by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2023

The Holy Roman Empire was a limited elective monarchy composed of hundreds of kingdoms, principalities, duchies, counties, prince-bishoprics, and Free Imperial Cities in central Europe. The Holy Roman Empire was not really holy since, after Holy Roman Emperor Charles V in 1530, no emperors were crowned by the pope or a bishop. It was not Roman but rather German because it was mainly in the regions of present-day Germany and Austria. It was an empire in name only – the territories it covered were mostly independent each with its own rulers. The Holy Roman Emperor directly ruled over only his family territories, and could not issue decrees and rule autonomously over the Holy Roman Empire. A Holy Roman Emperor was only as strong as his army and alliances, including marriage alliances, made him, and his power was severely restricted by the many sovereigns of the constituent monarchies of the Holy Roman Empire. From the 13th century, prince-electors, or electors for short, elected the Holy Roman Emperor from among the sovereigns of the constituent states.

Frequently but not always, it was common practice to elect the deceased Holy Roman Emperor’s heir. The Holy Roman Empire was an elective monarchy. No person had a legal right to the succession simply because he was related to the current Holy Roman Emperor. However, the Holy Roman Emperor could and often did, while still alive, have a relative (usually a son) elected to succeed him after his death. This elected heir apparent used the title King of the Romans.

• Learn more at Unofficial Royalty: What was the Holy Roman Empire?

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Anna of Tyrol was the wife and first cousin of Matthias, Holy Roman Emperor, King of Bohemia, Archduke of Austria, Archduke of Further Austria, King of Hungary and Croatia. Anna and Matthias are the founders of the Capuchin Church (German: Kapuzinerkirche) in Vienna, Austria, where the Imperial Crypt (German: Kaisergruft), the traditional burial site of the Habsburgs, is located. Born on October 4, 1585, in Innsbruck, County of Tyrol, now in Austria, Anna was the third of the three children, all daughters, of Ferdinand II, Archduke of Further Austria, Count of Tyrol, and his second wife and niece Anna Juliana Gonzaga. Her paternal grandparents were Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor and Anna of Bohemia and Hungary. Anna’s maternal grandparents were Guglielmo Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua and Eleonora of Austria, (daughter of Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor and Anna of Bohemia and Hungary).

Anna had two older sisters but only one survived infancy:

• Archduchess Anna Eleonore of Austria (1583 – 1584)
• Archduchess Maria of Austria (1584 – 1649), a nun

Anna had four half-siblings from her father’s morganatic first marriage to Philippine Welser. Because the marriage was morganatic, the children had no succession or inheritance rights.

• Cardinal Andreas of Austria, Margrave of Burgau, Bishop of Konstanz, Bishop of Brixen (1558 – 1600)
• Karl, Margrave of Burgau (1560 – 1618), married his first cousin Sibylle of Jülich-Cleves-Berg, no children
• Philip of Austria (1562 – 1563), twin of Maria, died in infancy
• Maria of Austria (1562 – 1563), twin of Philip, died in infancy

Anna and her sister were raised in their father’s court in Innsbruck. In 1595, when she was ten years old, Anna’s father died. Her widowed mother ensured that her daughters received a good education. Anna had an exceptional musical talent and became an expert clavichord player. Her love of music remained with her throughout her life.

Anna was raised in a very strict Catholic environment. As a child, her mother Anna Juliana Gonzaga became severely ill and nearly died. Her parents appealed to the Virgin Mary through prayer, to save their daughter, promising to raise Anna Juliana as a child of Mary if she lived, and soon Anna Juliana became healthy again. Her parents told her of the Virgin Mary’s intervention on her behalf and the promise they had made. Throughout the rest of her life, Anna Juliana displayed consistent and deep piety. She was reported to have visions of the Virgin Mary which influenced her long-standing desire to become a nun. Her religious piety influenced both of her daughters. Through her mother’s influence, when Anna believed that she had sinned, she engaged in self-flagellation to torment the flesh. This continued for the rest of her life. In 1606, Anna’s mother founded a convent in Innsbruck for the Servants of Mary, Religious Sisters of the Servite Third Order, of which she was to be a member, founded by St. Juliana Falconieri in the 14th century. After Anna married, her mother Anna Juliana took vows as a nun, as did Anna’s sister Maria.

Upon becoming a marriageable age, Anna began to receive offers of marriage. The first proposal was made in 1603 by Sigismund III Vasa, King of Sweden (deposed), King of Poland, a widower, but her first cousin Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf II would not give his consent. Rudolf, who had never married and was much older, decided to marry Anna but soon retracted the proposal. Meanwhile, there was displeasure in the Habsburg family with Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf II. His brother Archduke Matthias played a significant role in the family’s opposition against Rudolf. Matthias forced Rudolf to cede the crowns of Hungary, Austria, Moravia, and Bohemia to him. Rudolf lost what was left of his power and lived in isolation at Prague Castle in Prague, Kingdom of Bohemia, now in the Czech Republic. Matthias decided to marry his first cousin Anna. On December 4, 1611, at the Augustinian Church in Vienna, Austria, the couple was married. Although Matthias was 54 years old, he hoped to have children with his 26-year-old wife but their marriage was childless.

When Matthias’ unmarried brother Rudolf died on January 20, 1612, nine months after he had been stripped of all effective power, Matthias was elected to succeed him as Holy Roman Emperor and also succeeded to all Rudolf’s hereditary titles. Anna was crowned Holy Roman Empress on June 15, 1612, two days after Matthias’ coronation. Anna was also crowned Queen of Hungary on March 25, 1613, and Queen of Bohemia on January 10, 1616. Anna had a great influence on her husband. Upon her request, Matthias moved the Imperial court from Prague to Vienna, and soon, through their joint efforts, the new court was one of the centers of European culture.

Anna’s fervent Catholic practices continued. As a devout Catholic, she refused to interact with Protestants. Like her mother, Anna collected relics, especially from the holy ascetics. She patronized the Capuchin order and played an important role in the Austrian Counter-Reformation, the period of Catholic resurgence that began in response to the Protestant Reformation. For her devotion to the Roman Catholic Church, Pope Paul V awarded Anna with the Golden Rose, a symbol of papal recognition of outstanding service to the Catholic Church.

Although Anna and her husband Matthias did not leave any children, they left the future Habsburgs a burial site. Anna and Matthias founded the Capuchin Church (German: Kapuzinerkirche) in Vienna, Austria, where the Imperial Crypt (German: Kaisergruft), the traditional burial site of the Habsburgs, is located. Anna had come up with the idea of a Capuchin monastery and burial place for her and her husband and wanted to build it near Hofburg Palace in Vienna. In her will, Anna left funds to provide for the church’s construction. Construction began on November 10, 1618.

• Unofficial Royalty: Capuchin Church in Vienna, Austria
• Unofficial Royalty: A Visit to the Kaisergruft (Imperial Crypt) in Vienna
• Unofficial Royalty: Austrian Imperial Burial Sites: House of Habsburg-Lorraine: Emperors of Austria

Sadly, a month later, on December 15, 1618, Anna died in Vienna at the age of thirty-three. Matthias died three months later, on March 20, 1619, aged 62, in Vienna. Because the Imperial Crypt at the Capuchin Church had not yet been completed, Matthias and Anna were temporarily buried at the Poor Clares Convent of St. Maria, Queen of the Angels in Vienna.

The Capuchin Church was not completed and dedicated until 1632 because of the Thirty Years’ War (1618 – 1648). On Easter 1633, the two sarcophagi containing the remains of Matthias and Anna were transferred to the Capuchin Church and placed in what is now called the Founders Vault. Located under the Imperial Chapel, a side chapel in the main church, the Founders Crypt is the oldest part of the Imperial Crypt, dating from the original construction of the Capuchin Church. Visitors cannot enter the Founders Crypt which is visible through a gate from the Leopold Crypt. Through the years, other vaults have been added and Capuchin friars still look after the tombs.

This writer has visited the Capuchin Church. The burial place of the Habsburgs is so unlike the soaring cathedrals containing the other royal burial sites I have visited and certainly not as grandiose. The Capuchin Church is small and is on a street with traffic, shops, stores, restaurants, and cafes. One cafe is directly across from it. Walking past the church, one would never think the burial place of emperors is there.

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• Anna Juliana Gonzaga (2023) Wikipedia. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anna_Juliana_Gonzaga (Accessed: 12 June 2023).
• Anna of Tyrol (2023) Wikipedia. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anna_of_Tyrol (Accessed: 12 June 2023).
• Ferdinand II, Archduke of Austria (2023) Wikipedia. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferdinand_II,_Archduke_of_Austria (Accessed: 12 June 2023).
• Flantzer, Susan. (2022) Capuchin Church in Vienna, Austria, Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/capuchin-church-in-vienna-austria/ (Accessed: 12 June 2023).
• Flantzer, Susan. (2023) Matthias, Holy Roman Emperor, King of Bohemia, Archduke of Austria, Archduke of Further Austria, King of Hungary and Croatia, Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/matthias-holy-roman-emperor-king-of-bohemia-archduke-of-austria-archduke-of-further-austria-king-of-hungary-and-croatia/ (Accessed: 12 June 2023).
• Flantzer, Susan. (2023) Rudolf II, Holy Roman Emperor. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/rudolf-ii-holy-roman-emperor-king-of-bohemia-king-of-hungary-and-croatia-archduke-of-austria-margrave-of-moravia/ (Accessed: 12 June 2023).
• Wheatcroft, Andrew. (1995) The Habsburgs. London: Viking.
• Wilson, Peter H. (2016) Heart of Europe – A History of the Holy Roman Empire. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.