The tombs of the last members of the French royal family of the Bourbons can be found in the crypt of the church of Kostanjevica. These nobles were exiled from France in the revolution of 1830. At first they found refuge in Edinburgh, Scotland; from there they went to Prague, in the current Czech Republic. Finally they came to Gorica where they were received as the guests of Count Coronini. When they died, they were buried here and for this reason Kostanjevica is known as the “Little St. Denis”.
Charles X (1757–1836) became the king of France in 1824. He was an autocratic ruler whose actions did much to bring about the revolution in July 1830, when the entire family had to leave the country. Hi died of cholera on November 6, 1936, in the Coronini Palace, seventeen days after his arrival in Gorica. On November 11, he was buried in the church of Kostanjevica.
In addition to this last French king, several other members of the Bourbon family found their final resting places in the church crypt:
Louis XIX (1775–1844), Duke of Angoulême, the oldest son of Charles X, died in Gorizia in the palace of the Counts Strassoldo.
Marie Thérèse Charlotte (1778–1851), Duchess of Angoulême, wife of Louis XIX, daughter of King Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette (daughter of Austrian Empress Maria Theresa).
Marie Thérèse Beatrice Gaetana (1817–1886), Archduchess of Austria-Este, wife of Henri V. She had the crypt built so that the remains of the last Bourbons could all be gathered in this place.
Henri V (1820–1883), Count of Chambord, son of Charles Ferdinand and grandson of Charles X. He was the last member of the French Bourbons.
Louise Marie Thérèse (1819–1864), Duchess of Parma, sister of Henri V. After the violent death of her husband Charles III, Duke of Parma, she was the regent for her underage son.
In a niche in front of the crypt are the remains of Louis Jean Casimir, Duke of Blacas, Marquis D’Aulps (1771-1839). As the Court Minister of Charles X, he accompanied him into exile. He obtained property in Šmaver (San Mauro, Italy) and in Kanal.
