[MR] History Blog: Tomb of HRE Frederick III

[Garth Groff and Sally Sanford]

Noble Friends,

Today the History Blog offers a feature on the fantastic tomb of Frederick
III, Holy Roman Emperor, the first emperor in the Habsburg dynasty (r.
1452-1493). The elaborately-carved red marble tomb in St. Stephan's
Cathedral in Vienna took over 50 years to complete, and has somehow
survived intact.

Acting on rumors the tomb was empty, in 1969 a small hole was drilled
through the marble. The tomb was indeed occupied. In 2013 the hole was
again used to insert modern tools into the tomb to photograph the contents
and take small samples for analysis. Now the results of the research are
complete and being made public.

You can read the whole story at http://www.thehistoryblog.com/archives/57081
. Don't miss blowing up the thumbnail photos. The detail on the tomb is
simply fantastic.

One interesting fact the History Blog does not mention is that in 1493
Frederick's leg was amputated due to deterioration. The leg was buried with
him in the Vienna tomb.

More about Frederick III, including mention of his missing limb, is found
at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederick_III,_Holy_Roman_Emperor .

Yours Aye,

Mungo Napier, Laird of Mallard Lodge  🦆