A Jacobite Gazetteer - Bavaria

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The hamlet of Rieden is located about three kilometres north of Starnberg. The Filialkirche St. Peter und Paul (daughter, i.e. non-parish, church of Saints Peter and Paul) is the burial place of Princess Mathilde (third daughter of Queen Mary IV and III; died 1906). In the cemetery outside the church is the tomb of Mathilde's only son Prince Antonius of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, as well as the tombs of Mathilde's sister Maria, her husband, and three of her children. The church is located just to the west of the Golf- und Landclub Gut Rieden, mostly hidden behind a large hedge.

The church is usually locked, but one can make arrangements with the parish for it to be open. At the back of the church is a metal grille surmounted on the inner side by the arms of Saxony and Bavaria. The tomb of Princess Mathilde (wife of Prince Ludwig of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha) lies in the centre aisle immediately in front of the high altar; it was sculpted by Knut Akerberg in 1906 and 1907. ¹ The tomb is made of red marble and is in the form of a medieval bed-tomb; it has been compared to Jacopo della Quercia's tomb of Ilaria del Carretto in the Cathedral of San Martino in Lucca. ² A marble figure of Mathilde lies asleep on a low bed. The pillow at her head is supported by two putti. On the rear side of the pillow facing the altar is an inscription:

Interior with tomb of Princess Mathilde in foreground

Tomb of Princess Mathilde

Tombs of Princess Maria, her husband and two of her children

In the graveyard at the back of the church is the tomb of Princess Maria (second daughter of Queen Mary IV and III) and of her husband Ferdinand, Duke of Calabria. It is marked with an upright stone tablet with a crown carved in relief at the top, and below it the arms of the Royal House of Sicily and the arms of the Royal House of Wittelsbach. The stone tablet is surmounted with an ornate wrought iron cross at the mdidle of which is a painting of the crucifixion with Our Lady and Saint John. On the tablet is an inscription:

To the right of the tomb of the Duke and Duchess of Calabria is the tomb of their only son Roger, Duke of Noto. It is marked with a wrought iron cross with a bronze corpus. Below the corpus is a bronze oval plaque with the arms of the House of Bourbon and an inscription:

To the right of the tomb of the Duke of Noto is the tomb of his eldest sister Maria Antonietta. It is marked by an upright stone tablet with the arms of the Royal House of Sicily carved in relief at the top. The tablet is surmounted by a wrought iron cross with, at the centre, a metal relief scene of the crucifixion including Our Lady and Saint John. On the tablet is an inscription:

Tomb of Princess Urraca of the Two Sicilies

Tomb of Prince Antonius of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha

To the left of the tomb of the Duke and Duchess of Calabria is the tomb of their youngest daughter Urraca (died 1999). As of May 2005 it was only marked with a simple wooden cross with a small brass plaque engraved with her name.

Immediately behind the tomb of Princess Urraca of the Two Sicilies is the tomb of Princess Mathilde's only son, Prince Antonius of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (died 1970). It is surmounted by a wrought iron cross with, at the centre, a heart-shaped metal plate on which is painted his name and the arms of the House of Saxony.

Telephone: 08151.8891. Parish website: http://www.pfarrei-starnberg.de

This page is maintained by Noel S. McFerran (noel.mcferran@rogers.com) and was last updated Febraury 27, 2007.
© Noel S. McFerran 2000-2007.