Maria Anna Franziska Theresia Josepha Medarde

Maria Anna of Austria and Bourbon-Two Sicilies, whose full name was Maria Anna Franziska Theresia Josepha Medarda, was born on June 8, 1804, at Vienna’s Hofburg Palace and died in Vienna on December 28, 1858. She was an archduchess of Austria and a member of the House of Habsburg, one of Europe’s oldest dynasties, which ruled Austria from 1282 to 1918. Maria Anna was a daughter of Emperor Francis II of the Holy Roman Empire, who declared himself Francis I, Emperor of Austria, in 1804, and his second wife, Maria Theresa of Naples and Sicily. Her mother was a daughter of King Ferdinand I of Naples and Sicily and Maria Carolina of Austria. The marriage of Maria Anna’s parents was also a union between close relatives and was therefore associated with health problems within the family. Five of Maria Anna’s siblings did not survive to adulthood. Her brother Ferdinand, who later became Emperor Ferdinand I of Austria, suffered from hydrocephalus and schizophrenia and depended throughout his life on the care of servants and an adviser. Maria Anna herself was born with severe physical and intellectual disabilities. It was reported that she suffered from a pronounced facial deformity. Several of her siblings also experienced health or psychological problems. Her sister Maria Louise, the future wife of Napoleon, and her brother Francis Charles, the father of Emperor Francis Joseph I, were affected by severe mood swings. Maria Clementina was said to have suffered from very poor health throughout her life. An outstanding exception within the family was their older sister Maria Leopoldina, who later became Empress of Brazil and was known for her intelligence, mental agility, curiosity, and above-average artistic talent. Maria Anna’s life unfolded largely away from public view. She spent almost all of it in an apartment at Schönbrunn Palace. This physical seclusion shaped her existence and was probably also connected with her severe disability and need for care. Nothing is recorded about a marriage or children of her own; her life remained closely tied to the imperial court and the care provided by those around her. On December 6, 1821, Maria Anna was appointed a Dame First Class of the Order of the Starry Cross, an honor of the Austrian Empire. In 1835, she moved from Schönbrunn Palace to Hetzendorf Palace. She spent the final years of her life there and died on December 28, 1858, at the age of 54, in Vienna. Her life was thus closely connected with the history of the Habsburg imperial house, while also being marked by severe illness, family burdens, and years of isolation.