Heldenberg Memorial
The Heldenberg Memorial is an open‑air pantheon located in the grounds of the castle at Kleinwetzdorf, Heldenberg, Lower Austria. It holds busts and statues of Austrian rulers and military figures and was established in 1849 by Joseph Gottfried Pargfrieder, a major supplier to the imperial army who claimed to be the illegitimate son of Emperor Joseph II.
The national hero and Austrian Field Marshal Joseph Radetzky von Radetz died on January 5, 1858, after an accident in Milan. Although the Emperor wished him buried in the Capuchin crypt in Vienna, Radetzky had bequeathed his remains and the right to bury him to Pargfrieder, who had earlier settled his debts. On January 19, 1858, Radetzky was buried at the Heldenberg Memorial. He lies in a crypt under a monumental obelisk, together with Field Marshal Maximilian von Wimpffen and Pargfrieder.
The site was meant to include quarters for military invalids—a guard of honour with an officer and twelve soldiers—but these plans were never carried out. In 2005 the site was renovated and expanded with a visitor centre for the Lower Austrian state exhibition.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 05:59 (CET).