Archduchess Maria Anna of Austria (Maria Anna Josepha Antonia; 6 October 1738 – 19 November 1789) was the second child of

Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor Francis I (Francis Stephen; ; ; ; 8 December 1708 – 18 August 1765) was Holy Roman Emperor from 1745 to 1765, List of rulers of Austria#Dukes and archdukes of Austria under the House of Habsburg, Archduke of Austria from 1740 to 1765, List of ...

, and

Maria Theresa Maria Theresa (Maria Theresia Walburga Amalia Christina; 13 May 1717 – 29 November 1780) was the ruler of the Habsburg monarchy from 1740 until her death in 1780, and the only woman to hold the position suo jure, in her own right. She was the ...

, Queen of Hungary and Bohemia. As a child, and for a time the eldest surviving child, she was heiress presumptive, but she suffered from ill health and physical disability, and did not marry. In 1766 she became

abbess An abbess (Latin: ''abbatissa'') is the female superior of a community of nuns in an abbey. Description In the Catholic Church (both the Latin Church and Eastern Catholic), Eastern Orthodox, Coptic, Lutheran and Anglican abbeys, the mod ...

of the Theresian Institution of Noble Ladies in Prague. Soon thereafter she moved to Klagenfurt and remained there for the rest of her life. Her palace in Klagenfurt, the ''Mariannengasse'', now houses the Episcopal Palace.

Biography

Early life

Archduchess Maria Anna (known as ''Marianna'') was born on 6 October 1738 at the

Hofburg The Hofburg () is the former principal imperial palace of the Habsburg dynasty in Austria. Located in the Innere Stadt, center of Vienna, it was built in the 13th century by Ottokar II of Bohemia and expanded several times afterwards. It also ser ...

Palace in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

, the center of the

Habsburg monarchy The Habsburg monarchy, also known as Habsburg Empire, or Habsburg Realm (), was the collection of empires, kingdoms, duchies, counties and other polities (composite monarchy) that were ruled by the House of Habsburg. From the 18th century it is ...

. As the second but eldest surviving daughter of

, Queen of Hungary and Bohemia, and

, she was heiress presumptive of the hereditary lands of the Austrian Habsburgs between 1740 and 1741, until her younger brother Joseph (later to be the Holy Roman Emperor Joseph II) was born. Her mother gave her the customary education of the princely courts at that time. Maria Anna's musical talents were highly encouraged, but not her humanities talents. Maria Anna was the child least respected and loved by Maria Theresa—her younger brother Joseph and sisters Maria Elisabeth and Maria Christina always received the attention and care of the Empress: Joseph because he was the male heir, Liesl because she was considered the most beautiful of the daughters, and Mimi because she was the undisputed favorite child of her mother.

Reign of Maria Theresa

Maria Anna was highly intelligent but physically disabled. She suffered from bad health, worsened by the drafty and cold rooms of the Hofburg Palace. In 1757 she contracted pneumonia and almost died, the

last rites The last rites, also known as the Commendation of the Dying, are the last prayers and ministrations given to an individual of Christian faith, when possible, shortly before death. The Commendation of the Dying is practiced in liturgical Chri ...

being called for her. Although she survived, her breathing capacity was permanently damaged, and she also developed a fusion of her spine which caused her to have a lump on her back. After that time, she began to have a close relationship with her father, and reportedly became Francis I's favourite child. She shared his interest in science and conducted experiments in chemistry and physics. Despite being disabled, Maria Anna often played important roles in major events of state, including acting as sponsor at the christening of her youngest sister

Marie Antoinette Marie Antoinette (; ; Maria Antonia Josefa Johanna; 2 November 1755 – 16 October 1793) was the last List of French royal consorts, queen of France before the French Revolution and the establishment of the French First Republic. She was the ...

.A. Fraser, ''Marie Antoinette: The Journey,'' p. 6 In July 1765 the whole Imperial family traveled to

Innsbruck Innsbruck (; ) is the capital of Tyrol (federal state), Tyrol and the List of cities and towns in Austria, fifth-largest city in Austria. On the Inn (river), River Inn, at its junction with the Wipptal, Wipp Valley, which provides access to the ...

for the wedding of the second-oldest son, Leopold. They halted in Klagenfurt, where Maria Anna visited the small monastery that belonged to the Order of Saint Elisabeth, established there in 1710. The encounter with the sisters was to be a turning point in Maria Anna's life. Thea Leitner explains that the Archduchess became enthusiastic for the monastic life because the nuns did not care about appearances and Maria Anna always lived with the fear of being ridiculed because of her hump. The death of Emperor Francis I on 18 August 1765 was a devastating blow for Maria Anna. Because her mother was unable to find a royal husband for her, in 1766 Maria Anna was made Princess-Abbess of the Theresian Imperial and Royal Convent for Noble Ladies (''Frauenstift'') in

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

with the promise of 80,000 florins per year. Despite the opposition of her mother, she decided to give up the Prague position and became an abbess in Klagenfurt with a smaller provision. A palace for her was built by Nicolò Pacassi near the monastery as her residence, the construction of which was completed in 1771. To the abbess of the convent, she wrote: ::''Gott hat mir die Gnade gegeben, die Welt und ihre Eitelkeit zu erkennen, und dadurch mir die Stärke erteilt, mein Leben nicht als Klosterfrau, doch in der Einsamkeit und im Dienste der Nächsten zu schließen. Ich habe dazu Klagenfurt ausgewählt, und zwar Sie und ihre frommen Schwestern, hoffend, dass mein unvollkommener Wert durch Ihre guten Beispiele angeeifert, meine Seligkeit mir gewiss versichert wird.'' ::"God has given me the grace to know the world and its vanity, and thereby given me the strength to close my life not as a nun, but in solitude and in the service of neighbors. I have thus selected Klagenfurt, specifically you and your pious sisters, hoping that—my imperfect value spurred on by your good examples—my salvation is certainly assured to me."

During the time prior to her final move to Klagenfurt, Maria Anna completed her father's coin collection (which later became part of the Vienna Museum of Natural History) with the help of her mentor

Ignaz von Born Ignaz Edler von Born, also known as Ignatius von Born (, , ) (26 December 1742 in Alba Iulia, Grand Principality of Transylvania, Habsburg monarchy – 24 July 1791 in Vienna), was a mineralogist and metallurgist. He was a prominent freemason ...

, and established her own mineral and insect collection. She financed social projects, archaeological exhumations, artists and scientists. Maria Anna also wrote a book about her mother's politics. Her watercolors and drawings were praised in the professional world. Maria Anna was made an honorary member of the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna in 1767 and elected member of the

Accademia di Belle Arti di Firenze The Accademia di Belle Arti di Firenze () is an instructional art academy in Florence, in Tuscany, in central Italy. It was founded by Cosimo I de' Medici in 1563, under the influence of Giorgio Vasari. Michelangelo, Benvenuto Cellini and ...

in 1769. Despite her talents and intelligence, Maria Anna was disliked by high society because her scientific interests were considered unsuitable for her gender, but she was appreciated by the scientific and art world. Gasser Xaveria Abbess Klagenfurt

Reign of Joseph

Empress Maria Theresa died on 29 November 1780, and four months later, Maria Anna moved permanently to Klagenfurt. She quickly developed a deep friendship with Xaveria Gasser, Abbess of the convent. Thanks to the generous financial support of the Archduchess the monastery hospital could soon be extended, and her own personal physician supervised the patients of the hospital. She also provided welfare assistance in the municipality of Klagenfurt. Her friends were nuns, artists, scientists, and nobles, including the Carinthian iron industrialist Maximilian Thaddäus von Egger. Some of them belonged to the

Freemasons Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...

. In 1783, the Klagenfurt Masonic Lodge was founded with a dedication "to charitable Marianna" (''Zur wohltätigen Marianna'') as she was called. Maria Anna devoted herself in Klagenfurt to her scientific interests. She discovered her love for archeology: she donated 30,000 florins for excavations at Zollfeld and also took part in the excavations herself. Close to her younger sister Maria Elisabeth, the two lived together in the same convents until their deaths. While her youngest sister,

, was traveling on her way to

Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; ) is a former royal residence commissioned by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, Yvelines, Versailles, about west of Paris, in the Yvelines, Yvelines Department of Île-de-France, Île-de-France region in Franc ...

in 1770, she stayed at Klagenfurt for one night. From the winter of 1788 Maria Anna's health deteriorated further. Her shortness of breath became worse and she could hardly move without a wheelchair. She died on 19 November 1789 in the presence of her closest friends. Reportedly, her last words were: ::''Es ist wohl ein gutes Land, ich hab es immer lieb gehabt. Es sind gute Menschen, mit denen ich vergnügt lebte und die ich hart verlasse.'' ::"It is indeed a good country, I have always loved it. There are good people with whom I lived happily and I leave them reluctantly." Maria Anna left her entire inheritance (amounting to more than 150,000 guilders) to the monastery of Klagenfurt. Her brother, Emperor Joseph II, deducted the

inheritance tax International tax law distinguishes between an estate tax and an inheritance tax. An inheritance tax is a tax paid by a person who inherits money or property of a person who has died, whereas an estate tax is a levy on the estate (money and pro ...

from the income. Her palace is now home to the Prince Bishop's residence, in the ''Mariannengasse''.

Family

Maria Anna never married and had no children.

Gallery

File:Archduchess Maria Anne of Austria.jpg, Maria Anna Maria Anna of Austria 1762 by Liotard.jpg, Maria Anna in 1762 by Liotard File:Joseph II of Habsburg Lorraine and sisters.jpg,

Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor Joseph II (13 March 1741 – 20 February 1790) was Holy Roman Emperor from 18 August 1765 and sole ruler of the Habsburg monarchy from 29 November 1780 until his death. He was the eldest son of Empress Maria Theresa and her husband, Francis I, ...

with Maria Anna and Archduchess Maria Elisabeth File:Maria Theresia im Kreise ihrer Familie.jpg, Maria Anna's family

Legacy

Maria Anna is the protagonist of the historical novel ‘The Case of Princess Schwarzenberg 1757’ by Martina Grenze.

Ancestry

References

Bibliography

* * Thea Leitner: ''Habsburgs vergessene Kinder''. Piper, München 1996, * Friedrich Weissensteiner: ''Die Töchter Maria Theresias''. Kremayer & Scheriau, Wien 1991, * Constantin von Wurzbach
''Habsburg, Maria Anna (1738–1789)''
in: '' Biographisches Lexikon des Kaiserthums Oesterreich'', vol. 7. Imperial and Royal Court and State Printing House, Vienna 1861, p 26
online

External links

''Habsburg-Lothringen, Maria Anna'' in: austria-forum.org

The Case of Princess Schwarzenberg 1757
{{DEFAULTSORT:Maria Anna Of Austria, Archduchess 1738 births 1789 deaths 18th-century Austrian writers 18th-century Austrian women writers 18th-century Roman Catholic nuns 18th-century Austrian painters 18th-century Austrian women artists 18th-century archaeologists Austrian princesses Knights of the Order of Saint Stephen of Hungary Burials at the Imperial Crypt Natural history collectors Daughters of emperors Children of Maria Theresa House of Habsburg-Lorraine Daughters of kings German Roman Catholic abbesses Austrian royalty and nobility with disabilities Austrian numismatists Women numismatists Women watercolorists Austrian watercolourists People associated with the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna Austrian patrons of the arts Austrian women archaeologists Respiratory disease deaths in Austria Women political writers Austrian political writers Daughters of queens regnant 18th-century women painters Daughters of dukes Daughters of duchesses regnant Daughters of counts