Imperial Crypt, Vienna

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An ornament of the sarcophagus of Emperor Karl VI: a death's head with the crown of the Holy Roman Empire
An ornament of the sarcophagus of Emperor Karl VI: a death's head with the crown of the Holy Roman Empire
Tomb of Franz Josef I, flanked by wife Elisabeth and son Rudolf.
Tomb of Franz Josef I, flanked by wife Elisabeth and son Rudolf.

Since 1633 The Imperial Crypt in Vienna has been the principal place of entombment for the Habsburg dynasty, hereditary Emperors of the Holy Roman Empire, and their descendants.

The Imperial Crypt (in German: Kaisergruft but usually called the Kapuzinergruft, "Capuchins' Crypt") lies below the Capuchins' church (the Church of St. Mary of the Angels) and monastery founded in 1617 and dedicated in 1632. It is on the Neue Markt square, near the imperial Hofburg Palace.

The bodies of 142 aristocrats, plus urns containing the hearts or cremated remains of four others, are deposited here (as of 2005). They include 12 Emperors and 18 Empresses. The most recent entombment was in 1989.

From other families there are 32 spouses, plus four others, who have found their resting place here. Everyone else in the Imperial Crypt was born with the Habsburgs-only title of Archduke or Archduchess.

The visible 103 metal sarcophagi and 5 heart urns range in style from puritan plain to exuberant rococo. The Imperial Crypt is one of the top tourist attractions in Vienna.

To this day, 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.

Contents

[edit] History

Subscript numbers behind the names of most persons listed in this article are used to avoid confusion in cross-references due to the similarity or duplication of names over the many generations. A unique small index number appears with the name of every person buried in the Imperial Crypt. The number corresponds with that person's entry in the detailed listing of occupants of each Vault, to which it is hyperlinked. When necessary to establish continuity, a person buried elsewhere is assigned a number preceded by an x and then listed in the Selected Other Habsburgs section.

Empress Anna of Tyrol1, wife of Emperor Matthias2 conceived the idea of a Capuchin cloister and burial crypt for her and her husband, to be built in the neighborhood of the Hofburg castle in Vienna. She provided funds for it in the will she made on 10 November 1617, and graciously soon made the funds available by dying just a year later. Her spouse followed a year after that.

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 and at Easter of the next year, the simple sarcophagi containing the remains of Emperor Mathias2 and Empress Anna1 were transferred with great ceremony to what is now called the Founder's Vault.

Emperor Leopold I37 enlarged the crypt in 1657 in the area under the nave of the church and his son Emperor Joseph I35 extended it further westward in 1710, but awkwardly, beginning the vault that his brother Emperor Karl VI40 continued westward in 1720 that extends under the chancel and the apse choir above. For the first time, a well-known architect (Lukas von Hildebrandt) was involved with an enlargement of the crypt.

In 1754, his daughter Empress Maria Theresia56 went even further west, completely past the church above, into the monastery garden with her domed addition that admits natural light. The imposing dome and crypt is the work of architect Jean Jadot de Ville-Issey.

During the reign of her grandson Emperor Franz II57 architect Johann Aman turned to the north for his addition in 1824.

The monastery surrounding the church had fallen into disrepair after 200 years of constant use, so during the reign of Emperor Ferdinand62 in 1840 the monastery (but not the church) was torn down and rebuilt. As part of that project, architect Johann Höhne built Ferdinand’s Vault and the Tuscan Vault as part of the basement of the new structure.

As part of the jubilee celebrating his 60 years on the throne in 1908, Emperor Franz Joseph142 had architect Cajo Perisic build another mausoleum chamber and a chapel to the east of Franz II57 and Ferdinand’s62 vaults. At the same time, new annexes for visitors were created on either side of the church.

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 be survive for future generations. The New Vault, north of the Tuscan, Ferdinand’s and Franz Joseph’s Vaults, was built by architect Karl Schwanzer, with metal doors by sculptor Rudolf Hoflehner. It added about 20% to the space of the crypt, and was used as part of a massive rearrangement of the tombs in the vaults.

The original small vault had held, besides the tombs of the two founders, those of a dozen children and had been called the Angel’s Vault. Those were moved to open niches newly made in the front wall of Leopold’s Vault.

Selected tombs from various other vaults were moved to the New Vault and grouped in themes such as Bishops, the direct ancestors of the last reigning emperor, and the immediate family of Archduke Karl122 the victor of Aspern.

Thirty seven other tombs, of some minors and minor members of the ruling family, were walled-up into four piers created in Ferdinand’s Vault.

Thus about half of all the tombs were moved out of the original vaults to more orderly places as part of that great reorganization.

In 2003 another project made the crypt accessible to the handicapped, and opened previously unused doors so that the visitor route no longer requires the 100% backtracking that was necessary before. The entire crypt was also air conditioned to prevent deterioration of the tombs.

[edit] The sarcophagi

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. Ornamentation ranges from simple to elaborate.

Until far in the 1700s, the most common material for a sarcophagus here was a bronze-like alloy of tin, coated with shellac. 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 1800s. In the later 1800s a mixture of cast brass and bronze as well as silver-bronzed copper was adopted. Other metals were used only rarely, except for silver and gold plating on decorations.

Only one sarcophagus, that of Emperor Franz Joseph,142 is made from stone instead of metal.

Various techniques of metalworking were used: full casting for the sarcophagus; hollow casting for decorative sculpture; carving, engraving, and hammered relief for surface decoration. The parts for chests and covers are riveted together, ornaments and decorative figures are screwed on.

The sculptor responsible for the most elaborate tombs is Balthasar Ferdinand Moll.

In order to guarantee the stability of the enormous display tombs, they have iron bracings and wood lining inside. This avoids both cave-ins and a buckling of the side walls from the weight of the cover. (The cover of the double tomb of Empress Maria Theresia56 and her husband,55 weighs approximately 1700 kg/3,800 lb!)

Within the outer case lays a wooden coffin that is wrapped in silk (black with gold trim for rulers, red with silver trim for others). 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.

Within the coffin, the body usually has had the organs removed as a necessary part of the embalming process for its display before the funeral. For about one-third of the bodies, the heart has been placed into a silver urn and sent elsewhere (usually the Herzgruft in the Augustinerkirche), and for some the intestines and other organs have been put into a copper urn and deposited in the Dukes Crypt in the catacombs of Vienna’s cathedral, the Stephansdom.

[edit] Conservation of the tombs

Over the centuries, constant humidity, variations in temperature, and the host of visitors had taken a great toll on the sarcophagi. Corrosion craters, holes and tears had developed. Layers of the horizontal surfaces had peeled, base plates had broken through, decorative fixtures had been broken or stolen by visitors, the cast metal absorbed too much humidity and puffed up, and heavy covers had caused some sidewalls to bend or cave.

The first major restoration effort was undertaken in 1852, but further work was needed by 1956 when the Gesellschaft zur Rettung der Kapuzinergruft (Association for Saving the Capuchin Crypt) came into being to inform the public of the problem, raise funds, and preserve and restore the tombs.

It was first necessary to create additional space and to dehumidify the crypt. After completion of the New Vault in 1960 and the transfer of 26 tombs from the overflowing Tuscan Vault, the work of dehumidification could begin. 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.

In 2003 remodelling of the ground-level visitor facilities took place to create a new visitor entrance and make the crypt accessible to the handicapped. The visitor route was also changed so that visitors now see the tombs in historical sequence by entering at one end and leaving at the other, instead of both entering and leaving via a single stairway that is in the middle of the route. Most importantly, the entire crypt was air conditioned so that humidity can be controlled.

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.

[edit] Persons buried here

The bodies of 142 persons (mainly members of the ruling line of the House of Habsburg and the successor House of Habsburg-Lorraine), plus urns containing the hearts or cremated remains of four others, are deposited in one of the ten interconnected Vaults of the Imperial Crypt. They include 12 Emperors and 18 Empresses. The most recent entombment (Empress Zita of Bourbon-Parma147) was in 1989.

From other families there are 32 spouses, plus four others,15 41 47 117 who have found their resting place here. Everyone else in the Imperial Crypt was born with the Habsburgs-only title of Archduke or Archduchess.

The oldest person entombed here is Empress Zita of Bourbon-Parma147 at 97 years. Several persons died at birth and over 25% of those entombed here were five-years of age or less when they died.

Emperors buried here:

  1. Emperor Matthias2
  2. Emperor Ferdinand III27
  3. Emperor Leopold I37
  4. Emperor Joseph I35
  5. Emperor Karl VI40
  6. Emperor Franz I Stephen55
  7. Emperor Joseph II42
  8. Emperor Leopold II113
  9. Emperor Franz II57
  10. Emperor Ferdinand I of Austria62
  11. Archduke Maximilian, Emperor of Mexico126
  12. Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria142

Empresses buried here:

  1. Anna,1 consort of Emperor Mathias2
  2. Maria Anna,22 consort of Emperor Ferdinand III27
  3. Eleonora Magdalena,19 consort of Emperor Ferdinand III27
  4. Maria Leopoldina,21 consort of Emperor Ferdinand III27
  5. Margarita Teresa,20 consort of Emperor Leopold I37
  6. Eleonora Magdalena,32 consort of Emperor Leopold I37
  7. Elisabeth Christina,36 consort of Emperor Karl VI40
  8. Empress Maria Theresa56
  9. Maria Josepha,49 consort of Emperor Joseph II42
  10. Isabella Maria,50 consort of Emperor Joseph II42
  11. Elisabeth Wilhelmine,59 consort of Emperor Franz II57
  12. Maria Teresa Carolina60 consort of Emperor Franz II57
  13. Maria Ludowika,58 consort of Emperor Franz II57
  14. Karolina Augusta,61 consort of Emperor Franz II57
  15. Archduchess Maria Louise, Empress of France127
  16. Maria Anna,63 consort of Emperor Ferdinand I of Austria62
  17. Elisabeth,143 consort of Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria142
  18. Zita,147 consort of Emperor Karl I of Austriax887

(Also, the hearts of Empresses Claudia Felicitas24 and Amalie Wilhelmine34 are here, but their bodies are buried elsewhere.)

All 146 persons buried here (in whole or in part) are shown on the directory charts below, together with links to a detailed text listing. For ease of use, they show the Habsburg family buried here as family trees based upon lines of descent.

[edit] The Founders' Family

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, (x415-x887 are buried elsewhere).

[edit] Emperor Ferdinand III's family

This group shows descendants of Emperor Ferdinand III27 through the extinction of the male Habsburg line with the death of Emperor Karl VI.40

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, (x415-x887 are buried elsewhere).

[edit] Empress Maria Theresia's family

The male Habsburg line had become extinct upon the death of Emperor Karl 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.

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, (x415-x887 are buried elsewhere).

[edit] Emperor Leopold II's family

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. All of those born Habsburg after the time of Maria Theresa who are buried here are descended from Emperor Leopold II.

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, (x415-x887 are buried elsewhere).

[edit] Emperor Franz II's family

This group covers the ruling line from the ascent of Emperor Franz II57 (1792) to the end of the monarchy (1918).

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, (x415-x887 are buried elsewhere).

[edit] Tuscan line

When the second son of Empress Maria Theresa56 was called from his post of Grand Duke of Tuscany to become Emperor, he separated the Grand Duchy from the inheritance that goes with the imperial crown, installing his second son, Ferdinandx769 and his heirs as successors to those lands and that title. This group shows that line until the absorption of Tuscany into the Kingdom of Italy.

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, (x415-x887 are buried elsewhere).

[edit] Future entombments

After the entombment of the last reigning Empress, Zita of Bourbon-Parma147 in 1989, it is unlikely that any other members of the Imperial House will receive permission to be buried here, although the body of the last reigning Emperor, Karl Ix887, would probably be welcomed if the family wishes to transfer it from Madeira.

Since 1971 members of the family who die during the exile are entombed in the crypt of the Loretto Chapel of the Benedictine Monastery at Muri, Switzerland.

[edit] The vaults

The Imperial Crypt today consists of an interconnected series of ten subterranean vaulted rooms, built at various times as more space was needed.

In 1960, with the various vaults overcrowded, a major rearrangement project began which resulted in the construction of the Children's Columbarium and the New Vault. At the same time many bodies were moved to those new areas, others were moved from the Tuscan Vault and Ferdinand’s Vault and walled up into the corner piers of Ferdinand's Vault. In 2003, the Vaults were air-conditioned, more for the preservation of the tombs than the comfort of visitors.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

Coordinates: 48°12′20″N, 16°22′11″E

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