April 20, 1836, Alois became the reigning Prince of Liechtenstein and Franziska became the Princess Consort.

Franziska and Alois had eleven children:

Alois II, Prince of Liechtenstein, aged 62, died on November 12, 1858, and was succeeded by his 18-year-old son Johann II, Prince of Liechtenstein. From 1859 – 1860, Johann’s mother Franziska served as regent while her son traveled through Europe, expanding the Liechtenstein art collection and learning about botany, archeology, and geography. Johann, Prince II of Liechtenstein is one of the world’s longest-reigning monarchs – he reigned for 70 years, 91 days. He never married and was succeeded by his brother Franz I, Prince of Liechtenstein.

Haus Gutenberg, the school founded by Franziska is still in existence; Credit – Von HausGutenberg – Eigenes Werk, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=72672336

Franziska founded the first charitable fund for orphans in Liechtenstein and also founded a secondary school for girls, the Haus Gutenberg (link in German) in Balzers, Liechtenstein, which is still in existence. In 1870, she bought the Wartenstein Castle in Raach am Hochgebirge, Austria, and renovated it in the Romantic style. The castle remained in the family until 1957.

The New Crypt at Chuch of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary in Vranov, Moravia, now in the Czech Republic; Credit – Wikipedia

Franziska survived her husband by twenty-three years, dying on February 5, 1881, aged 67, in Vienna, Austria. She was buried with her husband in the New Crypt at Chuch of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary in Vranov, Moravia, now in the Czech Republic.

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Works Cited

  • De.wikipedia.org. 2021. Franziska Kinsky von Wchinitz und Tettau – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franziska_Kinsky_von_Wchinitz_und_Tettau> [Accessed 17 December 2021].
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2021. Countess Franziska Kinsky of Wchinitz and Tettau – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Countess_Franziska_Kinsky_of_Wchinitz_and_Tettau> [Accessed 17 December 2021].
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2021. Kinsky – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kinsky> [Accessed 17 December 2021].
  • Flantzer, Susan, 2022. Countess Franziska Kinsky of Wchinitz and Tettau, Princess of Liechtenstein. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/alois-ii-prince-of-liechtenstein/> [Accessed 17 December 2021].
  • geni_family_tree. 2021. Franz de Paula Joseph Kinsky von Wchinitz und Tettau. [online] Available at: <https://www.geni.com/people/Franz-de-Paula-Joseph-Kinsky-von-Wchinitz-und-Tettau/6000000013492930469> [Accessed 17 December 2021].

Frauenkirche (Church of Our Lady) in Munich, Germany

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2022

Frauenkirche in Munich, Bavaria, Germany; By Diliff – CC BY 2.5, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=5825439

The Frauenkirche (Church of Our Lady) also called Münchner Dom (Munich Cathedral), which this writer has visited, is a Roman Catholic church and the cathedral church of the Archbishop of Munich located in Munich, the capital of the German state of Bavaria.

Frauenkirche in 1870 looking toward the main altar; Credit – Wikipedia

In the 12th century, a Romanesque church was built on the site replacing an earlier church. This new church served as a second parish in Munich following the older Alter Peter Church. A new late Gothic cathedral commissioned by Sigismund, Archduke of Austria and the people of Munich, was erected in the 15th century. The cathedral was built from 1468 – 1488 by bricklayer and architect Jörg von Halsbach. Red brick was chosen as the building material for financial reasons and because there was no nearby rock quarry. The cathedral was consecrated In 1494 but the towers were not completed until 1525.

Frauenkirche in ruins after World War II. The steps led to the main altar; Credit – https://www.muenchner-dom.de/die-kathedrale/geschichte/baugeschichte/

The Frauenkirche was severely damaged by the Allied Forces’ bombing raids during World War II. The roof collapsed, one of the towers was damaged, and much of the interior was destroyed. A major restoration was required and continued until 1994.

Interior of the restored Frauenkirche looking towards the main altar; Credit – By Chabe01 – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=64107752

From 1971 – 1972 the main altar area was redesigned according to the reforms and specifications of the Second Vatican Council. From 1989 – 1994, the interior decorations of the original architect Jörg von Halsbach and the oak choir stalls with the sculptures of the original sculptor Erasmus Grasser were reconstructed and new altarpieces were created. Artwork from notable 14th to 18th-century artists like Peter Candid, Erasmus Grasser, Jan Polack, Hans Leinberger, Hans Krumpper, and Ignaz Günther replaced the artwork destroyed in the World War II bombing raids.

The main altar; Credit – By © José Luiz Bernardes Ribeiro, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=62161379

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Cenotaph of Ludwig IV, Holy Roman Emperor

The Cenotaph of Ludwig IV, Holy Roman Emperor; Photo Credit – © Susan Flantzer

A cenotaph, an empty tomb erected in honor of a person whose remains are elsewhere, for Ludwig IV, Holy Roman Emperor who died in 1347, stands in the south aisle. The remains of Ludwig IV, Holy Roman Emperor are interred in the Frauenkirche crypt. The cenotaph was the work of sculptor Hans Krumpper (circa 1570 – 1634) who was the chief sculptor to the Bavarian court during the reigns of Wilhelm V, Duke of Bavaria and Maximilian I, Duke of Bavaria.  During the World War II-related restoration of the Frauenkirche in the 1980s, the cenotaph was restored with financial help from the Messerschmitt Foundation whose primary goal is the preservation and maintenance of German cultural monuments.

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The Crypt

The 1971 crypt in the Frauenkirche; Credit – By User: Bbb at wikivoyage shared, CC BY-SA 1.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=22660042

The crypt we see today was created in 1971 when a larger crypt with exposed brick walls and a concrete beam ceiling was built during World War II-related reconstruction. The coffins of members of the Bavarian House of Wittelsbach were then transferred to new wall niches with grave markers. The House of Wittelsbach ruled as Dukes, Electors, and Kings of Bavaria from 1180 until 1918.

Besides the Frauenkirche, rulers of the House of Wittelsbach have mostly been interred at the Theatinerkirche St. Kajetan (Theatine Church of St Cajetan) in Munich and Michaelskirche (St. Michael’s Church) in Munich, and the Andechs Monastery in Andechs. In 1977, Albrecht, Duke of Bavaria, head of the House of Wittelsbach and pretender to the former Bavarian throne from 1955 until his death in 1996, set up a Wittelsbach family cemetery near Andechs Abbey due to the lack of space in the other Wittelsbach burial sites. The cemetery complex is now the main burial place of the Wittelsbach family.

Burial site of some members of the House of Wittelsbach; Credit – By © José Luiz Bernardes Ribeiro, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=62160767

The following members of the House of Wittelsbach are interred in the crypt:

Burial site of Ludwig III, the last King of Bavaria, his wife and five of their children; Photo Credit – © Susan Flantzer

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Works Cited

  • De.wikipedia.org. 2021. Frauenkirche (München) – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frauenkirche_(M%C3%BCnchen)> [Accessed 29 December 2021].
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2021. Munich Frauenkirche – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Munich_Frauenkirche> [Accessed 29 December 2021].
  • Muenchner-dom.de. 2021. Der Münchner Dom: Baugeschichte. [online] Available at: <https://www.muenchner-dom.de/die-kathedrale/geschichte/baugeschichte/> [Accessed 29 December 2021].
  • Muenchner-dom.de. 2021. Der Münchner Dom: Home. [online] Available at: <https://www.muenchner-dom.de/> [Accessed 29 December 2021].

Alois II, Prince of Liechtenstein

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2022

Alois II, Prince of Liechtenstein; Credit – Wikipedia

Alois II, Prince of Liechtenstein reigned from 1836 – 1858. Born Alois Maria Josef Johann Baptista Joachim Philipp Nerius on May 26, 1796, the feast day of St. Philip Neri, whose name he bears, in Vienna, Austria, he was the third of the fourteen children and the eldest of the seven sons of Johann I Josef, Prince of Liechtenstein and Landgravine Josefa of Fürstenberg-Weitra. Since Alois’ father Johann Josef was a high-ranking officer of the Imperial Army of the Holy Roman Empire and then the Imperial Army Austrian Empire, the family spent much time in Vienna, Austria.

Alois had thirteen siblings:

  • Princess Maria Leopoldine of Liechtenstein (1793 – 1808), died in her teens
  • Princess Karoline of Liechtenstein (born and died 1795), died in infancy
  • Princess Sophie of Liechtenstein (1798 – 1869), married Count Vincenz Esterházy von Galántha, no children
  • Princess Maria Josepha of Liechtenstein (1800 – 1884), unmarried
  • Prince Franz de Paula of Liechtenstein (1802 – 1887), married Countess Julia Potocka, had four children. Their great-grandson was Franz Joseph II, Prince of Liechtenstein
  • Prince Karl Johann of Liechtenstein (1803 – 1871), married Countess Rosalie d’Hemricourt von Grünne, had three children
  • Princess Klothilda of Liechtenstein (1804 – 1807), died in childhood
  • Princess Henriette of Liechtenstein (1806 – 1886), married Count Joseph Hunyady von Kethély (link in German), had six children
  • Prince Friedrich of Liechtenstein (link in German) (1807 – 1885), married famous German opera singer Sophie Löwe who left the opera to marry Friedrich, no children
  • Prince Eduard Franz of Liechtenstein (1809 – 1864), married Countess Honoria Choloniowa-Choloniewska, had two children
  • Prince Ludwig of Liechtenstein (1810 – 1824), died in his teens
  • Princess Ida Leopoldine of Liechtenstein (1811 – 1884), married Karl 4th Fürst Paar, Baron auf Hartberg und Krottenstein, had seven children
  • Prince Rudolf of Liechtenstein (1816 – 1848), unmarried

Alois’ early education was supervised by the French priest Abbe Werner. As he grew older, specialist tutors instructed him in various disciplines including Leopold Trautmann, professor of agriculture at the University of Vienna, and Friedrich von Schlegel, German literary critic and philosopher. In 1818, Alois took an educational trip to Italy, where he visited famous museums, art galleries, and churches. Two years later, he took another educational trip to England and Scotland.

Countess Franziska Kinsky of Wchinitz and Tettau; Credit – Wikipedia

On August 8, 1831, in Vienna, Austria, Alois married Countess Franziska Kinsky of Wchinitz and Tettau, the daughter of Count Franz de Paula Kinsky von Wchinitz und Tettau and Countess Therese of Wrbna and Freudenthal.

Alois and Franziska had eleven children:

Alois II, Prince of Liechtenstein in the ceremonial robes of the Order of the Golden Fleece; Credit – Wikipedia

Upon the death of his father Johann I Josef, Prince of Liechtenstein on April 20, 1836, Alois became the reigning Prince of Liechtenstein. In 1837, Alois went to the United Kingdom on a diplomatic mission and attended the coronation of Queen Victoria. Like his father and grandfather, Alois continued to modernize his estates and reorganize their administration. Prince Alois II was the first reigning prince to visit the Principality of Liechtenstein, as we know it today, but he did not live there. Previously and at that time, the Princes of Liechtenstein lived in their palaces in Vienna, Austria and on their estates in Moravia, then in the Kingdom of Bohemia, part of the Austrian Empire, now in the Czech Republic. Alois’ son Franz I (reigned 1929 – 1938) was the first Prince of Liechtenstein to spend a substantial amount of time in the actual Principality of Liechtenstein.

Alois was politically conservative. In the aftermath of the Revolutions of 1848, and at the insistence of the citizens of the Principality of Liechtenstein, Alois gave the principality a more liberal constitution but suspended it in 1852 and returned to a more absolutist government. Alois was active in the Imperial Agricultural Society in Vienna and served as its president from 1849 – 1858. He belonged to a total of 74 humanitarian, scientific, and industrial associations and was extremely generous in his charitable donations.

The New Crypt at Chuch of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary in Vranov, Moravia, now in the Czech Republic; Credit – Wikipedia

Alois II, Prince of Liechtenstein, aged 62, died on November 12, 1858, at Lednice Castle in Eisgrub, Moravia, Kingdom of Bohemia, part of the Austrian Empire, now Lednice, Czech Republic. He was buried in the New Crypt at Chuch of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary in Vranov, Moravia, now in the Czech Republic.

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Works Cited

  • Cs.wikipedia.org. 2021. Alois II. z Lichtenštejna – Wikipedie. [online] Available at: <https://cs.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alois_II._z_Lichten%C5%A1tejna> [Accessed 16 December 2021].
  • De.wikipedia.org. 2021. Alois II. (Liechtenstein) – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alois_II._(Liechtenstein)> [Accessed 16 December 2021].
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2021. Aloys II, Prince of Liechtenstein – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aloys_II,_Prince_of_Liechtenstein> [Accessed 16 December 2021].
  • Flantzer, Susan, 2022. Johann I Josef, Prince of Liechtenstein. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/johann-i-josef-prince-of-liechtenstein/> [Accessed 14 December 2021].
  • Fuerstenhaus.li. 2021. Century: 19th century. [online] Available at: <https://fuerstenhaus.li/en/die-biographien-aller-fuersten/19-century/> [Accessed 16 December 2021].

St. Stephen’s Cathedral in Vienna, Austria

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2022

St. Stephen’s Cathedral; Credit – By Bwag – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=34672766

St. Stephen’s Cathedral, which this writer has visisted, is dedicated to St. Stephen, the first Christian martyr. It is the main church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Vienna, Austria, and the seat of the Archbishop of Vienna. In 1137, construction began on the first St. Stephen’s Church. The church in the Romanesque style, which was probably not completely finished at the time, was consecrated in 1147. A second Romanesque church was constructed from 1200 – 1225. Rudolf IV, Duke of Austria (1339 – 1365) commissioned a major extension of the previous church and also founded the University of Vienna before his early death at age 25.

St. Stephen’s Cathedral survived the bombing raids during World War II. However, on April 12, 1945, during the final days of the war, civilian looters lit fires in nearby shops as the Soviet Army troops entered Vienna. Winds carried the fire to the cathedral, severely damaging the roof and causing it to collapse. Fortunately, protective brick shells built around the pulpit, Holy Roman Emperor Friedrich III’s tomb, and other treasures prevented major damage to the interior except for the 1487 choir stalls which could not be saved. Reconstruction began immediately after the war and St. Stephen’s Cathedral was reopened in 1952.

Double-headed Habsburg eagle on the roof; Credit – Von kodiak – Eigenes Werk, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1820946

The original wooden roof was replaced by a roof of 230,000 colored glazed tiles in a zig-zag pattern. On the south side of the cathedral, the tiles form the double-headed eagle, a symbol of the Habsburg dynasty, and on the north side, the tiles form the coats of arms of the City of Vienna and the Republic of Austria.

The coats of arms of the Republic of Austria and the City of Vienna; Credit – Von Bwag – Eigenes Werk, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=63314921

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Altars

St. Stephen’s Cathedral has eighteen altars and additional altars in the various chapels. The High Altar and the Wiener Neustadt Altar are the most famous.

The High Altar; Credit – Von Bwag – Eigenes Werk, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=63298940

The High Altar was built from 1641 – 1647 by Johann Jacob Pock (link in German), a stonemason, sculptor, and architect, and by his brother painter Tobias Pock who painted the altarpiece. The High Altar shows the stoning of the cathedral’s patron saint St. Stephen in front of the walls of Jerusalem.

Wiener Neustädter Altar, Sunday panels; Credit – Von Bwag – Eigenes Werk, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=56638264

The Wiener Neustädter Altar made in 1447 is considered the most important altar in the cathedral. It is a pentaptych, a convertible altar with a main shrine, two movable outer and two movable inner wings. On weekdays, the panels are closed and display a painted scene involving 72 saints. On Sundays, the panels are opened showing gilded wooden figures depicting events in the life of the Virgin Mary. Originally, the altar was given as a gift by Holy Roman Emperor Friedrich III to the Cistercian Viktring Abbey. In 1786, the altar was sent to the Cistercian monastery of St. Bernard of Clairvaux, founded by Holy Roman Emperor Friedrich III, in the city of Wiener Neustadt. When the Wiener Neustadt monastery was closed after merging with Heiligenkreuz Abbey in 1885, the altar was sold to St. Stephen’s Cathedral.

Wiener Neustädter Altar weekday panels; Credit – Von Uoaei1 – Eigenes Werk, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=25932276

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Pulpit

Pulpit at St. Stephen’s Cathedral; Credit – Von Bwag – Eigenes Werk, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=66368821

The carved stone pulpit has long been attributed to Austrian sculptor and architect Anton Pilgram but today it is thought that Dutch sculptor Nikolaus Gerhaert van Leyden is more likely to be the carver. The pulpit stands against a pillar in the nave, instead of in the chancel at the front of the church. This placement of the pillar would allow the congregation to better hear the sermon before the advent of microphones and loudspeakers. Beneath the stairs is a stone self-portrait of the sculptor looking out a window. The chisel in the subject’s hand and the stonemason’s signature mark on the shield above the window led to the speculation that it could be a self-portrait of the sculptor.

Stone self-portrait of the sculptor looking out a window; Credit – Von Markus Leupold-Löwenthal – Eigenes Werk, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3868897

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Tomb of Friedrich III, Holy Roman Emperor

Tomb of Friedrich III, Holy Roman Emperor; Credit – Von Bwag – Eigenes Werk, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=56696439

Friedrich III (1415 – 1493) was Holy Roman Emperor from 1452 until his death. In 1469, he succeeded in obtaining the necessary permissions from Pope Paul II to establish the Diocese of Vienna. Upon his death, Friedrich was interred in the Ducal Crypt at St. Stephen’s Cathedral. In 1463, thirty years before his death, Friedrich commissioned Dutch sculptor Nikolaus Gerhaert van Leyden to build a monumental tomb in St. Stephen’s Cathedral. Van Leyden died in 1473 and the work was completed by Austrian stonemason and sculptor Michael Tichter (link in German). On November 12, 1513, the remains of Friedrich III, Holy Roman Emperor were transferred in a grand ceremony from the Ducal Crypt to the tomb. The tomb lid shows Emperor Friedrich in his coronation regalia surrounded by the coats of arms of all his dominions. The sides of the tomb are decorated with 240 small statues. The tomb is considered a masterpiece of medieval sculptural art.

Depiction of the tomb lid; Credit – Von Georges Jansoone – Selbst fotografiert, CC BY 2.5, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1061466

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Royal Events at St. Stephen’s Cathedral

1989 Funeral of Zita of Bourbon-Parma, wife of Karl I, the last Emperor of Austria

This may not be a complete list.

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What is Separate Burial?

A separate burial is a form of partial burial in which internal organs are buried separately from the rest of the body. Separate burials of the heart, viscera (the intestines), and the body were common in the House of Habsburg starting with the death of Ferdinand IV, King of the Romans in 1654 until the death of Archduke Franz Karl in 1878. Ferdinand IV of the Romans (1633 – 1654), son of Holy Emperor Ferdinand III, had a strong devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary and requested that his heart be interred in the Loreto Chapel at the Augustinekirche in Vienna. This established the tradition of interring the hearts of members of the Habsburg family in a crypt alongside the heart of Ferdinand IV. Until then, the hearts of Habsburgs had mostly been buried with the body in the coffin at the Imperial Crypt in the nearby Capuchin Church in Vienna or in St. Stephen’s Cathedral in Vienna where the entrails of the Habsburgs were traditionally interred. With the death of Ferdinand IV, King of the Romans, it became traditional for the body to be interred in the Imperial Crypt in the Capuchin Church in Vienna, the heart to be placed in an urn in the Herzgruft, the Heart Crypt in the Loreto Chapel of the Augustinerkirche in Vienna, and the entrails to be placed in an urn in the Ducal Crypt of St. Stephen’s Cathedral in Vienna.

After the end of the monarchy in 1918, some members of the Habsburg family resumed the tradition of heart burial but not viscera burial. When Karl I, the last Emperor of Austria, died in 1922, he was not allowed to be buried in the Imperial Crypt in Vienna and instead was buried at the Church of Our Lady of Monte on the island of Madeira in Portugal. His heart remained with his widow Empress Zita until it was interred in the Loreto Chapel of the Muri Monastery in Switzerland in 1971. When Empress Zita died in 1989, her body was buried in the Imperial Crypt at the Capuchin Church in Vienna and her heart was interred with her husband’s heart in the Loreto Chapel of the Muri Monastery in Switzerland. Karl and Zita’s son Otto von Habsburg, the last Crown Prince of Austria, requested that his heart be buried in the crypt of the Benedictine Abbey of Pannonhalma in Hungary. His body was interred in the Imperial Crypt at the Capuchin Church. The body of Otto’s wife Regina of Saxe-Meiningen was also interred in the Imperial Crypt but she requested that her heart be interred in her family’s crypt at Veste Heldburg (link in German) in Heldburg, Germany.

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Royal Burials in the Ducal Crypt

Coffins in the Ducal Crypt; Credit – Von Burkhard Mücke – Eigenes Werk, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=54225621

In the Ducal Crypt (German: Herzogsgruft), located beneath the chancel of St. Stephen’s Cathedral, sixteen bodies of members of the House of Habsburg are buried along with copper urns containing the viscera (intestines) of members of the Habsburg dynasty. When Rudolf IV, Duke of Austria (1339 – 1365) commissioned an extension of the previous church, he also ordered a crypt to be built for his remains. After Rudolf IV, the family of the ruling line of Habsburg Dukes of Austria was buried here. However, after the House of Habsburg became Holy Roman Emperors beginning in 1440, they were buried in various cities as Vienna was not yet the settled seat of the Holy Roman Emperor. After the Imperial Crypt at the Capuchin Church in Vienna opened in 1633, it became the new burial site of the House of Habsburg.

In 1956, the Ducal Crypt was renovated and redesigned, with the coffins moved into the oval crypt space and niches built into the rectangular crypt space, in which the urns with entrails were placed behind gates.

The bodies of the following members of the House of Habsburg are interred in the Ducal Crypt:

  • King Friedrich III of the Romans, Duke of Austria (1289 – 1330), originally buried at Mauerbach Monastery, which he had founded. He was reburied at St. Stephen’s Cathedral after the monastery was dissolved in 1782.
  • Friedrich III, Duke of Austria (1347 – 1362) – son of Albrecht II, Duke of Austria
  • Rudolf IV, Duke of Austria (1339 – 1365) – son of Albrecht II, Duke of Austria
  • Catherine of Bohemia, Duchess of Austria (1342 – 1395) – wife of Rudolf IV, Duke of Austria
  • Albrecht III, Duke of Austria (1348 – 1395) – son of Albrecht II, Duke of Austria
  • Albrecht IV, Duke of Austria (1377 – 1404) – son of Albrecht III, Duke of Austria
  • Wilhelm, Duke of Austria (1370 – 1406) – son of Leopold III, Duke of Austria
  • Leopold IV, Duke of Austria (1371 – 1411) – son of Leopold III, Duke of Austria
  • Duke Georg (born and died 1435) – infant son of Albrecht II, King of the Romans, Duke of Austria
  • Albrecht VI, Archduke of Austria (1418 – 1463) – son of Ernst I, Duke of Austria
  • Archduke Ferdinand of Austria (1551 – 1552) – son of Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian II
  • Eleonora Gonzaga, Holy Roman Empress (1598 – 1655) – second wife of Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand II, originally buried in the Discalced Carmelites convent she founded in Vienna. In 1782, she was reburied at St. Stephen’s Cathedral after the convent was dissolved.
  • Archduchess Maria of Austria (born and died 1564) – daughter of Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian II
  • Archduke Karl of Austria (1565 – 1566) – son of Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian II
  • Elisabeth of Austria, Queen of France (1554 – 1592) – daughter of Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian II, wife of King Charles IX of France, originally buried at the Convent of Poor Clares Mary, Queen of Angels, also known as the Queen’s Monastery, which she founded in Vienna. In 1782, she was reburied at St. Stephen’s Cathedral after the convent was dissolved.

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A Note About Two Habsburg Rulers

Empress Maria Theresa; Credit – Wikipedia

Empress Maria Theresa: Born Archduchess Maria Theresa of Austria, she was the second and eldest surviving child of Holy Roman Emperor Karl VI. Her only brother died several weeks before she was born and her two younger siblings were sisters. The fact that Maria Theresa’s father did not have a male heir caused many problems. Maria Theresa’s right to succeed to her father’s Habsburg territories in her own right was the cause of the eight-year-long War of the Austrian Succession. Upon her father’s death in 1740, Maria Theresa became the sovereign in her own right of all the Habsburg territories which included Austria, Hungary, Croatia, Bohemia, Transylvania, Mantua, Milan, Lodomeria and Galicia, the Austrian Netherlands, and Parma. However, she was unable to become the sovereign of the Holy Roman Empire because she was female. The Habsburgs had been elected Holy Roman Emperors since 1438, but in 1742 Karl Albrecht, Duke of Bavaria and Prince-Elector of Bavaria from the Bavarian House of Wittelsbach was elected Holy Roman Emperor Karl VII. He died in 1745 and via a treaty Maria Theresa arranged for her husband Francis Stephen, Duke of Lorraine to be elected Holy Roman Emperor. Despite the snub, the formidable Maria Theresa wielded the real power and in reality, ruled the Holy Roman Empire. She is generally referred to by historians simply as Empress Maria Theresa and that is how she is referred to in this article.

Emperor Franz I of Austria, formerly Holy Roman Emperor Franz II; Credit – Wikipedia

Holy Roman Emperor Franz II = Emperor Franz I of Austria: Upon the death of his father Holy Roman Emperor Leopold II in 1792, Franz was elected the last Holy Roman Emperor and reigned as Holy Roman Emperor Franz I. Franz feared that Napoleon Bonaparte could take over his personal Habsburg territories within the Holy Roman Empire, so in 1804 he proclaimed himself Emperor Franz I of Austria and reigned until he died in 1835. Franz’s decision proved to be a wise one. Two years later, after Napoleon’s victory at the Battle of Austerlitz, the Holy Roman Empire was dissolved and lands that had been held by the Holy Roman Emperor were given to Napoleon’s allies creating the Kingdom of Bavaria, the Kingdom of Württemberg, and the Grand Duchy of Baden. Franz is referred to as Emperor Franz I of Austria in this article.

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Royal Viscera Burials

In the foreground are the gated niches with urns containing the viscera of members of the House of  Habsburgs; Credit – By Bwag – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=66345452

Gated niches in the original burial vault outside the entrance to the current burial vault contain the copper urns with the viscera (intestines) of the following members of the House of Habsburg.

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Works Cited

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Landgravine Josefa of Fürstenberg-Weitra, Princess of Liechtenstein

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2022

Josefa of Fürstenberg-Weitra, Princess of Liechtenstein; Credit – Wikipedia

Landgravine Josefa of Fürstenberg-Weitra was the wife of Johann I Josef, Prince of Liechtenstein who reigned in Liechtenstein from 1805 – 1836. Born on June 21, 1776, in Vienna, Austria, Maria Josefa Sophie was the eldest of the five daughters and the fourth of the eight children of Joachim Egon, Landgrave of Fürstenberg-Weitra (1749 – 1828) and Countess Sophia Maria of Oettingen-Wallerstein (1751 – 1835). The House of Fürstenberg-Weitra was a cadet branch of the Princely House of Fürstenberg, originally from Donaueschingen in Swabia, now in the German state of Baden-Württemberg. After 1744, the Landgraves of Fürstenberg-Weitra resided at Weitra Castle (link in German) in Weitra, Austria, a Renaissance castle close to the border with the Kingdom of Bohemia, now part of the Czech Republic. Josefa’s father Joachim Egon, Landgrave of Fürstenberg-Weitra held several positions at the imperial court in Vienna, eventually serving as the Hofmarschall, the chief administrative official in charge of the imperial court, supervising all its activities. Because of her father’s positions at the imperial court, Josefa’s family spent much of their time in Vienna.

Josefa had seven siblings:

  • Friedrich Karl, Landgrave of Fürstenberg-Weitra (1774 – 1856), married Princess Maria Theresa of Walburg von Schwarzenberg, had ten children
  • Philip Carl of Fürstenberg-Weitra (1775 – 1807), a canon at St. Gereon’s Basilica in the Free Imperial City of Cologne
  • Franz Ludwig of Fürstenberg-Weitra (1783 – 1800), died in his teens
  • Carolina Sophia of Fürstenberg-Weitra (1777 – 1846), married Prince Karl Joachim of Fürstenberg, no childrem
  • Eleanor Sophia of Fürstenberg-Weitra (1779 – 1849), became a nun
  • Maria Sophia of Fürstenberg-Weitra (1781 – 1800), became a nun
  • Elizabeth Maria of Fürstenberg-Weitra (1784 – 1865, Vienna), married Prince Johann Josef Norbert of Trautmansdorf-Weinsberg, had four children

Johann I Josef, Prince of Liechtenstein; Credit – Wikipedia

On April 12, 1792, in Vienna, Austria, Josefa married the future Johann I Josef, Prince of Liechtenstein, son of Franz Josef I, Prince of Liechtenstein and Countess Marie Leopoldine von Sternberg. Josefa and Johann Josef had fourteen children who were all born in Vienna, Austria including Alois II, Prince of Liechtenstein who succeeded his father. Since the Principality of Liechtenstein was a constituent member of the Holy Roman Empire headed by the Habsburgs and Johann Josef was a high-ranking officer of the Imperial Army, the family spent much time in Vienna, Austria. Upon the death of his childless brother Alois I, Prince of Liechtenstein on March 24, 1805, Johan Josef became the reigning Prince of Liechtenstein and Josefa became the Princess Consort of Liechtenstein.

Josefa and Johann Josef’s children:

Josefa was a supporter of composer Ludwig van Beethoven, who dedicated his 1801 Piano Sonata No. 13 in E-flat major, Op. 27 No. 1 “Quasi una fantasia” to her. Josefa received the honors Dame of the Imperial Court and Dame of the Order of the Starry Cross, an imperial Austrian dynastic order for Catholic noble ladies, founded in 1668. The order still exists under the House of Habsburg even though the Austrian Empire no longer exists.

The New Crypt, which Johann Josef had built, at Chuch of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary in Vranov, Moravia, now in the Czech Republic; Credit – Wikipedia

On April 20, 1836, Johann I Josef, Prince of Liechtenstein, aged 75, died at Liechtenstein Palace in Vienna, Austria. He was buried in the New Crypt, which he had built, at Chuch of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary in Vranov, Moravia, now in the Czech Republic. Josefa survived her husband by twelve years dying at the age of 72 on February 23, 1848. She was buried with her husband.

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Works Cited

  • Bg.wikipedia.org. 2021. Йоахим Егон фон Фюрстенберг-Вайтра – Уикипедия. [online] Available at: <https://bg.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%99%D0%BE%D0%B0%D1%85%D0%B8%D0%BC_%D0%95%D0%B3%D0%BE%D0%BD_%D1%84%D0%BE%D0%BD_%D0%A4%D1%8E%D1%80%D1%81%D1%82%D0%B5%D0%BD%D0%B1%D0%B5%D1%80%D0%B3-%D0%92%D0%B0%D0%B9%D1%82%D1%80%D0%B0> [Accessed 14 December 2021].
  • De.wikipedia.org. 2021. Josefa zu Fürstenberg-Weitra – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josefa_zu_F%C3%BCrstenberg-Weitra> [Accessed 14 December 2021].
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2021. Landgravine Josepha of Fürstenberg-Weitra – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landgravine_Josepha_of_F%C3%BCrstenberg-Weitra> [Accessed 14 December 2021].
  • Flantzer, Susan, 2022. Johann I Josef, Prince of Liechtenstein. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/johann-i-josef-prince-of-liechtenstein/> [Accessed 14 December 2021].
  • geni_family_tree. 2021. Landgraf Joachim Egon von Fürstenberg-Weitra. [online] Available at: <https://www.geni.com/people/Landgraf-Joachim-von-F%C3%BCrstenberg-Weitra/6000000007416697920> [Accessed 14 December 2021].