Mayerling is a small village (pop. 200) in

Lower Austria Lower Austria (german: Niederösterreich; Austro-Bavarian: ''Niedaöstareich'', ''Niedaestareich'') is one of the nine states of Austria, located in the northeastern corner of the country. Since 1986, the capital of Lower Austria has been Sankt P ...

belonging to the municipality of

Alland Alland is a market town in the district of Baden in the Austrian state of Lower Austria. Geography It is located in the Industrieviertel region of Lower Austria, about southwest of the Austrian capital Vienna. Alland is situated in a valley of th ...

in the district of

Baden Baden (; ) is a historical territory in South Germany, in earlier times on both sides of the Upper Rhine but since the Napoleonic Wars only East of the Rhine. History The margraves of Baden originated from the House of Zähringen. Baden i ...

. It is situated on the

Schwechat Schwechat () is a town southeast of Vienna known for the Vienna International Airport and Schwechater beer. The city is home to the refineries of the Austrian national oil company OMV. Geography Schwechat is named after the river Schwechat, wh ...

river, in the Wienerwald (''Vienna woods''), southwest of

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

. From 1550, it was in the possession of the abbey of

Heiligenkreuz Heiligenkreuz, which means 'Holy Cross' in German, may refer to: In Austria: *Heiligenkreuz, Lower Austria, a municipality in Lower Austria **Heiligenkreuz Abbey in this municipality *Heiligenkreuz im Lafnitztal, a municipality in Burgenland * Hei ...

The Mayerling incident

In 1886,

Crown Prince Rudolf of Austria en, Rudolph Francis Charles Joseph , caption = Rudolf in 1887 , spouse = , issue = Elisabeth Marie, Princess Otto of Windisch-Graetz , house = Habsburg-Lorraine , father = Franz Joseph I of Austria , mother ...

, only son of Emperor

Franz Joseph I of Austria Franz Joseph I or Francis Joseph I (german: Franz Joseph Karl, hu, Ferenc József Károly, 18 August 1830 – 21 November 1916) was Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary, and the other states of the Habsburg monarchy from 2 December 1848 until his ...

and Empress Elisabeth, and heir to the Austro-Hungarian crown, acquired the manor and transformed it into a hunting lodge. It was in this hunting lodge that, on 30 January 1889, he was found dead with his mistress,

Baroness Mary Vetsera Baroness Marie Alexandrine "Mary" von Vetsera (19 March 1871 – 30 January 1889) was an Austrian noblewoman and the mistress of Rudolf, Crown Prince of Austria. Vetsera and the crown prince were found dead at his hunting lodge in Mayerling on 3 ...

, apparently as a result of suicide. Exactly what happened is unknown, but on 31 July 2015, the

Austrian National Library The Austrian National Library (german: Österreichische Nationalbibliothek) is the largest library in Austria, with more than 12 million items in its various collections. The library is located in the Neue Burg Wing of the Hofburg in center of V ...

issued copies of Vetsera's letters of farewell to her mother and other family members. The letters — written in Mayerling shortly before the deaths — state clearly and unambiguously that Mary Vetsera was preparing to commit suicide alongside Rudolf, out of love. Alland - Karmel Mayerling, Gesamtanlage

After the deaths of Rudolf and Vetsera, Emperor Franz Joseph, who wanted to endow a new church building, had the hunting lodge changed into a convent which then was settled by nuns of the

Discalced Carmelite Order The Discalced Carmelites, known officially as the Order of the Discalced Carmelites of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel ( la, Ordo Fratrum Carmelitarum Discalceatorum Beatae Mariae Virginis de Monte Carmelo) or the Order of Discalced Carme ...

. The church was dedicated to Our Lady of Mount Carmel, the convent to Saint Joseph. A statue of the Virgin Mary in the

Lady Chapel A Lady chapel or lady chapel is a traditional British English, British term for a chapel dedicated to "Our Lady", Mary, mother of Jesus, particularly those inside a cathedral or other large church (building), church. The chapels are also known as ...

has the facial features of the Empress Elisabeth and a dagger pierces the

Immaculate Heart of Mary The Immaculate Heart of Mary () is a Roman Catholic devotional name used to refer to the Catholic view of the interior life of Mary, mother of Jesus, her joys and sorrows, her virtues and hidden perfections, and, above all, her virginal love ...

. The position of the main cross in the chapel is supposed to be where the bed of Rudolf of Austria and Mary Vetsera were situated. Prayers are still said daily by the nuns for the repose of the souls of Rudolf and Mary. A visitor center nearby the convent was opened in 2014. This center, the restored tea pavilion and some other rooms with objects from the 19th century now form the exhibition of the "Museum Altes Jagdschloss Mayerling".

References

External links

Travel to Austria

The Mayerling-Information-Center
Populated places in Lower Austria {{Austria-struct-stub