by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2025
Liechtenstein is a micro-state in Alpine Central Europe, bordered by Switzerland and Austria. The House of Liechtenstein, which takes its name from Liechtenstein Castle in Lower Austria, near Vienna, built circa 1140, has ruled in the area since the 12th century. Over the centuries, the family gained land in Moravia, Lower Austria, Silesia, and Styria. Vranov, where the Church of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary was located, was part of Moravia, which the House of Liechtenstein once owned.
The Roman Catholic Church of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary is a pilgrimage site. According to legend, in 1240, the Virgin Mary appeared here to a Moravian nobleman named Wilhelm, who had an eye disorder. Wilhelm became lost in a forest and prayed to the Virgin Mary for help. The Blessed Virgin appeared between two oak trees, showed Wilhelm the way out of the forest, and healed his eyes. A statue of the Virgin Mary, as she appeared to Wilhelm, was placed among the oaks after the miracle. Wilhelm had a wooden church built on the site, and the statue of the Virgin Mary placed in the church.
However, over the years, the wooden church became too small for the number of pilgrims who visited. Prince Maximilian of Liechtenstein, younger brother of Karl I, (the first sovereign) Prince of Liechtenstein (reigned 1608 – 1627), and his wife, Katharina of Boskowitz and Černahora, founded a Pauline monastery and had a new Church of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary built on the wooden church’s original site, in Vranov, then in Moravia, now in the Czech Republic.
From 1617 to 1633, the new church, in the Baroque style with a single nave, was built according to the plans of the Italian-Swiss architect Giovanni Maria Filippi. Ondřej Erna, a local master builder, mason, and stonemason in the service of Prince Maximilian of Liechtenstein, supervised the construction. The church still serves as a Roman Catholic parish church in Vranov, Liechtenstein.
Entrance to the burial crypts – the location can be seen in the photo above; Credit – Wikipedia
From the very beginning, the crypt of the church served as a burial site for the House of Liechtenstein. When more room was needed for burials, another crypt was built, and the burial site then had the Old Crypt and the New Crypt. Franz I, Prince of Liechtenstein, who died in 1938, was the last Sovereign Prince of Liechtenstein to be buried in the crypts at the Church of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary.
The interior of the crypt in 1819; Credit – Wikipedia
The burial property was seized after World War II by the Communist government of Czechoslovakia. Since then, both Czechoslovakia and the current Czech Republic have refused to return the property to the Princely Family of Liechtenstein. Because of the inaccessibility of the tombs, a new burial site was needed. Franz Joseph II, Prince of Liechtenstein, had a new crypt built on the grounds of Vaduz Cathedral, also known as the Cathedral of St. Florin, in the capital city of Liechtenstein. Franz Josef II, Prince of Liechtenstein, who died in 1989, was the first Sovereign Prince of Liechtenstein to be buried there.
Despite the difficulty accessing the Church of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary, Hans-Adam II, Prince of Liechtenstein, had the crypts extensively renovated from 2012 to 2015, and in 1992, Princess Maria Benedikta of Liechtenstein (1913 – 1992), daughter of Prince Alfred Roman of Liechtenstein, was buried there at her request.
Burials at the Church of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary
Inside the Princely Crypt; Credit – Wikipedia
Tomb of Karl I, the first sovereign Prince of Liechtenstein; Credit – Wikipedia
- Anna Maria of Boskowitz and Černahora, Princess of Liechtenstein (1575 – 1625), wife of Karl I, Prince of Liechtenstein
- Karl I, Prince of Liechtenstein (1569 – 1627), the first Prince of Liechtenstein and the founder of the Princely Family of Liechtenstein
- Katharina of Boskowitz and Černahora (1579 – 1637), wife of Maximilian of Liechtenstein, Katharina and Maximilian are the founders of the Church of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary
- Prince Maximilian of Liechtenstein (1578 – 1645), brother of Karl I, who was the first sovereign Prince of Liechtenstein
- Princess Anna Maria of Liechtenstein (born and died 1648), daughter of Karl Eusebius, Prince of Liechtenstein
- Prince Franz Dominik of Liechtenstein (born and died 1652), son of Karl Eusebius, Prince of Liechtenstein
- Prince Karl Joseph of Liechtenstein (born and died 1652), son of Karl Eusebius, Prince of Liechtenstein
- Princess Marie Anna of Liechtenstein (1648 – 1654), daughter of Karl Eusebius, Prince of Liechtenstein
- Princess Cäcilie of Liechtenstein (born and died 1655), daughter of Karl Eusebius, Prince of Liechtenstein
- Princess Franz Eusebius Wenzel of Liechtenstein (born and died 1655), son of Karl Eusebius, Prince of Liechtenstein
- Johanna Beatrix of Dietrichstein, Princess of Liechtenstein (circa 1625 – 1676), wife of Karl Eusebius, Prince of Liechtenstein
- Karl Eusebius, Prince of Liechtenstein (1611 – 1684)
- Franz Anton Dominik, Hereditary Prince of Liechtenstein (1689 – 1711), son of Hans-Adam I, Prince of Liechtenstein
- Hans-Adam I, Prince of Liechtenstein (1662 – 1712)
- Princess Gabriele of Liechtenstein (1692 – 1713), daughter of Hans-Adam I, Prince of Liechtenstein, the first of the four wives of Josef Johann Adam, Prince of Liechtenstein
- Maria Anna of Thun and Hohenstein (1698 – 1716), the second of the four wives of Josef Johann Adam, Prince of Liechtenstein, died twenty days after the wedding
- Anton Florian, Prince of Liechtenstein (1656 – 1721)
- Maria Anna Katharina of Oettingen-Spielberg, Princess of Liechtenstein (1693 – 1729), the third of the four wives of Josef Johann Adam, Prince of Liechtenstein
- Josef Johann Adam, Prince of Liechtenstein (1690 – 1732)
- Erdmuthe Maria Theresia of Dietrichstein, Princess of Liechtenstein (1652 – 1737), wife of Hans-Adam I, Prince of Liechtenstein
- Johann Nepomuk Karl, Prince of Liechtenstein (1724- 1748)
- Prince Emanuel of Liechtenstein (1700 – 1771), son of Philipp Erasmus of Liechtenstein
- Josef Wenzel I, Prince of Liechtenstein (1696 – 1772)
- Franz Josef I, Prince of Liechtenstein (1716 – 1781)
- Prince Philip Josef of Liechtenstein (1762 – 1802), son of Franz Josef I, Prince of Liechtenstein
- Alois I, Prince of Liechtenstein (1759 – 1805)
- Princess Maria Klothilda of Liechtenstein (1804 – 1807), daughter of Johann I Josef, Prince of Liechtenstein
- Princess Marie Leopoldine of Liechtenstein (1793 – 1808), daughter of Johann I Josef, Prince of Liechtenstein
- Johann I Joseph, Prince of Liechtenstein (1760 – 1836)
- Josepha of Fürstenberg-Weitra, Princess of Liechtenstein (1776 – 1848), wife of Johann I Josef, Prince of Liechtenstein
- Prince Rudolf of Liechtenstein (1816 – 1848), son of Johann I Joseph, Prince of Liechtenstein
- Princess Josefine of Liechtenstein (1844 – 1854), daughter of Prince Franz de Paula and granddaughter of Johann I Joseph, Prince of Liechtenstein,
- Princess Franziska of Liechtenstein (1841 – 1858), daughter of Alois II, Prince of Liechtenstein
- Princess Melanie Sophie of Liechtenstein (1844 – 1858), daughter of Eduard Franz Ludwig of Liechtenstein and granddaughter of Johann I Josef, Prince of Liechtenstein
- Alois II, Prince of Liechtenstein (1796 – 1858)
- Prince Eduard Franz Ludwig of Liechtenstein (1809 – 1864), son of Johann I Josef, Prince of Liechtenstein
- Princess Marie Sophie of Liechtenstein, Countess Esterházy von Galántha (1798 – 1869), daughter of Johann I Joseph, Prince of Liechtenstein, wife of Count Vincenz Esterházy von Galántha
- Honorata von Choloniewski (1813 – 1869), wife of Prince Eduard Franz Ludwig of Liechtenstein, a son of Johann I Josef, Prince of Liechtenstein
- Franziska Kinsky of Wchinitz and Tettau, Princess of Liechtenstein (1813 – 1881), wife of Alois II, Prince of Liechtenstein
- Prince August Ludwig of Liechtenstein (1810 – 1884), son of Johann I Joseph, Prince of Liechtenstein
- Princess Maria Johann Alois of Liechtenstein (1840 – 1885), daughter of Eduard Franz of Liechtenstein and granddaughter of Johann I Joseph, Prince of Liechtenstein
- Prince Alois of Liechtenstein (1840 – 1885), son of Eduard Franz Ludwig of Liechtenstein
- Prince Bedrich of Liechtenstein (1807 – 1885), son of Johann I Joseph, Prince of Liechtenstein
- Prince Franz de Paula of Liechtenstein (1802 – 1887), son of Johann I Josef, Prince of Liechtenstein
- Countess Julia Potocka (1818 – 1895), wife of Franz de Paula of Liechtenstein
- Prince Alfred Aloys Eduard of Liechtenstein (1842 – 1907), son of Franz de Paula of Liechtenstein and grandson of Johann I Josef, Prince of Liechtenstein
- Countess Klara von Sermage (1836 – 1909), wife of Rudolf of Liechtenstein, grandson of Johann I Josef, Prince of Liechtenstein
- Prince Heinrich of Liechtenstein (1853 – 1914), son of Franz de Paula of Liechtenstein and grandson of Johann I Josef, Prince of Liechtenstein
- Prince Heinrich of Liechtenstein (1877 – 1915), son of Alfred Aloys of Liechtenstein and a grandson of Johann I Josef, Prince of Liechtenstein; Heinrich was killed in combat during World War I
- Princess Henriette of Liechtenstein (1843 – 1931), daughter of Alois II, Prince of Liechtenstein, and wife of Alfred Aloys Eduard of Liechtenstein
- Johann II, Prince of Liechtenstein (1840 – 1929)
- Prince Alfred Roman of Liechtenstein (1875 – 1930), son of Alfred Aloys of Liechtenstein and a grandson of Johann I Josef, Prince of Liechtenstein
- Franz I, Prince of Liechtenstein (1853 – 1938)
- Princess Maria Benedikta of Liechtenstein (1913 – 1992), daughter of Prince Alfred Roman of Liechtenstein
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Works Cited
- Liechtenstein Royal Burial Sites. (2012). Unofficial Royalty. https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/royal-burial-sites/liechtenstein-burial-sites/
- Memorials in the Virgin Mary Church – Find a Grave. (2025). Findagrave.com. https://www.findagrave.com/cemetery/2333898/memorial-search?cemeteryName=Virgin+Mary+Church&page=1#sr-45251744
- Přispěvatelé projektů Wikimedia. (2015). Hrobka v Kostele ve Vranově u Brna. Wikipedia.org; nadace Wikimedia. https://cs.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hrobka_Lichten%C5%A1tejn%C5%AF_(Vranov)
- Přispěvatelé projektů Wikimedia. (2009). Kostel ve Vranově. Wikipedia.org; Nadace Wikimedia. https://cs.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kostel_Narozen%C3%AD_Panny_Marie_(Vranov)
