Murder of the king and the foundation of the convent The murder of the German king, Albrecht I of Habsburg near Windisch in the spring of 1308, prompted the foundation of the church and convent in Königsfelden. Albert fell victim to a conflict within the Habsburg family. His nephew, John of Swabia, felt the King had unjustly withheld his inheritance. Construction work on the new convent had already commenced in 1310. The official founding ceremony took place in 1311 and the church and convent buildings were built during the following years.
Burial of the Habsburgs Albrecht’s widow and founder, Elisabeth, died in Vienna in 1313 and designated Königsfelden as her final resting-place. Königsfelden, thereafter, gained an air of significance as a Habsburg burial site. Apart from Elisabeth, ten members of the family were buried too in the family crypt below the nave in the centre of the church. The crypt was opened in the 18th century and the remains were first taken to the monastery St. Blasien in the Black Forest and then in 1807 to the monastery St. Paul’s in Carinthia.
The knights of Sempach in Königsfelden 70 years after Elisabeth, the founder of the convent was buried, Königsfelden became the burial place for the Habsburg knights who were killed during the battle of Sempach in 1386. The disaster at Sempach was a terrible setback for the Habsburg rulers in Aargau, especially for the nobility.
Adress / Contact
Kloster Königsfelden 5210 Windisch Phone +41 (0)56 441 88 33
Grosser Rat
