The Tomb of Emperor Charles I of Austria

The tomb of Emperor Charles I of Austria is located in the famous Church of Our Lady of the Monte. Known locally as Igreja de Nossa Senhora do Monte, the church overlooks Funchal.

You may think this a somewhat incongruous final resting place for the last crowned head of the Austria-Hungary empire. But, history has that knack of taking unlikely circumstances and freezing them in a instant, to remain forever untouched by the passage of time.

In another twist of fate, perhaps more appropriately, the heart of Emperor Charles I resides elsewhere.

So what chain of events led to the last Emperor of the once powerful Austro-Hungarian Empire being laid to rest on Madeira?

The Tomb Itself

Emperor Charles I of Austria was the last Habsburg Holy Roman Emperor.

His remains, excluding his heart, are interred in a simple, black, metal coffin that stands in a gated chapel on the right hand side of the nave toward the rear of Monte church.

A portrait of the vibrant Emperor hangs from the wall overlooking the coffin. The statue of the Emperor that stands outside the church bears the same pose as in this painting.

Beneath the portrait, the red, white and green colours of Austria and Hungary are draped alongside candles. Usually, there is also the bright golden yellow colour of the Habsburg monarchy on display.

Why Madeira?

At first, the fact that Emperor Charles I of Austria is interred in Madeira may seem strange.

However, given the tumultuous events that shook Europe only a few years before the Emperor's death, it is not surprising that most families - even regal ones - suffered some upheaval.

Charles von Habsburg-Lothringen succeeded to the Austrian and Hungarian thrones in 1916, when Europe was in the midst of World War I.

The Austro-Hungarian Empire was allied to Germany and ultimately fell to defeat in 1918.

The victorious powers demanded that the many ethnic groups that resided within the Empire should have the right to self-determination. Indeed, some had proclaimed independence from the Austrian-Hungarian union and created their own free governments even before the Great War finally came to an end.

Facing the reality of the situation, on 11th November 1918 Emperor Charles I issued a proclamation that granted self-determination for the people of Austria and relinquished himself of any governmental duties or responsibilities.

In effect, the Empire had disintegrated and, finally, Charles left Austria on 24th March 1919 destined for Switzerland.

However, Charles had carefully worded his originally proclamation, omitting the word "abdication" and renounced its contents on the very same day that he left for exile.

In 1921, Charles made two aborted attempts to regain his Hungarian throne as unrest troubled his former realm.

The victorious Great War nations, disturbed at the continuing unrest in the former Austro-Hungarian Empire, decided that Charles should be removed to Madeira in an effort to avoid further regional conflict.

Madeira was chosen because it would easily provide the security to isolate Charles far from home.

Accordingly, the British Navy escorted Charles and his wife to the mid-Atlantic island, arriving on 19th November 1921.

Initially, Charles and his wife resided at the Villa Vittoria, next to Reid's Hotel.

However, lack of funds meant that the former Emperor and Empress soon had to seek cheaper accommodation.

The couple were joined in Madeira by their children on the 2nd February 1922. Later that month, on the 18th February 1922, a wealthy Madeiran Banker allowed the family to move to the Quinta Gordon (later to become the Quinta do Monte).

The living conditions were damp and far from suitable. However, Charles regularly walked or rode a bicycle and often bought a newspaper in Funchal.

On the 9th March 1922 Charles caught a cold that developed into bronchitis. His demeanour declined and two heart attacks and pneumonia followed.

Charles died of respiratory failure on the 1st April 1922 at 12:23pm.

His body being interred in the nearby church at Monte.

The widow Empress and her children left Madeira for Spain on the 19th May 1922 to reside under the protection of King Alfonso XII.

Where The Heart of Charles I Lies

It had been something of a custom to bury the body and the heart of the Habsburgs separately.

Emperor Charles' heart is held in an urn in the Loretto Chapel of Muri Abbey in Switzerland.

Muri Abbey was chosen because it was founded by Habsburgs in 1027 and has a family crypt in the Loretto Chapel. There have also been long-standing political encumbrances for any of Emperor Charles I's mortal remains returning to Vienna.

The Empress Zita also resided in Switzerland from the 1950s.

The Empress Zita died on the 14th March 1989, aged 96. Her body is interred in the Habsburg Imperial Kapuziner Crypt which is situated beneath the Capuchins' church in Vienna, Austria.

However, in accordance with her wishes, her heart was placed in an urn and taken to lie alongside that of her husband's in the Muri Abbey.

Route to the Throne

Charles was born on 17th August 1887 to Princess Maria Josepha of Saxony, wife of Archduke Otto Franz of Austria. His full name being Karl Franz Joseph Ludwig Hubert Georg Otto Marie von Habsburg-Lothringen.

Although being of noble birth and related to the ruling Austro-Hungarian dynasty, it was not anticipated that Charles would one day succeed as Emperor.

In 1889, Crown Prince Rudolf, son of Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria, committed suicide. This act left the Emperor's younger brother, Karl Ludwig, the next in line to succeed to the Austrian and Hungarian thrones.

However, within days of his nephews death, Karl Ludwig renounced his claim to the succession and his eldest son, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, became heir presumptive. This move still left the young Charles von Habsburg-Lothringen, a nephew of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, unlikely to succeed to the thrones.

On 1st July 1900, Archduke Franz Ferdinand finally married his sweetheart, Countess Sophie Chotek. Being only a lady-in-waiting to Archduchess Isabella, Countess Sophie was considered to be an inappropriate match for the heir to the Austro-Hungarian thrones, and the marriage was only sanctioned after the couple had agreed to renounce their descendants' succession rights.

A little later, in 1911, Charles married Princess Zita of Parma. The union was said to be a happy and loving one and 8 children resulted.

On Sunday, 28th June 1914, at approximately 1:15 in the afternoon at Sarajevo, the event that sparked the onset of World War I occurred. Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife, Duchess Sophie of Hohenberg, were assassinated.

The assassination left Archduke Karl, the grand nephew of Emperor Franz Joseph, as heir presumptive.

Accordingly, when the ageing Franz Joseph died on the 21st November 1916, Archduke Karl succeeded as Emperor Charles I of Austria and King Charles IV of Hungary.

The Proclamation of 11th November 1918

At the cessation of the Great War, Emperor Charles I of Austria was obliged to issue a proclamation recognising the right of self-determination of the former Austro-Hungarian citizens.

Seen by many as an Abdication, the words were chosen carefully to exclude that explicit meaning.

Later, in 1919, as Charles left Austria for exile, he denied the validity of the document and declared that he did not consider himself bound by the contents.

Charles was to make two failed attempts to re-establish himself as King of Hungary before his premature death in 1922.

The English translation

Since my accession I was constantly trying to relieve my people from the horrors of war, the outbreak of which I share no blame.

I have not hesitated to re-establish the constitutional rights and have opened the way for the independent national development of the people.

Preserving my immutable love for all my people, I will not, with my person, oppose their free development.

In advance, I accept the decision of German Austria on its future form of a separate government.

The people have, by their deputies, taken over the government. I relinquish any share of the affairs of state.

At the same time I relieve my Austrian Government of their duties.

May the people of German Austria realise harmony and be reconciled by this adjustment. The happiness of my people was from the beginning my aim.

My warmest wishes are only that inner peace will heal the wounds of the war.

Signed on 11th November 1918, Karl

Madeira Features

Porto da Cruz Lido

Situated on the north east coast of the island, Porto da Cruz has a relatively new lido complex.

Facilities include changing areas, showers and toilets. Refreshments are also handily placed nearby.

The pool area itself is large and has naturally heated seawater.

In the shadow of Eagle Rock, it is the perfect spot on a hot summer day.

Quotes of the Famous

"He was the only man who taught me anything while I was on a holiday in that land." George Bernard Shaw, Irish playwright and Nobel prize recipient - January 1926.

Talking of Michael Rander, who taught George Bernard Shaw to tango whilst the playwright stayed at Reid's Palace Hotel on Madeira in 1924.