Artstetten Castle (, ) is a historic ''

Schloss ''Schloss'' (; pl. ''Schlösser''), formerly written ''Schloß'', is the German term for a building similar to a château, palace, or manor house. Related terms appear in several Germanic languages. In the Scandinavian languages, the cogn ...

'' near the

Wachau The Wachau () is an Austrian valley formed by the Danube River. It is one of the most prominent tourism in Austria, tourist destinations of Lower Austria, located between the towns of Melk and Krems an der Donau, Krems that attracts epicureans ...

valley in

Lower Austria Lower Austria ( , , abbreviated LA or NÖ) is one of the nine states of Austria, located in the northeastern corner of the country. Major cities are Amstetten, Lower Austria, Amstetten, Krems an der Donau, Wiener Neustadt and Sankt Pölten, which ...

, in the municipality of

Artstetten-Pöbring Artstetten-Pöbring is a town in the district of Melk in the Austrian state of Lower Austria Lower Austria ( , , abbreviated LA or NÖ) is one of the nine states of Austria, located in the northeastern corner of the country. Major cities are Am ...

. It is the final resting place of

Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria Archduke Franz Ferdinand Carl Ludwig Joseph Maria of Austria (18 December 1863 – 28 June 1914) was the heir presumptive to the throne of Austria-Hungary. His Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, assassination in Sarajevo was the ...

and his wife

Sophie, Duchess of Hohenberg Sophie, Duchess of Hohenberg (; ; 1 March 1868 – 28 June 1914) was the wife of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne. Their assassination in Sarajevo sparked a series of events that led, four weeks later ...

History

Artstetten Castle was owned by a number of families over the centuries until it was purchased in 1823 by Emperor

Francis I of Austria Francis II and I (; 12 February 1768 – 2 March 1835) was the last Holy Roman Emperor as Francis II from 1792 to 1806, and the first Emperor of Austria as Francis I from 1804 to 1835. He was also King of Hungary, Croatia and Bohemia, and served ...

. In 1852,

Archduke Franz Karl of Austria Archduke Franz Karl Joseph of Austria (17 December 1802 – 8 March 1878) was a member of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine. He was the father of two emperors: Franz Joseph I of Austria and Maximilian I of Mexico. Through his third son Karl Lud ...

became the owner, then he gave it in 1861 to his third son,

Archduke Karl Ludwig of Austria Archduke Karl Ludwig Josef Maria of Austria (30 July 1833 – 19 May 1896) was the younger brother of both Franz Joseph I of Austria and Maximilian I of Mexico, and the father of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria (1863–1914), whose assassinat ...

. In 1889, the property was given to

, who made extensive renovations to the castle. Formerly used as a summer residence by members of the

Habsburg dynasty The House of Habsburg (; ), also known as the House of Austria, was one of the most powerful dynasties in the history of Europe and Western civilization. They were best known for their inbreeding and for ruling vast realms throughout Europe d ...

, the castle is now the final resting place of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his

morganatic Morganatic marriage, sometimes called a left-handed marriage, is a marriage between people of unequal social rank, which in the context of royalty or other inherited title prevents the principal's position or privileges being passed to the spous ...

wife

, who were assassinated in 1914. Emperor

Franz Joseph I Franz Joseph I or Francis Joseph I ( ; ; 18 August 1830 – 21 November 1916) was Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary, and the ruler of the Grand title of the emperor of Austria, other states of the Habsburg monarchy from 1848 until his death ...

refused to allow them to be interred in the traditional

Imperial Crypt 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 ...

at the

Capuchin Church, Vienna The Capuchin Church () in Vienna, Austria, is a Roman Catholic church and monastery run by the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin. Located on the Neuer Markt square in the Innere Stadt near the Hofburg Palace, the Capuchin Church is most famous for ...

, because of their

morganatic marriage Morganatic marriage, sometimes called a left-handed marriage, is a marriage between people of unequal social rank, which in the context of royalty or other inherited title prevents the principal's position or privileges being passed to the spou ...

. It also houses the Archduke Franz Ferdinand Museum. After Konopiště Castle was confiscated by

Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...

in 1921 as part of the confiscation of Habsburg properties under the Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Arstetten became the

Hohenberg family The House of Hohenberg is an Austrian nobility, Austrian and Czech nobility, Czech noble family that descends from Sophie, Duchess of Hohenberg, Countess Sophie Chotek (1868–1914), who in 1900 married Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, A ...

's primary residence. The castle remains their private property, and parts of the castle are open to the public for visits. After the ''

Anschluss The (, or , ), also known as the (, ), was the annexation of the Federal State of Austria into Nazi Germany on 12 March 1938. The idea of an (a united Austria and Germany that would form a "German Question, Greater Germany") arose after t ...

'' in 1938,

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

deported the Hohenbergs to

Dachau concentration camp Dachau (, ; , ; ) was one of the first concentration camps built by Nazi Germany and the longest-running one, opening on 22 March 1933. The camp was initially intended to intern Hitler's political opponents, which consisted of communists, s ...

for their

anti-Nazi Anti-fascism is a political movement in opposition to fascist ideologies, groups and individuals. Beginning in European countries in the 1920s, it was at its most significant shortly before and during World War II, where the Axis powers were op ...

views and confiscated the castle. After the

Vienna offensive The Vienna offensive was an offensive launched by the Soviet 2nd and 3rd Ukrainian Fronts in order to capture Vienna, Austria, during World War II. The offensive lasted from 16 March to 15 April 1945. After several days of street-to-street figh ...

, the Soviet occupation authorities allowed the residents of Arstetten to elect Duke Maximilian as their mayor, and the

Republic of Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

formally returned the castle to the family in 1949, being unable to retain ownership as the Hohenbergs were not covered by the

Habsburg Law The Habsburg Law (''Habsburgergesetz'' (in full, the Law concerning the Expulsion and the Takeover of the Assets of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine) ''Gesetz vom 3. April 1919 betreffend die Landesverweisung und die Übernahme des Vermögens des ...

. After the death of

Franz, Duke of Hohenberg Franz Ferdinand, Duke of Hohenberg (13 September 1927 – 16 August 1977), was the eldest son of Maximilian, Duke of Hohenberg, and Countess Elisabeth von Waldburg zu Wolfegg und Waldsee. He was also a grandson of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of ...

in 1977, the property was deeded to his eldest child, Princess Anita of Hohenberg. The Anita Hohenberg Trust was set up in 2003, and she and her family manage the property.

Coin

The castle was selected as a main motif for a high-value euro collectors' coin, the Austrian 10 euro Castle of Artstetten commemorative coin, minted on 13 October 2004. The coin's

obverse The obverse and reverse are the two flat faces of coins and some other two-sided objects, including paper money, flags, seals, medals, drawings, old master prints and other works of art, and printed fabrics. In this usage, ''obverse'' ...

shows the castle of Artstetten standing above the

Danube River The Danube ( ; see also other names) is the second-longest river in Europe, after the Volga in Russia. It flows through Central and Southeastern Europe, from the Black Forest south into the Black Sea. A large and historically important riv ...

on the threshold to the region of

. The reverse shows the entrance to the

crypt A crypt (from Greek κρύπτη (kryptē) ''wikt:crypta#Latin, crypta'' "Burial vault (tomb), vault") is a stone chamber beneath the floor of a church or other building. It typically contains coffins, Sarcophagus, sarcophagi, or Relic, religiou ...

of the Hohenberg family. There are two portraits on the left, showing Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife, Sophie.

Burials

Notable burials in the castle's crypt include:Family crypt info
*

(1863 – 1914), heir presumptive to the Austro-Hungarian throne, and his wife

(1868 – 1914), both assassinated by

Gavrilo Princip Gavrilo Princip ( sr-Cyrl, Гаврило Принцип, ; 25 July 189428 April 1918) was a Bosnian Serb student who assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir presumptive to the throne of Austria-Hungary, and his wife Sophie, Duchess von ...

Sarajevo Sarajevo ( ), ; ''see Names of European cities in different languages (Q–T)#S, names in other languages'' is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 2 ...

on 28 June 1914 * Stillborn third son of Franz Ferdinand and Sophie (1908) * Prince Ernst of Hohenberg (1904 – 1954), second son of Franz Ferdinand and Sophie ** Marie-Thérèse Wood (1910 – 1985), wife of Ernst * Maximilian, 1st Duke of Hohenberg (1902 – 1962), eldest son of Franz Ferdinand and Sophie ** Countess Maria von Waldburg zu Wolfegg und Waldsee, wife of Maximilian * Franz, 2nd Duke of Hohenberg (1927 – 1977), eldest son of Maximilian **

Princess Elisabeth, Duchess of Hohenberg Princess is a title used by a female member of a regnant monarch's family or by a female Monarch, ruler of a principality. The male equivalent is a prince (from Latin ''princeps'', meaning principal citizen). Most often, the term has been u ...

(1922 – 2011), wife of Franz and a member of the

Grand Ducal Family of Luxembourg The grand ducal family of Luxembourg constitutes the House of Luxembourg-Nassau, headed by the sovereign grand duke, and in which the throne of the grand duchy is hereditary. It consists of heirs and descendants of the House of Nassau-Weilburg, wh ...

* Georg, 3rd Duke of Hohenberg (1929 – 2018), second son of Maximilian

Literature

* Stefan Haderer: ''Artstetten Castle: Residence and final resting place of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Este (1863-1914), Heir-Presumptive to the Austro-Hungarian Throne'', Royalty Digest Quarterly, Vol. 1/2014, Rosvall Royal Books, Falköping 2014

References

External links

Artstetten Castle website
{{coord, 48, 14, 33, N, 15, 12, 09, E, region:AT-3_type:landmark, display=title Castles in Lower Austria Hohenberg family Museums in Lower Austria History museums in Austria Imperial residences in Austria Burial sites of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine