The day the Sound of Music died: Last surviving member of the real von Trapp family passes away at the age of 99

Maria Franziska von Trapp died in her sleep at home in Vermont, America

Last surviving member of famous family that inspired The Sound of Music

Family fled their home of Salburg, Austria, when the Nazis arrived in 1938

Sang and played instruments together, before touring Europe and the U.S.

Their story later inspired the 1965 classic musical, which won five Oscars







Maria Franziska, the last of seven brothers and sisters from the famous von Trapp family, has died

The last surviving member of the real von Trapp family that inspired The Sound of Music has died.



Maria Franziska, one of seven brothers and sisters from the famous family, passed away in her sleep aged 99 at home in Vermont, America.



Her family fled their home in Nazi-occupied Austria in 1938, before performing together around the U.S.

Their story later inspired the 1965 musical hit, which won five Oscars and remains one of the most successful films ever made.



Today, family friend Marianne Dorfer said she was 'surprised' that Maria had been the last of the family to survive.



'It was a surprise that she was the one in the family to live the longest because ever since she was a child she suffered from a weak heart,' she said.

'It was the fact that she suffered from this that her father decided to hire Maria von Trapp to teach her and her brothers and sisters.

'That, of course, then led to one of the most remarkable musical partnerships of the last century.'

Maria, the second-eldest daughter of Baron von Trapp, was born in Zell am See, Salzburg, in 1914.

Following the death of her father's first wife, she and her siblings were taught by aspiring nun Maria Kutschera, who quickly fell in love with Baron von Trapp and married him in 1927.

The family sang and played instruments together having lost all their fortune in 1935 in the throes of the world's economic crisis.

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Return: Maria, who was born in Zell am See, Salzburg, in 1914, passed away in her sleep aged 99 at home in Vermont, America. Above, Maria is pictured at her old family home in 2008, which has been turned into a hotel

Inspiration: The von Trapp family fled their home in Nazi-occupied Austria in 1938, before performing together around the U.S. Their story later inspired the 1965 film The Sound of Music (pictured), which won five Oscars

After an opera singer heard the children singing in a park, she entered them for a competition - with their subsequent success seeing them tour Europe and the United States as a family choir.

For Baron von Trapp, who was a staunch Austrian patriot and opponent of Adolf Hitler, his singing family also provided the escape ticket from the Nazi regime.

The family did not return from a concert tour in the United States.

Siblings: Maria is pictured with her elder sister Agatha (left), who passed away aged 97 in December 2010

So long, farewell: Maria was portrayed in the musical hit by Louisa (second right), played by Heather Menzies

Maria's stepmother later had another three children and the family settled on a farm in Vermont in 1942.

The family's story inspired The Sound of Music, which still attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors to Salzburg every year.



It has also sparked a series of well-loved musical hits, such as 'Edelweiss' or 'Sixteen going on 17'.

In the film, Julie Andrews starred as the aspiring nun Maria in the 1965 film, while Christopher Plummer played Baron von Trapp, who was depicted as a strict patriarch, obsessed with discipline.

Singers: In the 1965 film, Christopher Plummer played Baron von Trapp, who was depicted as a strict patriarch

Portrayal: Meanwhile, Julie Andrews (right) starred as aspiring nun Maria (left), who taught the children to sing







However, despite its success, some members of the real von Trapp family disagreed with the way they were portrayed.

'We were all pretty shocked at how they portrayed our father, he was so completely different,' Maria said in one interview before she died.

'He always looked after us a lot, especially after our mother died.'

Well-known: The film has sparked a series of great musical hits, such as 'Edelweiss' and 'Sixteen going on 17'

She added: 'You have to separate yourself from all that, and you have to get used to it. It is something you simply cannot avoid.'

Maria was last back in Salzburg in 2008 when she flew back to her family home for the first time since she fled Nazi-occupied Austria. .

