Archduchess Maria Anna of Austria (1804–1858)

Marie Anne Franziska Theresia Josepha Medarde of Austria (8 June 1804 – 28 December 1858) was an Archduchess of Austria and the daughter of Franz II, Holy Roman Emperor and his second wife, Maria Theresa of Naples and Sicily.

Maria Anna was born 8 June 1804 at the Hofburg Imperial Palace in Vienna. As a daughter of the Holy Roman Emperor, she was born with the title Archduchess of Austria (Ihre Königliche Hoheit Erzherzogin von Österreich) and the style Imperial and Royal Highness.

She was the tenth child born to her parents: Marie Louise was born in 1791, and later became Empress consort of the French, as wife of Napoleon I Bonaparte; Ferdinand was born in 1793 and later became Emperor of Austria, but was dethroned due to the fact that he was severely (mentally and physically) disabled; Marie Caroline was born in 1794, but died less than a year later in 1795; Caroline Ludovika was born in 1795, but died two years later in 1797; Marie Leopoldina was born in 1797 and became the first Empress consort of Brazil, as the wife of Pedro I of Brazil; Clementina was born in 1798 and became Princess of Salerno, as the wife of Leopold, Prince of Salerno; Marie Caroline was born in 1801 and later became Crown Princess of Saxony, as the wife of Frederick Augustus, Crown Prince of Saxony; Francis Charles was born in 1802 and fathered Franz Joseph I of Austria and Maximilian I of Mexico; Johann Nepomuk was born in 1805, dying aged 4; and Amalie Theresa was born in 1807, but only lived for one day. Her mother, Maria Theresa, died after giving birth to Amalie.

She is said to have been intellectually disabled (like her eldest brother, Emperor Ferdinand I) and to have suffered from a severe facial deformity.

After living in Schönbrunn Palace, she was moved in 1835 to Hetzendorf Palace, where she spent the rest of her life and where she died on 28 December 1858. Maria Anna was buried at the Capuchin Church in Vienna, more specifically in the Imperial Crypt, the burial place of her siblings Marie Louise, Duchess of Parma, Ferdinand I of Austria, Archduchess Marie Caroline, Archduchess Caroline Ludovika of Austria, Archduke Johann Nepomuk of Austria, Archduchess Amalie Theresa of Austria, and Archduke Franz Karl of Austria. Her parents, Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor and Maria Theresa of Naples and Sicily, and her great-grandmother, Maria Theresa of Austria, are also buried there.

Titles and styles

• 8 June 1804—11 August 1804 Her Royal Highness Archduchess Maria Anna of Austria, Princess of Hungary and Bohemia
• 11 August 1804—28 December 1858 Her Imperial and Royal Highness Archduchess Maria Anna of Austria