Black hearse

The neo-baroque black hearse was built in 1876/77 for the funerals of ruling members of the imperial family. It was first used at the funeral of the widowed Empress Maria Anna (1884) and subsequently at the funerals of Crown Prince Rudolf (1889), Empress Elisabeth (1898), Emperor Franz Joseph (1916) and finally on 1.4.1989 for the funeral of the last Austrian empress, Zita. © Monica Kurzel-Runtscheiner, Crane Neck and Gold Crepine. Courtly Splendour and Contemporary art – a confrontation, Exhibition Catalogue, Kunsthistorisches Museum Vienna 2004