Imperial Crypt

[1] The bones of 145 Habsburg royalty, plus urns containing the hearts or cremated remains of four others, are here, including 12 emperors and 18 empresses.

The visible 107 metal sarcophagi and five heart urns range in style from puritan plain to exuberant rococo.

[1] Some of the dozen resident Capuchin friars continue their customary role as the guardians and caretakers of the crypt, along with their other pastoral work in Vienna.

[2] Anna of Tyrol1, wife of Emperor Matthias2 conceived the idea of a Capuchin cloister and burial crypt for herself and her husband, to be built in the neighborhood of the Hofburg castle in Vienna.

[3] The foundation stone was laid on 8 September 1622 in the presence of Emperor Ferdinand IIx578 and after slow progress caused by the distractions of the Thirty Years' War the church was dedicated on 25 July 1632.

At Easter the following year, the simple sarcophagi containing the remains of Emperor Matthias2 and Empress Anna1 were transferred with great ceremony to what is now called the Founders Vault.

[3] In 1754, his daughter Empress Maria Theresa56 went even further west, completely past the church above, into the monastery garden with her domed addition that admits natural light.

By 1960 it was obvious from the deteriorating condition of the tombs that the environment of changing heat and humidity needed to be controlled if the historic sarcophagi were to survive for future generations.

[4] The free-standing tombs are usually variations of either a flat-topped storage chest, or a tub with sloping sides and a convex lid of tapered decks.

The splendid tombs of the baroque and rococo eras are made of true bronze, a nobler and therefore more expensive material.

Reforming Emperor Joseph II42 decreed simplified burial customs for the people, and introduced the use of lighter and cheaper copper into the Imperial Crypt, where it was then used into the 19th century.

In order to guarantee the stability of the enormous display tombs, they have iron bracings and wood lining inside.

The coffin usually has two locks, the key to one is kept by the Capuchin Guardian of the crypt, the other is kept in the Schatzkammer of the Hofburg palace in Vienna.

Over the centuries, constant humidity, variations in temperature, and the host of visitors had taken a great toll on the sarcophagi.

Also, a workshop was created in the south end of the Tuscan Vault where highly skilled artisans could work on selected tombs temporarily moved there for restoration.

The repair and conservation of the artistic work takes place in close cooperation with the monks, the Association, the Austrian Monument Office and the Vienna Old City Preservation Fund.

The visible 107 metal sarcophagi and five heart urns range in style from puritan plain to exuberant rococo.

Turning to the left of the gates to the Founders Vault, in the thick east foundation wall of the church are twelve longitudinal recessed niches built in the 1960s containing sarcophagi of 12 children.

It is behind the church above, with its dome rising into the monastery courtyard and contains the tombs of 16 persons: In the entrance archway: In the small chamber immediately north of Emperor Joseph II42: In the center of the vault, from left to right: This double tomb of Empress Maria Theresa and her husband, Francis I Stephen, sculpted by Balthasar Ferdinand Moll is of particular artistic merit and is probably the most glorious in terms of design.

In the small chamber immediately south of Emperor Joseph II42: Along the south wall, young children of Emperor Franz I Stephen55 and Empress Maria Theresa.56 From left to right: At the southwest bend: Along the west wall, mainly the family of Emperor Joseph II.42 From left to right: Beside the entrance to the Franz Vault on the north wall: In 1824 the four vaults of the Imperial Crypt held 78 bodies and urns containing the hearts of three other persons.

In that year Emperor Franz II57 built the octagonal Franzensgruft, attaching it to the right wing of the Maria Theresa Vault.

Although the visitor sees an almost-empty room with only two sarcophagi, this vault actually contains one-fourth of the Imperial Crypt's entire population, walled-up into the corner piers.

This vault takes its name from the many descendants of the younger sons of Emperor Leopold II,113 as Grand Duke of Tuscany, who are entombed here.

Since 1971 members of the family (e.g. Archduke Rudolf (1919–2010)) are mostly entombed in the crypt of the Loretto Chapel of the Benedictine Monastery at Muri, Switzerland, which was founded in 1027 by Count Radebot von Habsburg.

This group covers the founders of the Imperial Crypt (and the first to be buried here), Empress Anna of Tyrol1 and her cousin and husband Emperor Mathias.2 They are shown with their descent from Emperor Friedrich IIIx415 and their relationship to their successor, Emperor Ferdinand II.x578 For the tomb location and specifics on any person buried in the Imperial Crypt, find the tomb number located next to the person's name on the chart below then click on the appropriate group of tomb numbers: 1–2, 3–32, 33–40, 41–56, 57–61, 62–100 101–114, 115–141, 142–144, 147–151, (x415–x887 are buried elsewhere).

The male Habsburg line had become extinct upon the death of Emperor Charles VI40, so Empress Maria Theresa's56 marriage to the Duke of Lorraine55 established the House of Habsburg-Lorraine which continues through the following charts and has many living members today.

This group shows offspring of Empress Maria Theresa's56 second son, Emperor Leopold II113 and how they split into two major lines and some minor ones.