The is a Mausoleum under the Chancel of the Stephansdom in Vienna . It holds 78 containers with the bodies, hearts, or Viscera of 72 members of the Habsburg dynasty.
Before his death at age 25 in written in secret symbols was placed on the wall of that choir.
The family of the Ruling Line Of Austrian Dukes was buried here after Rudolf IV, but after the dynasty became emperors they were buried in various cities (Vienna was not yet the settled seat of the emperor). After the Imperial Crypt at the Kapuzinerkirche opened in 1633 , it became the new dynastic burial place.
Embalmers have known since the time of the Ancient Egyptians that it is necessary to remove the internal organs if the rest of the body is to be preserved. The containers with those organs were usually put in the coffin, but when the heir to the Imperial Throne, King Ferdinand IV Of The Romans , died in 1654 , he specified in his will that the container with his heart be placed in the Augustinerkirche , his body in the Imperial Crypt In The Kapuzinerkirche , and the urn with his viscera in the crypt at the Stephansdom . His instructions resulted in the foundation of the Herzgruft At The Augustinerkirche . His younger brother, Emperor Leopold I , pursued a tradition imitating that distribution of remains, and also enlarged the Imperial Crypt to make it large enough for additional future burials. The urns with viscera were thereafter regularly deposited in the Ducal Crypt in the Stephansdom. There are now 33 persons who are each buried in all three places.
By 1754 the small rectangular Ducal Crypt was overcrowded with 12 sarcophagi and 39 urns, so the area was expanded with an oval chamber being added (directly beneath the present location of the Archbishop's Throne ) beyond the east end of the rectangular one. New sarcophagi were made for some of the bodies.
In of Duke Rudolf IV and his wife were placed upon a pedestal and the 62 urns containing organs were moved from the two rows of shelves around the new section to cabinets in the original chamber.
Deposition in the crypt has not always been permanent. Emperor Frederick III lay here for only 20 years after his death, until his magnificant tomb upstairs in the south choir was ready. The body of his brother Duke Albert VI was removed after 300 years.
The greatest influx, other that the regular arrival of visceral urns, came as a result of the Austrian version of the Dissolution Of The English Monasteries under Emperor Joseph II in 1782 . When the religious institutions holding bodies of some of the members of the dynasty were closed, they needed to be moved. The Imperial Crypt at that time had only half the space it has today, and already held 57 bodies. The emperor ordered that the bodies of two persons who had died before the Imperial Crypt opened be brought to the Ducal Crypt instead. Another person, Empress Eleanor, would normally have been entitled to space in the Imperial Crypt, but because her husband was not buried there either, her body was sent to the Ducal Crypt.
It is probably around this time that the body of Duke Albert VI was removed to make room for others, and that the body whose sarcophagus is inscribed with only the year and name of the parents arrived. Identified through other evidence as one-year old Anna of Lorraine, it is known that her brother Charles V, Duke Of Lorraine married Archduchess Eleanora Maria Josepha ( 1653 - 1697 ) (widowed Queen of Poland and daughter of Emperor Ferdinand III ) in 1678 , and that marriage may have some connection with this non-Habsburg being brought here, but the exact reason is unclear.
The last item interred here is the urn with the viscera of Archduke Franz Karl , father of Emperor Franz Joseph , in 1878 .
The Ducal Crypt shelters the bodies of:
- , second son of Duke Albert II and the 15-year old brother of Rudolf IV.
- ''"the founder,"'' eldest son of Duke Albert II . Rudolf commissioned the present cathedral, and founded the University Of Vienna before his death in Milan at age 25. He was originally entombed in S. Giovanni in Concha and later moved to here.
- wife of Rudolf IV and daughter of Emperor Charles IV . After the death of Rudolf she married Otto V, Duke Of Bavaria .
engraving, is substantially how it looks today. The window behind the sarcophagus of Duke Rudolf IV has a long sill sloping to the ground above to provide light. The urns containing viscera have been now moved to the adjoining Original Chamber.]]
- ''"with the pigtail,"'' third son of Duke Albert II and younger brother of Rudolf IV. Died at age 46.
- son of Albert III. Died at age 27.
- oldest son of Rudolf IVs youngest brother, Leopold III .
- ''"the fat"'' younger son of Rudolf IVs youngest brother, Leopold III.
- young son of Emperor Maximilian II.
- young daughter of Emperor Maximilian II.
- Widow of King Charles IX Of France and daughter of Emperor Maximilian II. In 1782 her body was moved here from the convent she had founded.
- second wife of Emperor Ferdinand II . Her remains were moved here in 1782 from the Carmelite convent ''"Siebenbüchnerinnen"'' in Vienna that she had founded.
Gated niches in the original chamber (outside the entrance to the previous chamber) protect 62 copper urns containing the Viscera ( Intestines ) of various members of the Habsburg dynasty.
- Daughter of Ferdinand II, Duke Of Tyrol and wife of her cousin Emperor Matthias who was 28 years older than her. She provided in her will of 1617 for the establishment of a crypt for her and her husband in a Capuchin's Church to be built in Vienna, and died only one year later, at age 33 after seven years of a childless marriage and is buried in tomb 1 in the Imperial Crypt she founded. Her heart is in urn 1 in the Herzgruft in the Augustinerkirche .
- Eldest son of Emperor Ferdinand III. He died two months before his 21th birthday. His heart is in urn 4 in the Herzgruft in the Augustinerkirche and he is buried in tomb 29 in the Imperial Crypt in the Kapuzinerkirche . He established the tradition of burial of different parts in three separate Vienna churches.
- Son of Emperor Ferdinand II. Named at age 13 to take over his uncle Leopold's renounced see at Halberstaedt (when he became 22, this was confirmed by the Pope) and later became also Bishop of Olomouc, Bishop of Breslau, and Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights . He died at age 48. His heart is in urn 5 in the Herzgruft in the Augustinerkirche and he is buried in tomb 115 in the Imperial Crypt in the Kapuzinerkirche .
- Son of Emperor Ferdinand III and Empress Maria Leopoldina, who died during his birth. Bishop of Olomouc and Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights at age 13 as heir to his uncle, Archduke Leopold Wilhelm. The art collection he inherited from Archduke Leopold Wilhelm became the foundation of the Kunsthistorisches Museum . Died at age 15. He is buried in tomb 116 in the Imperial Crypt in the Kapuzinerkirche .
- Infant son of Emperor Leopold I and Empress Margarita Teresa. He is buried in tomb 7 in the Imperial Crypt in the Kapuzinerkirche .
- ''(Heart of)'' Archduke Ferdinand Wenzel Josef.
- Second wife of Emperor Leopold I. Her 22-year-old body, by her own request, is dressed in the habit of a Dominican nun and is entombed beside her mother in the Dominican Church in Vienna. Her heart is in urn 24 in the Imperial Crypt in the Kapuzinerkirche .
- Infant daughter of Emperor Leopold I and Empress Claudia Felicitas. Her heart is in a gold and silver urn atop her mother's sarcophagus in the Dominican Church. She is buried in tomb 12 in the Imperial Crypt in the Kapuzinerkirche .
- Third wife of Emperor Ferdinand III. She was 56 when she died. Her heart is in urn 7 in the Herzgruft in the Augustinerkirche and she is buried in tomb 19 in the Imperial Crypt in the Kapuzinerkirche .
engraving. The new chamber was added a dozen years later, connecting through the wall to the left. The cross arrangement engraved in the wall was moved to the new chamber.]]
- Infant daughter of Emperor Leopold I. She is buried in tomb 14 in the Imperial Crypt in the Kapuzinerkirche .
- ''(Heart of)'' Archduchess Maria Margareta
and established the tradition of burying members of the Imperial Family in these three churches in Vienna, following the precedent set in 1654 by King Ferdinand IV Of The Romans .]]
- Second son of Emperor Ferdinand III and father of Emperors Joseph I and Karl VI. He reigned 48 years. He was involved in wars ranging from the defense of western Europe against conquest by the Muslims, to the War Of The Spanish Succession to place his second son on the Spanish throne when the Spanish branch of the Habsburg dynasty died out in 1700 . Leopold died a few weeks before his 65th birthday. His heart is in urn 11 in the Herzgruft in the Augustinerkirche and he is buried in tomb 37 in the Imperial Crypt in the Kapuzinerkirche .
- Prince of Asturias. Six-month old only son of Emperor Karl VI. He is buried in tomb 30 in the Imperial Crypt in the Kapuzinerkirche .
- ''(Heart of)'' Archduke Leopold Johann.
- Three-years old, eldest daughter of Emperor Franz I Stephen and Empress Maria Theresa. She is buried in tomb 48 in the Imperial Crypt in the Kapuzinerkirche .
- ''(Heart of)'' Archduchess Marie Elisabeth.
- Third daughter of Emperor Franz I Stephen and Empress Maria Theresa. Died at age 1 year. She is buried in tomb 53 in the Imperial Crypt in the Kapuzinerkirche .
- ''(Heart of)'' Archduchess Marie Caroline.
- Regent of the Austrian Netherlands. Daughter of Emperor Leopold I. Dead at age 61. Her heart is in urn 14 in the Herzgruft in the Augustinerkirche and she is buried in tomb 38 in the Imperial Crypt in the Kapuzinerkirche . The container here for her viscera is of an unusual form, being a flat box instead of the more usual pot shape.
- Duke of Lorraine and Grand Duke of Tuscany. Husband of Empress Maria Theresa, he died at age 56 after nominally being Emperor for 25 years. His heart is in urn 20 in the Herzgruft in the Augustinerkirche and he is buried in tomb 55 in the Imperial Crypt in the Kapuzinerkirche .
- Third son of Empress Maria Theresia. →Family Tree Most of his career was spent in Florence, reforming the governence there as Grand Duke of Tuscany, and only his final two years were as Emperor. He died at age 45. His heart is in urn 23 in the Herzgruft in the Augustinerkirche and he is buried in tomb 113 in the Imperial Crypt in the Kapuzinerkirche .
- Originally contracted to marry Empress Maria Theresia's second son, Archduke Karl Joseph, his early death diverted her instead to the third son, who later became Emperor Leopold II. In the course of 21 years, she bore her not-always-faithful husband 16 children, among them Emperor Franz II, and Archduke Karl the victor of Aspern. Grieving for her husband, she outlived him by only two months leaving many small children. Her 46-year old heart is in urn 24 in the Herzgruft in the Augustinerkirche and she is buried in tomb 114 in the Imperial Crypt in the Kapuzinerkirche .
- Second wife ( 1790 ) at age 18 of Emperor Franz II. Mother of Empress Maria Louise (second wife of Napoleon), Emperor Ferdinand, and all subsequent children of her husband. Because her mother was a sister of her husband's father the couple were first cousins. →Family Tree (ancestors) She died at age 34 of tuburcular Pleurisy . Her heart is in urn 35 in the Herzgruft in the Augustinerkirche and she is buried in tomb 60 in the Imperial Crypt in the Kapuzinerkirche .
- Husband of Archduchess Maria Christina. The Albertina museum, in his former palace, is named for him because his collection of paintings formed the nucleus of the museum. The oldest of those represented here, he died at age 84. His heart is in urn 40 in the Herzgruft in the Augustinerkirche and he is buried in tomb 111 in the Imperial Crypt in the Kapuzinerkirche .
- First son of Emperor Franz II. Mentally retarded, he abdicated after a nominal reign of 12 years and spent the remainder of his 82-year long life in Prague. His heart is in urn 53 in the Herzgruft in the Augustinerkirche and he is buried in tomb 62 in the Imperial Crypt in the Kapuzinerkirche .
- Third son of Emperor Franz II. When his elder brother Emperor Ferdinand abdicated in 1848 , he stood aside so that his son, Emperor Franz Joseph , could succeed to the throne instead. Great grandfather of the last reigning emperor, Emperor Karl I . Aged 76 when he died, his viscera are the last interred here, and his heart was the last to be placed in the Herzgruft in the Augustinerkirche , where it occupies urn 54. He is buried in tomb 135 in the Imperial Crypt in the Kapuzinerkirche .
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