![]() ![]() ![]() No excessive ornamentation graces the last resting place of Franz Joseph and his family, but you’ll almost certainly find flowers left by well-wishers.Ĭuriously, flowers were also left at another coffin on my visit: Marie Louise, second wife of Napoleon. W 2650 excerpt reproduced with permission under the terms of the CC0 licence)Īnother “must-see” is the Franz-Josephs-Gruft, the chamber that’s home to Emperor Franz Joseph I (1830-1916), Empress Elisabeth (1837-1898), and their son, Crown Prince Rudolph (1858-1889).Įlisabeth was assassinated by an anarchist in Switzerland, while Rudolph’s death saw the succession pass to Franz Joseph’s nephew, Franz Ferdinand (whose own assassination in Sarajevo sparked the first World War). (An 1878 woodcut of part of the crypt by Alois Greil Wien Museum Inv.-Nr. But then Joseph II was famous for his rationalist approach and distaste for ceremony. With its nondescript copper design, his coffin contrasts remarkably with that of his parents. One of those children is the Empress’s eldest son, who became Emperor Joseph II (1741-1790). The same location houses many of her 16 children. The most impressive section is the Maria-Theresien-Gruft, a domed chamber dominated by a huge, complex sarcophagus for the Empress Maria Theresa (1717-1780) and Emperor Franz Stephan (1708-1765). They used silver and gold sparingly, not least because visitors would steal bits (humanity never ceases to disappoint.) Crypt “highlights”Įmperor Karl VI (1685-1740) probably has the most impressive sarcophagus, only because of the quite wonderful crowned skulls and similar decorative motifs. Lead, pewter, bronze or copper materials dominate. But take the time to look closely at the intricate decoration on some of the coffins. If you don’t linger, you’ll be finished in no more than 30 minutes. (If you want a more traditional crypt experience, try the Stephansdom cathedral catacombs, which include a mass grave for plague victims.)Ī sense of sadness certainly hangs over everything inside: death as the ultimate leveller.ĭespite the wealth, fame, power (and expensive coffin), all that’s left is a body in a box to be stared at by visitors taking hurried snapshots before moving on to beer and sausages. The bright, clean surroundings do little, however, to counter the starkness of the place, with its bare walls and row upon row of large ornate sarcophagi. Prepare for disappointment if you expect a musty, dank, dark experience: the crypt contains a series of large, well-lit and airy chambers. The Kapuzinergruft is a place of strange contrasts. 31113 excerpt reproduced with permission under the terms of the CC0 licence)īe aware, though, that this is no virtual reality tourist attraction, but the actual family crypt of the imperial line: an underground graveyard, albeit one with a rich history attached. Pfeffel engraving by Georg Daniel Heumann based on a drawing by Salomon Kleiner Wien Museum Inv.-Nr. (The church pictured on the right in a 1724 volume published by Johann Andreas d. ![]()
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