Archduchess Maria Anna Eleonore Wilhelmine Josepha of Austria (18 September 1718 in
Vienna
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code =
, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
– 16 December 1744 in
Brussels
Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
) was a member of the
House of Habsburg
The House of Habsburg (), alternatively spelled Hapsburg in Englishgerman: Haus Habsburg, ; es, Casa de Habsburgo; hu, Habsburg család, it, Casa di Asburgo, nl, Huis van Habsburg, pl, dom Habsburgów, pt, Casa de Habsburgo, la, Domus Hab ...
who governed the
Austrian Netherlands
The Austrian Netherlands nl, Oostenrijkse Nederlanden; french: Pays-Bas Autrichiens; german: Österreichische Niederlande; la, Belgium Austriacum. was the territory of the Burgundian Circle of the Holy Roman Empire between 1714 and 1797. The pe ...
in the name of her elder sister, Empress
Maria Theresa.
Life
Maria Anna was born at the
Hofburg Imperial Palace in
Vienna
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code =
, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
. Her birth was not well received by her father. She and her sister
Maria Theresa were the only children of
Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor, and
Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick
Elizabeth or Elisabeth may refer to:
People
* Elizabeth (given name), a female given name (including people with that name)
* Elizabeth (biblical figure), mother of John the Baptist
Ships
* HMS ''Elizabeth'', several ships
* ''Elisabeth'' (sch ...
to survive into adulthood. The two sisters were raised in the Imperial Court (''Kaiserhof'') in
Vienna
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code =
, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
. During her youth she met her future brother in law,
Francis Stephen of Lorraine
Francis I (Francis Stephen; french: François Étienne; german: Franz Stefan; 8 December 1708 – 18 August 1765) was Holy Roman Emperor, Archduke of Austria, Duke of Lorraine and Bar, and Grand Duke of Tuscany. He became the ruler of the Hol ...
and his younger brother
Charles Alexander of Lorraine. The two princes were staying in Austria having a good education; their mother
Élisabeth Charlotte d'Orléans
Élisabeth Charlotte d'Orléans (13 September 1676 – 23 December 1744) was a ''petite-fille de France'', and Duchess of Lorraine and Bar by marriage to Leopold, Duke of Lorraine. She was regent of Lorraine and Bar during the minority (1729– ...
was in France.
In 1725, negotiations with the Queen of Spain,
Elisabeth Farnese
Elisabeth Farnese ( Italian: ''Elisabetta Farnese'', Spanish: ''Isabel Farnesio''; 25 October 169211 July 1766) was Queen of Spain by marriage to King Philip V. She exerted great influence over Spain's foreign policy and was the ''de facto'' r ...
had Maria Anna as a possible wife of
Philip, Duke of Parma, who was just five. This match was supposed to smooth over relations with Spain. An alliance of Spain and Austria was signed on 30 April 1725 and thus guaranteed the Pragmatic Sanction of the Habsburgs
llowing Maria Theresa right of her father's lands being his eldest daughter which was first declared in 1713. Based on the terms of the treaty, the Austrian Empire relinquished all claims to the Spanish throne. It also agreed that Spain would invade Gibraltar with the help of the Austrians. Despite this, the
Anglo-Spanish War stopped the ambitions of Elisabeth of Parma and with the signing of the Treaty of Seville (9 November 1729) saw the abandonment of the Austro-Spanish marriage plans.
She fell in love with
Charles Alexander of Lorraine, the younger brother of Maria Theresa's husband,
Francis Stephen. There was considerable resistance to their marriage, not least the wish of her father for a politically more important son-in-law.
Maria Anna's husband-to-be was a
half-second-cousin-once-removed, being a third generation descendant of
Ferdinand III, Holy Roman Emperor
Ferdinand III (Ferdinand Ernest; 13 July 1608, in Graz – 2 April 1657, in Vienna) was from 1621 Archduke of Austria, King of Hungary from 1625, King of Croatia and Bohemia from 1627 and Holy Roman Emperor from 1637 until his death in 1657.
...
, through two of Ferdinand III's children,
Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor and his half-sister
Eleonora Maria of Austria.
Governor of the Austrian Netherlands
It was only after their father's death that Empress Elisabeth Christine gave the approval for the marriage, which was concluded in St Augustine's Church (''Augustinerkirche'') in Vienna on 7 January 1744. The marriage was recognised by
Letters Patent signed on 8 January.
Weeks after the marriage, the couple was appointed governors of the
Austrian Netherlands
The Austrian Netherlands nl, Oostenrijkse Nederlanden; french: Pays-Bas Autrichiens; german: Österreichische Niederlande; la, Belgium Austriacum. was the territory of the Burgundian Circle of the Holy Roman Empire between 1714 and 1797. The pe ...
in succession of their aunt
Archduchess Maria Elisabeth of Austria, who had died in 1741. The couple left Vienna on 3 February and arrived in
Wuustwezel, a town in the Austrian Netherlands, on 24 March where they were met by
Count Karl Ferdinand von Königsegg-Erps. Karl Ferdinand was a member of the Supreme council of the Netherlands and had to receive Prince Charles and Maria Anna due to etiquette. Their arrival was greeted with much celebration. A ceremony had been organised for their arrival; this included a
Te Deum
The "Te Deum" (, ; from its incipit, , ) is a Latin Christian hymn traditionally ascribed to AD 387 authorship, but with antecedents that place it much earlier. It is central to the Ambrosian hymnal, which spread throughout the Latin Ch ...
and a collection of balls and banquets.
The couple only had two months of time together in the Netherlands, as Charles had to leave to participate in the
war against Prussia, while Maria Anna, pregnant with their first child, remained in Brussels. Charles left officially on 4 May.
While alone in Brussels, Maria Anna was assisted in governing by the Austrian statesman
Count Wenzel Anton von Kaunitz-Rietberg.
Death
On 16 December 1744 Maria Anna went into labour and gave birth to a stillborn son; she never recovered and died later that same day due to the difficult childbirth. She and her son were buried in the
Imperial Crypt in
Vienna
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code =
, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
. Charles Alexander never remarried, and would remain the governor until his death in 1780. He was a very popular governor and died in
Brussels
Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
like his wife.
Ancestry
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Maria Anna of Austria, Archduchess
1718 births
1744 deaths
Deaths in childbirth
Nobility from Vienna
18th-century House of Habsburg
Governors of the Habsburg Netherlands
Austrian princesses
House of Lorraine
Burials at the Imperial Crypt
Burials at St. Stephen's Cathedral, Vienna
18th-century women rulers
Austrian people of the War of the Austrian Succession
Daughters of emperors
Daughters of kings