ÖSTERREICH | AUSTRIA |
Bundesland: Niederösterreich | Lower Austria |
Bezirk: Melk |
The castle of Artstetten was first documented in 1268. The original building was enlarged and remodelled in 1560–92. Emperor Franz II/I bought the castle in 1823 for the Habsburg family. From 1889 it was in posession of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Este, nephew of Emperor Franz Joseph I. Franz Ferdinand became successor to the throne after the suicide in 1889 of Franz Joseph's only son, Rudolf, and the death of his father, Archduke Karl Ludwig, the 2nd brother of Franz Joseph in 1896. His marriage with Countess Sophie Chotek (later Duchess of Hohenberg) was deemed morganatic according to the rules of the House of Habsburg, which also precluded that she, after her death, could have been buried in the traditional burial place of the Habsburgs, the Kapuzinergruft in Vienna. Therefore, Franz Ferdinand decided to have a funeral chapel built beneath the castle church; the chapel was finished in 1909. Only 5 years later, following their assassination at Sarajevo, Franz Ferdinand and Sophie were buried here. The castle is still owned by the descendants of Franz Ferdinand. The castle also houses the Franz-Ferdinand-Museum.
The inscription on the glass reads: "Ruhestätte des Thronfolgers Erzh. Franz Ferdinand d'Este
und dessen Gemahlin v. Hohenberg + 28. Juni 1914"
('Place of rest of Heir to the Throne (Heir Presumptive) Archduke Franz Ferdinand d'Este and his consort Of Hohenberg + 28. Juni 1914')