View of the Kostanjevica Monastery from the Castle of Gorizia. In the foreground, the suburb of Pristava, Nova Gorica.

The monastery with the Church of the Annunciation of Our Lady stands on a 143-metre hill dividing the town of Nova Gorica and the suburb of Pristava. It is located just some 200 meters from the border with Italy. It is famous as the burial place of Charles X of France and his family.

History

In 1623 a small Carmelite sanctuary was erected just outside the limits of the town of Gorizia. In the next hundred years, a monastery was built next to the church, while the monastic chapel became an important site for pilgrims from Friuli and Goriška regions. In 1781, the monastery was disbanded by the Habsburg Emperor Joseph II. In 1811, the Franciscan friars acquired the abandoned complex, re-establishing the monastery. Among other, they brought a notable library containing some 10,000 books, which they transferred from the nearby Sveta Gora monastery. Today, the library is named after Father Stanislav Škrabec, a renowned Slovene linguist from the 19th century who lived and worked in the monastery for more than 40 years.

The Kostanjevica monastery was severely damaged in the Battles of the Isonzo during World War I. It was restored between 1924 and 1929. Until the end of World War II, the monastery was part of the town of Gorizia. In 1947, the border between Italy and Yugoslavia was set just a few hundred meters westward from the monastery, and Kostanjevica became part of the newly established town of Nova Gorica.

The crypt with the tombs of Charles X of France and other members of the House of Bourbon.

The crypt

In the 19th century, the crypt of the Franciscan monastery was used for the burial of members of the French House of Bourbon who went into exile after the July Revolution.[1] Most of them had settled in Gorizia, then part of the Austrian Empire, in the 1830s. Those buried in the crypt are:

Scheme of the crypt
Louise Marie Thérèse of Artois
Granddaughter of Charles X,
sister of Henri
 † Louis Antoine, Duke of Angoulême
Eldest son of Charles X,
pretender to the throne
(Louis XIX)
Henri, Count of Chambord
Grandson of Charles X,
pretender to the throne
(Henry V)
 Charles X of France
King of France (1824–1830),
younger brother of the Kings
Louis XVI and Louis XVIII
Maria Theresa of Austria-Este
Wife of Henri
 Marie Thérèse Charlotte of France
Daughter of Louis XVI,
Wife and cousin of Louis-Antoine
↑
↑
↑		 Pierre Louis
Jean Casimir
de Blacas
d'Aulps
Minister and
diplomat

References

  1. ↑ Sakalis, Alex (5 May 2023). "Skinny Smugglers, a French King's Body, and the Odd European City Home to the Other Cold War Wall". The Daily Beast. Retrieved 6 May 2023.
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