Archduchess Maria Carolina of Austria (1748)

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Archduchess Maria Carolina

MariaKarolinadeHasburgo-Lorena.jpg

Extract from a portrait by Martin van Meytens, who represented the three daughters of Maria Theresa who died in infancy.
Born(1748-09-17)17 September 1748
Schönbrunn Palace, Austria
Died 17 September 1748(1748-09-17) (aged 0)
Schönbrunn Palace, Austria
Burial Imperial Crypt, Vienna
Full name
Maria Carolina
House Habsburg-Lorraine
Father Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor
Mother Maria Theresa of Austria

Archduchess Maria Carolina of Austria (17 September 1748 – 17 September 1748), [1] was the tenth child of Maria Theresa, Queen of Hungary, Croatia and Bohemia and Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor.

Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor Holy Roman Emperor and Grand Duke of Tuscany

Francis I was Holy Roman Emperor and Grand Duke of Tuscany, though his wife effectively executed the real powers of those positions. With his wife, Maria Theresa, he was the founder of the Habsburg-Lorraine dynasty. From 1728 until 1737 he was Duke of Lorraine. Francis traded the duchy to the ex-Polish king Stanisław Leszczyński in exchange for the Grand Duchy of Tuscany as one of the terms ending the War of the Polish Succession in November 1738. The duchy and the ducal title to Lorraine and Bar passed to King Louis XV of France upon Leszczynski's death in 1766, though Francis and his successors retained the right to style themselves as dukes of Lorraine and Bar.

Contents

Life

As in the case of her other nine pregnancies, Maria Theresa didn't leave her imperial duties. But this time, she admitted that she found increasingly difficult to fulfill her obligations: [2]

"(...) if the dear God would like to gave me the children I have, I would be quite content with one more; because I feel that it weakens me and makes me grow older and does not make it easy for me to do all my work."[ clarification needed ]

On 16 September 1748 (one day before giving birth) the Empress went from Schönbrunn Palace to the Hofburg to publicly received the Turkish embassy. She then returned to Schönbrunn with her husband and brother-in-law Prince Charles Alexander of Lorraine, visited her mother the Dowager Empress in her residence Schloss Hetzendorf and went in the early evening of 17 September to the theater to watch an Italian opera. After this, the Empress continue the rest of the day as usually: first a mass in the chapel of Schönbrunn and then conferences with her ministers. [2]

Schönbrunn Palace building in Vienna, Austria

Schönbrunn Palace was the main summer residence of the Habsburg rulers, located in Hietzing, Vienna. The 1,441-room Baroque palace is one of the most important architectural, cultural, and historical monuments in the country. Since the mid-1950s it has been a major tourist attraction. The history of the palace and its vast gardens spans over 300 years, reflecting the changing tastes, interests, and aspirations of successive Habsburg monarchs.

Prince Charles Alexander of Lorraine Austrian general

Prince Charles Alexander of Lorraine was a Lorraine-born Austrian general and soldier, field marshal of the Imperial Army, and governor of the Austrian Netherlands.

Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel Holy Roman Empress consort

Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel was Princess of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, Holy Roman Empress, German Queen, Queen of Bohemia and Hungary; and Archduchess of Austria by her marriage to Emperor Charles VI. She was renowned for her delicate beauty and also for being the mother of Empress Maria Theresa. She was the longest serving Holy Roman Empress.

At the end of the day, Maria Theresa went into labour. However, there was horror when it was found that the child was born with her feet first, and since the little girl seemed to be particularly weak, the midwife in charge immediately asked an emergency baptism for her, receiving the name of Maria Carolina in honor of her oldest deceased sister. Maria Theresa was tormented by the thought that her child had not been baptized in time before her death. The Emperor tried to calm his wife and convince her that the emergency baptism was done in time.

The dead child was then laid out in the rooms prepared for her at Schönbrunn. On 18 September the small corpse was taken to the Hofburg. In the evening, the burial of Maria Carolina took place in the Maria Theresa Vault at the Imperial Crypt, Vienna. [2]

Imperial Crypt burial place of the House of Habsburg

The Imperial Crypt, also called the Capuchin Crypt (Kapuzinergruft), is a burial chamber beneath the Capuchin Church and monastery in Vienna, Austria. It was founded in 1618 and dedicated in 1632, and located on the Neuer Markt square of the Innere Stadt, near the Hofburg Palace. Since 1633, the Imperial Crypt serves as the principal place of entombment for the members of the House of Habsburg. The bones of 145 Habsburg royalty, plus urns containing the hearts or cremated remains of four others, are here, including 12 emperors and 18 empresses. The visible 107 metal sarcophagi and five heart urns range in style from puritan plain to exuberant rococo. Some of the dozen resident Capuchin friars continue their customary role as the guardians and caretakers of the crypt, along with their other pastoral work in Vienna. The most recent entombment was in 2011.150

Vienna Capital city and state in Austria

Vienna is the federal capital and largest city of Austria, and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primate city, with a population of about 1.9 million, and its cultural, economic, and political centre. It is the 7th-largest city by population within city limits in the European Union. Until the beginning of the 20th century, it was the largest German-speaking city in the world, and before the splitting of the Austro-Hungarian Empire in World War I, the city had 2 million inhabitants. Today, it has the second largest number of German speakers after Berlin. Vienna is host to many major international organizations, including the United Nations and OPEC. The city is located in the eastern part of Austria and is close to the borders of the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Hungary. These regions work together in a European Centrope border region. Along with nearby Bratislava, Vienna forms a metropolitan region with 3 million inhabitants. In 2001, the city centre was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. In July 2017 it was moved to the list of World Heritage in Danger.

References

  1. ↑ Artikel in: Wiener Zeitung , 18 September 1748, p. 7. (online via ANNO)
  2. 1 2 3 La dernière Reine de France in: marieantoinette.npage.de [retrieved 8 January 2016].

Bibliography

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