Archduchess Adelheid of Austria
Encyclopedia
Archduchess Adelheid of Austria (3 January 1914 – 3 October 1971) was a member of the Austrian Imperial Family.
Adelheid was born in Schloss Hetzendorf
, the second child but eldest daughter of the then Archduke Charles of Austria and his wife Zita of Bourbon-Parma
. On 7 January 1914 she was baptised by Friedrich Gustav Piffl
, Prince Archbishop of Vienna; her baptismal names were Adelheid Maria Josepha Sixta Antonia Roberta Ottonia Zita Charlotte Luise Immakulata Pia Theresia Beatrix Franziska Isabella Henriette Maximiliana Genoveva Ignatia Marcus d'Aviano. Her godparents were her father's mother Archduchess Maria Josepha
and her mother's brother Prince Sixtus of Bourbon-Parma
.
On 21 November 1916 Adelheid's great-grand uncle the Emperor Franz Joseph
died and her father succeeded him as Emperor of Austria and King of Hungary. During the First World War Adelheid would often accompany her brother Crown Prince Otto
and father on trips to inspect the Austrian troops.
Following the Austro-Hungarian Empire's defeat in the war her father was forced to renounce participation in state affairs and subsequently the empire was dismantled and republics were established in Austria and Hungary. In 1919 Adelheid and her family were sent into exile first in Switzerland
before later being taken to Portuguese island of Madeira
. On 9 March 1922 Adelheid was with her brother Otto and father Emperor Charles when he went into town to buy toys for Carl Ludwig's birthday. On the way back they were enveloped by chill mists and her father caught a cold which later developed in pneumonia from which he died on April 1.
In December 1933 she became the first member of her family to set foot in Vienna
since the establishment of the republic when she arrived by train from Budapest
. Adelheid attended the University of Louvain
and gained a doctorate
in 1938. During the Second World War she emigrated with most of her family to the United States
to escape the Nazis.
Archduchess Adelheid later returned to Europe. She died unmarried in Pöcking
, Bavaria
.
Adelheid was born in Schloss Hetzendorf
Schloss Hetzendorf
Schloss Hetzendorf is a baroque palace in Hetzendorf, Meidling, Vienna that was used by the imperial Habsburg family.- History :The building was originally a hunting lodge. It was refashioned by the architect Johann Lucas von Hildebrandt and again enlarged for Empress Maria Theresa in 1743 by...
, the second child but eldest daughter of the then Archduke Charles of Austria and his wife Zita of Bourbon-Parma
Zita of Bourbon-Parma
Princess Zita of Bourbon-Parma was the wife of Emperor Charles of Austria...
. On 7 January 1914 she was baptised by Friedrich Gustav Piffl
Friedrich Gustav Piffl
Friedrich Gustav Piffl was a Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church and Archbishop of Vienna.Gustav Piffl was born in Lanškroun, Bohemia in what was then Austria-Hungary. He was the son of Rudolf Piffl who was a bookseller and shopkeeper. He volunteered for a year in the Austrian army in his early...
, Prince Archbishop of Vienna; her baptismal names were Adelheid Maria Josepha Sixta Antonia Roberta Ottonia Zita Charlotte Luise Immakulata Pia Theresia Beatrix Franziska Isabella Henriette Maximiliana Genoveva Ignatia Marcus d'Aviano. Her godparents were her father's mother Archduchess Maria Josepha
Princess Maria Josepha of Saxony
Princess Maria Josepha of Saxony was the mother of Emperor Charles I of Austria and the fifth child of George of Saxony and Infanta Maria Anna of Portugal.-Early life:...
and her mother's brother Prince Sixtus of Bourbon-Parma
Prince Sixtus of Bourbon-Parma
Prince Sixtus of Bourbon-Parma was a Prince of the Duchy of Parma, a Belgian officer in the First World War, and the central figure in the Sixtus Affair.- Biography :Sixtus was a son of the last Duke of Parma, Robert I and his...
.
On 21 November 1916 Adelheid's great-grand uncle the Emperor Franz Joseph
Franz Joseph I of Austria
Franz Joseph I or Francis Joseph I was Emperor of Austria, King of Bohemia, King of Croatia, Apostolic King of Hungary, King of Galicia and Lodomeria and Grand Duke of Cracow from 1848 until his death in 1916.In the December of 1848, Emperor Ferdinand I of Austria abdicated the throne as part of...
died and her father succeeded him as Emperor of Austria and King of Hungary. During the First World War Adelheid would often accompany her brother Crown Prince Otto
Otto von Habsburg
Otto von Habsburg , also known by his royal name as Archduke Otto of Austria, was the last Crown Prince of Austria-Hungary from 1916 until the dissolution of the empire in 1918, a realm which comprised modern-day Austria, Hungary, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Slovakia,...
and father on trips to inspect the Austrian troops.
Following the Austro-Hungarian Empire's defeat in the war her father was forced to renounce participation in state affairs and subsequently the empire was dismantled and republics were established in Austria and Hungary. In 1919 Adelheid and her family were sent into exile first in Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
before later being taken to Portuguese island of Madeira
Madeira
Madeira is a Portuguese archipelago that lies between and , just under 400 km north of Tenerife, Canary Islands, in the north Atlantic Ocean and an outermost region of the European Union...
. On 9 March 1922 Adelheid was with her brother Otto and father Emperor Charles when he went into town to buy toys for Carl Ludwig's birthday. On the way back they were enveloped by chill mists and her father caught a cold which later developed in pneumonia from which he died on April 1.
In December 1933 she became the first member of her family to set foot in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
since the establishment of the republic when she arrived by train from Budapest
Budapest
Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
. Adelheid attended the University of Louvain
Catholic University of Leuven
The Catholic University of Leuven, or of Louvain, was the largest, oldest and most prominent university in Belgium. The university was founded in 1425 as the University of Leuven by John IV, Duke of Brabant and approved by a Papal bull by Pope Martin V.During France's occupation of Belgium in the...
and gained a doctorate
Doctorate
A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder to teach in a specific field, A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder...
in 1938. During the Second World War she emigrated with most of her family to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
to escape the Nazis.
Archduchess Adelheid later returned to Europe. She died unmarried in Pöcking
Pöcking
Pöcking is a municipality in the district of Starnberg in Bavaria in Germany. Duchess Elisabeth in Bavaria, consort of Emperor Franz Josef I of Austria-Hungary, grew up here in the Possenhofen Castle as daughter of Duke Max in Bavaria and Princess Ludovika of Bavaria. Otto von Habsburg, Crown...
, Bavaria
Bavaria
Bavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...
.