Maria of Austria was born on 21 June 1528 as the second child and eldest daughter of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor and Isabella of Portugal. She was baptised immediately, probably in the Church of San Miguel de Sagra. Of her seven siblings, only her elder brother Philip (the future King Philip II of Spain) [read more]
The Cistercian Abbey of Zbraslav near Prague was a very significant monastery in the Kingdom of Bohemia. It was founded in 1292 by King Wenceslaus II of Bohemia and several members of the Přemyslid dynasty are buried there. The abbey was abolished in 1789 by Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor. It was briefly used as [read more]
The Convent of St. Agnes of Bohemia is quite the hidden gem in Prague. Hidden away from the public with just a simple glass door as its entrance, it is easy to miss. In fact, I nearly did miss it. The patron of the convent was, of course, Agnes of Bohemia, the ninth and last [read more]
Vyšehrad is a historic fort in Prague, located on the right bank of the Vltava River, across from Prague Castle. Within the fort stands the Basicila of St. Peter and St. Paul, which, according to my guidebook, holds graves belonging to “the old royal family.” So far, I’ve only found that Duke Vratislaus II of [read more]
In 1740, Maria Theresa succeeded her father Emperor Charles VI as the Queen of Bohemia. Maria’s father had spent years of his life making sure that his daughter was able to rule over the hereditary Habsburg lands after his death, by creating the Pragmatic Sanction of 1713. This Imperial decree was necessary because female rule [read more]
Archduchess Elisabeth Marie was born on 2 September 1883 as the only child of Rudolf, Crown Prince of Austria and Princess Stephanie of Belgium. She was nicknamed Erszi after the Hungarian form of her name Erzsebet. She was born at Schloss Laxenburg, where her parents had also had their honeymoon. Tragedy would strike when Elisabeth [read more]
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