Elisabeth, Erzherzogin von Österreich |
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BORN 2 Sep 1883, Laxenburg - DIED 16 Mar 1963, Wien BIRTH NAME Elisabeth Maria Henriette Stephanie Gisela CAUSE OF DEATH myocardiopathy and arteriosclerosis GRAVE LOCATION Wien: Hütteldorfer Friedhof, 14., Samptwandnergasse 6 (Gruppe 02, Nummer 72) |
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Daughter of Rudolph of Austria and Stephanie of Belgium. She was named after Rudolf's mother, the empress Elisabeth and as a child she was called Erszi. She was the only child of Rudolf (who killed himself in 1889) and crown princess until Austria became a republic in 1918. In 1902 she married Prince Otto of Windisch-Grätz. From this marriage she had three sons and a daughter. The marriage was unhappy and in 1924 they started living apart. Petznek joined the social democrats in 1925. In 1948 a formal separation followed and she married the social democratic politician Leopold Petznek shortly afterwards. She had been living with him for many years and he had returned alive from nazi imprisonment. Because of her socialist sympathies now she was called the red archduchess. She frequently visited spiritualists and wrote about these seances in her diary. In 1963 she died and according to her own wishes she was buried in a nameless grave at the Hütteldorfer Friedhof in Vienna, close to the house where she spent her last years with her enormous dogs. Family • Father: Rudolf von Habsburg, Crown Prince of Austria and Hungary |
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 The grave of Elisabeth, daughter of crown prince Rudolph of Austria at the Hütteldorfer Friedhof, Vienna. Picture by Androom (30 Aug 2002) |
Sources • Ros, Martin, Bloednacht Mayerling, Hadewijch, Antwerpen, 1989 • Reformer, Republikaner und Rebellen, Das andere Haus Habsburg-Lotharingen, Piper, München, 1995 |
