Burial sites of European monarchs and consorts


This list contains all European emperors, kings and regent princes and their as well as well-known crown princes since the Middle Ages, whereas the lists are starting with either the beginning of the monarchy or with a change of the dynasty. In addition, it contains the still-existing principalities of Monaco and Liechtenstein and the Grand-Duchy of Luxembourg.

Albania

Kingdom from 1928 until 1943

Austria

Empire from 1804 until 1918. All emperors, with the exception of Charles I, were buried in the Imperial Crypt, at the Capuchins' Church, in Vienna. Their hearts are buried in the Herzgruft at the St. Augustine Church at the Imperial Palace, in Vienna. Their viscera are buried in the Ducal Crypt at the Stephansdom, in Vienna.

Bavaria

Kingdom from 1806 until 1918. The Bavarian kings of the house of Wittelsbach were buried in four churches in Munich, whereas the hearts used to be buried in Altötting.

Belgium

Kingdom since 1830. All Belgian kings were buried in the royal burial place in Laeken.

Bohemia

Kingdom since 1198, as from 1526 in personal union with Austria.

Bulgaria

Empire from the 7th century to 1018, 1185 to 15th century. Kingdom from 1908 until 1945.

Croatia

Kingdom from 1941 until 1943

Denmark

One of the oldest kingdoms in Europe, established in the 11th century. The lists starts with the dynasty of Folkung in 1376. For the last 500 years, almost all monarchs have been interred in Roskilde Cathedral. Many earlier monarchs were interred in the Church of St. Bendt in Ringsted, and a few in Sorø monastery church.

England

See also Great Britain

Kingdom since the 9th century. The lists starts with the dynasty of the Normans in 1066. For a long period, Westminster Abbey was the most important burial place of the English monarchs, whereas early kings were also interred in other parts of England and in their French territories of Anjou and the Normandy.

Etruria

Kingdom from 1801 until 1807

France

Kingdom since 814. Burial site of the French Royal Family is the Saint-Denis Basilica, where most of the kings were buried. The burial place of the Bonaparte family is the Chapelle Impériale in Ajaccio, but the two emperors were interred elsewhere.

Georgia

Great Britain

The kingdoms of England and Scotland were unified with the accession of James I of England and VI of Scotland in 1603. The Act of Union uniting the parliaments took place in 1707, with the United Kingdom formally coming into existence in 1801. Since the 18th century, sovereigns and their spouses have been buried at St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle, with the exception of Queen Victoria and Edward VIII, who are interred with other members of the Royal family at Frogmore. Victoria and Albert are interred in the Royal Mausoleum there.

Greece

Kingdom from 1832 until 1973. The kings from the house of Glücksburg are all buried at Tatoi nearby Athens, the first king from the house of Wittelsbach is interred in Munich, Bavaria.

Hanover

Kingdom from 1814 until 1866.

Holy Roman Empire

Federation under the Roman-German emperor resp. the German king from 800 until 1806. Under the Habsburg reign, the Kapuzinergruft in Vienna became the family burial site of the Roman-German emperors; in earlier times the emperors used to be buried in different cities of the Empire.

Hungary

Kingdom from 1000 until 1540, afterwards in personal union with Austria. Most of the kings were buried in Székesfehérvár basilica or in Oradea Cathedral in today's Romania. Both burial sites were destroyed by the Turks.

Italy

Kingdom from 1713 until 1946. Family burial sites are the Basilica di Superga in Turin and since the unification of Italy the Pantheon in Rome.

Liechtenstein

Principality since 1608. Until the dissolution of the Austrian-Hungarian monarchy, the princes were buried in Vranov nearby Brno close to their residences in Lednice and Valtice. Afterwards, a new burial site was erected in the territory of the principality.

Lithuania

Kingdom from 1251, later Grand Princehood. The Lithuanian dynasty from the family of Gediminas ruled the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and later the Kingdom of Poland.

Luxembourg

Independent grand-duchy since 1890. All grand-dukes have been interred in Luxembourg Cathedral.

Monaco

Principality since 1633. All princes were buried in Monaco cathedral. Some graves no longer exist, as the former cathedral had been destroyed.

Montenegro

Kingdom from 1910 until 1918.

Naples

In the Middle Ages two separate kingdoms, then under foreign rule. From 1735 until 1860 independent kingdom under the Bourbon dynasty. Most of the kings are buried at Santa Chiara in Naples.

Netherlands

Kingdom since 1815. All kings from the Nassau dynasty are buried in the New Church in Delft.

Norway

Established as a unified kingdom c. 872. In the Middle Ages the king would be buried in the city of his residence which varied between Bergen, Trondheim and Oslo. From 1380 until 1905 the kingdom was in personal union with Denmark or Sweden with the king mostly residing and being buried outside Norway. The Norwegian kings of the modern era and their spouses are as an established custom buried at Akershus Fortress in Oslo.

Poland

Permanent kingdom from 1320 until 1795. The kings were elected, so many dynasties from Lithuania, Sweden, France, Saxony and Poland were taking turns. Nevertheless, most of them were buried in Kraków.

Portugal

from 1139 until 1910. The list includes all Portuguese monarchs.

Prussia

Kingdom from 1701-1918. The Prussian kings/German emperors were buried in Berlin and Potsdam, the last emperor in his Dutch exile.

Romania

Kingdom from 1866 until 1947.

Russia

Tsardom from 1328 until 1721, empire from 1721 until 1917. The lists starts with the Romanov dynasty in 1613. The tsars were first buried in Moscow, later in St Peter and Paul's Cathedral in St Petersburg.

Saxony

Kingdom from 1806 until 1918.

Scotland

See also Great Britain

Kingdom since 843, since 1606 unified with England. The lists starts with the Alpin dynasty in 843. Most of the Scottish kings were buried in the island of Iona, the Dunfermline Abbey and in Holyrood Abbey.

Serbia

The historical Serbian monarchy existed as a grand principality, a kingdom, an empire, and several principalities until the Ottoman conquest finalized in 1540. The modern Kingdom of Serbia existed 1882 until 1918, when it was transformed into the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, which existed until 1943.

Sicily

A County from 1072 until 1130 and a Kingdom from 1130 until 1816. After the extinction in 1409 of the cadet Sicilian branch of the House of Barcelona, the kingship was vested in another monarch such as the King of Aragon, the King of Spain, the Austrian Emperor and then the kings of the House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies. In 1816 the island Kingdom of Sicily merged with the Kingdom of Naples to form the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies.

Spain

The list starts with the unification of the kingdoms of Castile and Aragon under the monarchs Ferdinand and Isabella. After CharlesI, almost every Spanish monarch was buried at El Escorial.

Sweden

The list starts with the Vasa dynasty in 1521. Since the 15th century, almost every monarch was buried in the Riddarholm Church in Stockholm. In the 20th century, the royal Haga cemetery was founded. Queen Christina is the only female monarch who was buried at St Peter's in Rome

Westphalia

Kingdom from 1807 until 1813.

Württemberg

Kingdom from 1806 until 1918. The kings were buried in Ludwigsburg and Stuttgart.

Yugoslavia

Kingdom from 1882 until 1945.. All kings from the Karadordevic dynasty are buried in the St George's chapel in Topola, Serbia.