Imperial crypt
In the basements under the small and modest-looking Kaputzin Church in Vienna, there is a family crypt of one of the most powerful European monastic dynasties – of the Habsburg dynasty. Habsburgs ruled on the Austrian throne since 1282. Representatives of the dynasty led the Roman Empire, the Austro-Hungarian and Austrian. The years of their reign have been measured for centuries.
The tomb is also called « The Skeleton of the founders » or « The crypt of the capuchins ». The last refuge of the bodies of the crowned individuals is surrounded by a halo of mysticism and eternal secrecy. The scalp space, consisting of 9 small crypts and a chapel, is filled with mournful triumph. For the first time, the Imperial crypt took its inhabitants in 1633. Then the bodies of Empress Anna and her wife Matthew were delivered to the cellars of the church. Anna – the founder of this church, died in 1618, and Emperor Matvey – in 1619. Sarcophagi with the bodies of crowned individuals were placed in a crypt after the construction of the church was completed, and the sacrament of the consecration ceremony was held.
The burial ritual adopted at the Habsburg house is unique and at the same time creepy. The heart of the deceased August person was separated and laid in a urn of pure silver. Then he was delivered to « Heart Slap » in the Augustine Church for eternal preservation. Other internal organs were sealed in copper urns and sent to the Duke crypt at St. Stefan. Bodies were buried in the Imperial crypt in the basements of the Capuchin church.
In front of the doors of the temple of the Capuchins, a mournful procession accompanying the coffin with the body of the crowned person stopped. The herald had to knock on the gate. The monk shouted at Latin: « Who asks to enter? ». In response, he was answered that this was the emperor. The monk loudly and solemnly said that they did not know this here. This went on twice. The third, last time, when in response, finally, it sounded that it was only an unfortunate sinful slave of God, a church gatekeeper unlocked and opened the gate.
In the Imperial crypt 149 representatives of the dynasty rest. Among them are 12 emperors and 19 empresses. The space of the Imperial crypt resembles streets leading to different rooms. In the most honorable place are the coffins of the spouses F. Joseph I and Elizabeth. The emperor lived to 86 years old, and the empress was brutally killed by the blows of a screwdriver in the hands of an anarchist in 1898. Next to the coffins of their parents lies their son Rudolph, who killed himself in 1889. Here I found the reassurance of Maria Louise, the 2nd wife of Napoleon, and the body of the Mexican emperor Maximilian rests – is the brother of F. Joseph I. Among the repented there is one person who does not have family ties with the Habsburg family. This is Countess K. Fuchs Mallard. She was a teacher of Maria Theresa, whom young Maria loved very much. Even during her lifetime, the countess expressed a desire to be near her pupil even after death.
Luxurious double tomb of Maria Theresa and Franz Lorraine – her husband, made by sculptor B. F. A mollam in the pompous style of Rococo. The sarcophagus has dimensions of 3 m wide and 2 m long. On the sarcophagus, the sculptor depicted a scene from the family life of the spouses. Nearby in a simple coffin without frills rests the son of Maria Joseph II. The original and no less luxurious sarcophagus of Charles VI, who died in 1740, is of genuine interest. It is also made in the Rococo style. Sarcophagus adorns an artificial skull with the crown of the empire.
Impressive is the tomb of Maria Josephine of Bavarian – wife of Emperor Joseph II. Massive tombstone decorates sculptures of angels. In one of the cryptings, infants and children who died at an early age are buried. The design of almost all sarcophagi is performed by Moll. His unique works attract the interest of tourists from all over the world and certainly cause a sense of reverent enthusiasm.
Currently, burials continue to be held in the Imperial crypt. So, in 1989, the last Austrian empress Zita ( Tsita ) Bourbon-Parm – wife Karl 1 was buried in the chapel. In 2011, her son – Otto von Habsburg, the last Crown Prince and the famous politician of Europe, was buried here.
