by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2022

St. Stephen’s Cathedral, which this writer has visisted, is dedicated to St. Stephen, the first Christian martyr. It is the main church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Vienna, Austria, and the seat of the Archbishop of Vienna. In 1137, construction began on the first St. Stephen’s Church. The church in the Romanesque style, which was probably not completely finished at the time, was consecrated in 1147. A second Romanesque church was constructed from 1200 – 1225. Rudolf IV, Duke of Austria (1339 – 1365) commissioned a major extension of the previous church and also founded the University of Vienna before his early death at age 25.

St. Stephen’s Cathedral survived the bombing raids during World War II. However, on April 12, 1945, during the final days of the war, civilian looters lit fires in nearby shops as the Soviet Army troops entered Vienna. Winds carried the fire to the cathedral, severely damaging the roof and causing it to collapse. Fortunately, protective brick shells built around the pulpit, Holy Roman Emperor Friedrich III’s tomb, and other treasures prevented major damage to the interior except for the 1487 choir stalls which could not be saved. Reconstruction began immediately after the war and St. Stephen’s Cathedral was reopened in 1952.

The original wooden roof was replaced by a roof of 230,000 colored glazed tiles in a zig-zag pattern. On the south side of the cathedral, the tiles form the double-headed eagle, a symbol of the Habsburg dynasty, and on the north side, the tiles form the coats of arms of the City of Vienna and the Republic of Austria.

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Altars

St. Stephen’s Cathedral has eighteen altars and additional altars in the various chapels. The High Altar and the Wiener Neustadt Altar are the most famous.

The High Altar was built from 1641 – 1647 by Johann Jacob Pock (link in German), a stonemason, sculptor, and architect, and by his brother painter Tobias Pock who painted the altarpiece. The High Altar shows the stoning of the cathedral’s patron saint St. Stephen in front of the walls of Jerusalem.

The Wiener Neustädter Altar made in 1447 is considered the most important altar in the cathedral. It is a pentaptych, a convertible altar with a main shrine, two movable outer and two movable inner wings. On weekdays, the panels are closed and display a painted scene involving 72 saints. On Sundays, the panels are opened showing gilded wooden figures depicting events in the life of the Virgin Mary. Originally, the altar was given as a gift by Holy Roman Emperor Friedrich III to the Cistercian Viktring Abbey. In 1786, the altar was sent to the Cistercian monastery of St. Bernard of Clairvaux, founded by Holy Roman Emperor Friedrich III, in the city of Wiener Neustadt. When the Wiener Neustadt monastery was closed after merging with Heiligenkreuz Abbey in 1885, the altar was sold to St. Stephen’s Cathedral.

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Pulpit

The carved stone pulpit has long been attributed to Austrian sculptor and architect Anton Pilgram but today it is thought that Dutch sculptor Nikolaus Gerhaert van Leyden is more likely to be the carver. The pulpit stands against a pillar in the nave, instead of in the chancel at the front of the church. This placement of the pillar would allow the congregation to better hear the sermon before the advent of microphones and loudspeakers. Beneath the stairs is a stone self-portrait of the sculptor looking out a window. The chisel in the subject’s hand and the stonemason’s signature mark on the shield above the window led to the speculation that it could be a self-portrait of the sculptor.

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Tomb of Friedrich III, Holy Roman Emperor

Friedrich III (1415 – 1493) was Holy Roman Emperor from 1452 until his death. In 1469, he succeeded in obtaining the necessary permissions from Pope Paul II to establish the Diocese of Vienna. Upon his death, Friedrich was interred in the Ducal Crypt at St. Stephen’s Cathedral. In 1463, thirty years before his death, Friedrich commissioned Dutch sculptor Nikolaus Gerhaert van Leyden to build a monumental tomb in St. Stephen’s Cathedral. Van Leyden died in 1473 and the work was completed by Austrian stonemason and sculptor Michael Tichter (link in German). On November 12, 1513, the remains of Friedrich III, Holy Roman Emperor were transferred in a grand ceremony from the Ducal Crypt to the tomb. The tomb lid shows Emperor Friedrich in his coronation regalia surrounded by the coats of arms of all his dominions. The sides of the tomb are decorated with 240 small statues. The tomb is considered a masterpiece of medieval sculptural art.

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Royal Events at St. Stephen’s Cathedral

1989 Funeral of Zita of Bourbon-Parma, wife of Karl I, the last Emperor of Austria

This may not be a complete list.

• April 1490 – Funeral of Matthias Corvinus, King of Hungary, Croatia, and Bohemia and Duke of Austria
• July 22, 1515 – Double wedding of King Louis II of Hungary and Archduchess Mary of Austria, and Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand I and Anna of Bohemia and Hungary
• November 30, 1916 – Funeral of Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria
• April 1, 1989 – Funeral of Zita of Bourbon-Parma, last Empress of Austria, wife of Emperor Karl I of Austria
• July 16, 2011 – Funeral of Otto von Habsburg, last Crown-Prince of Austria, son of Emperor Karl I of Austria

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What is Separate Burial?

A separate burial is a form of partial burial in which internal organs are buried separately from the rest of the body. Separate burials of the heart, viscera (the intestines), and the body were common in the House of Habsburg starting with the death of Ferdinand IV, King of the Romans in 1654 until the death of Archduke Franz Karl in 1878. Ferdinand IV of the Romans (1633 – 1654), son of Holy Emperor Ferdinand III, had a strong devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary and requested that his heart be interred in the Loreto Chapel at the Augustinekirche in Vienna. This established the tradition of interring the hearts of members of the Habsburg family in a crypt alongside the heart of Ferdinand IV. Until then, the hearts of Habsburgs had mostly been buried with the body in the coffin at the Imperial Crypt in the nearby Capuchin Church in Vienna or in St. Stephen’s Cathedral in Vienna where the entrails of the Habsburgs were traditionally interred. With the death of Ferdinand IV, King of the Romans, it became traditional for the body to be interred in the Imperial Crypt in the Capuchin Church in Vienna, the heart to be placed in an urn in the Herzgruft, the Heart Crypt in the Loreto Chapel of the Augustinerkirche in Vienna, and the entrails to be placed in an urn in the Ducal Crypt of St. Stephen’s Cathedral in Vienna.

After the end of the monarchy in 1918, some members of the Habsburg family resumed the tradition of heart burial but not viscera burial. When Karl I, the last Emperor of Austria, died in 1922, he was not allowed to be buried in the Imperial Crypt in Vienna and instead was buried at the Church of Our Lady of Monte on the island of Madeira in Portugal. His heart remained with his widow Empress Zita until it was interred in the Loreto Chapel of the Muri Monastery in Switzerland in 1971. When Empress Zita died in 1989, her body was buried in the Imperial Crypt at the Capuchin Church in Vienna and her heart was interred with her husband’s heart in the Loreto Chapel of the Muri Monastery in Switzerland. Karl and Zita’s son Otto von Habsburg, the last Crown Prince of Austria, requested that his heart be buried in the crypt of the Benedictine Abbey of Pannonhalma in Hungary. His body was interred in the Imperial Crypt at the Capuchin Church. The body of Otto’s wife Regina of Saxe-Meiningen was also interred in the Imperial Crypt but she requested that her heart be interred in her family’s crypt at Veste Heldburg (link in German) in Heldburg, Germany.

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Royal Burials in the Ducal Crypt

In the Ducal Crypt (German: Herzogsgruft), located beneath the chancel of St. Stephen’s Cathedral, sixteen bodies of members of the House of Habsburg are buried along with copper urns containing the viscera (intestines) of members of the Habsburg dynasty. When Rudolf IV, Duke of Austria (1339 – 1365) commissioned an extension of the previous church, he also ordered a crypt to be built for his remains. After Rudolf IV, the family of the ruling line of Habsburg Dukes of Austria was buried here. However, after the House of Habsburg became Holy Roman Emperors beginning in 1440, they were buried in various cities as Vienna was not yet the settled seat of the Holy Roman Emperor. After the Imperial Crypt at the Capuchin Church in Vienna opened in 1633, it became the new burial site of the House of Habsburg.

• Unofficial Royalty: What was the Holy Roman Empire?

In 1956, the Ducal Crypt was renovated and redesigned, with the coffins moved into the oval crypt space and niches built into the rectangular crypt space, in which the urns with entrails were placed behind gates.

The bodies of the following members of the House of Habsburg are interred in the Ducal Crypt:

• King Friedrich III of the Romans, Duke of Austria (1289 – 1330), originally buried at Mauerbach Monastery, which he had founded. He was reburied at St. Stephen’s Cathedral after the monastery was dissolved in 1782.
• Friedrich III, Duke of Austria (1347 – 1362) – son of Albrecht II, Duke of Austria
• Rudolf IV, Duke of Austria (1339 – 1365) – son of Albrecht II, Duke of Austria
• Catherine of Bohemia, Duchess of Austria (1342 – 1395) – wife of Rudolf IV, Duke of Austria
• Albrecht III, Duke of Austria (1348 – 1395) – son of Albrecht II, Duke of Austria
• Albrecht IV, Duke of Austria (1377 – 1404) – son of Albrecht III, Duke of Austria
• Wilhelm, Duke of Austria (1370 – 1406) – son of Leopold III, Duke of Austria
• Leopold IV, Duke of Austria (1371 – 1411) – son of Leopold III, Duke of Austria
• Duke Georg (born and died 1435) – infant son of Albrecht II, King of the Romans, Duke of Austria
• Albrecht VI, Archduke of Austria (1418 – 1463) – son of Ernst I, Duke of Austria
• Archduke Ferdinand of Austria (1551 – 1552) – son of Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian II
• Eleonora Gonzaga, Holy Roman Empress (1598 – 1655) – second wife of Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand II, originally buried in the Discalced Carmelites convent she founded in Vienna. In 1782, she was reburied at St. Stephen’s Cathedral after the convent was dissolved.
• Archduchess Maria of Austria (born and died 1564) – daughter of Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian II
• Archduke Karl of Austria (1565 – 1566) – son of Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian II
• Elisabeth of Austria, Queen of France (1554 – 1592) – daughter of Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian II, wife of King Charles IX of France, originally buried at the Convent of Poor Clares Mary, Queen of Angels, also known as the Queen’s Monastery, which she founded in Vienna. In 1782, she was reburied at St. Stephen’s Cathedral after the convent was dissolved.

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A Note About Two Habsburg Rulers

Empress Maria Theresa: Born Archduchess Maria Theresa of Austria, she was the second and eldest surviving child of Holy Roman Emperor Karl VI. Her only brother died several weeks before she was born and her two younger siblings were sisters. The fact that Maria Theresa’s father did not have a male heir caused many problems. Maria Theresa’s right to succeed to her father’s Habsburg territories in her own right was the cause of the eight-year-long War of the Austrian Succession. Upon her father’s death in 1740, Maria Theresa became the sovereign in her own right of all the Habsburg territories which included Austria, Hungary, Croatia, Bohemia, Transylvania, Mantua, Milan, Lodomeria and Galicia, the Austrian Netherlands, and Parma. However, she was unable to become the sovereign of the Holy Roman Empire because she was female. The Habsburgs had been elected Holy Roman Emperors since 1438, but in 1742 Karl Albrecht, Duke of Bavaria and Prince-Elector of Bavaria from the Bavarian House of Wittelsbach was elected Holy Roman Emperor Karl VII. He died in 1745 and via a treaty Maria Theresa arranged for her husband Francis Stephen, Duke of Lorraine to be elected Holy Roman Emperor. Despite the snub, the formidable Maria Theresa wielded the real power and in reality, ruled the Holy Roman Empire. She is generally referred to by historians simply as Empress Maria Theresa and that is how she is referred to in this article.

• Unofficial Royalty: Maria Theresa, Archduchess of Austria, and Queen of Hungary, Croatia, and Bohemia

Holy Roman Emperor Franz II = Emperor Franz I of Austria: Upon the death of his father Holy Roman Emperor Leopold II in 1792, Franz was elected the last Holy Roman Emperor and reigned as Holy Roman Emperor Franz I. Franz feared that Napoleon Bonaparte could take over his personal Habsburg territories within the Holy Roman Empire, so in 1804 he proclaimed himself Emperor Franz I of Austria and reigned until he died in 1835. Franz’s decision proved to be a wise one. Two years later, after Napoleon’s victory at the Battle of Austerlitz, the Holy Roman Empire was dissolved and lands that had been held by the Holy Roman Emperor were given to Napoleon’s allies creating the Kingdom of Bavaria, the Kingdom of Württemberg, and the Grand Duchy of Baden. Franz is referred to as Emperor Franz I of Austria in this article.

• Unofficial Royalty: Franz I, Emperor of Austria
• Unofficial Royalty: What was the Holy Roman Empire?

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Royal Viscera Burials

Gated niches in the original burial vault outside the entrance to the current burial vault contain the copper urns with the viscera (intestines) of the following members of the House of Habsburg.

• Anna of Tyrol, Holy Roman Empress (1585 – 1618), wife of Holy Roman Emperor Matthias
• Holy Roman Emperor Matthias (1557 – 1619)
• Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand II (1578 – 1637)
• King Ferdinand IV of the Romans (1633 – 1654), son of Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand III
• Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand III (1608 – 1657)
• Archduke Ferdinand Josef Alois of Austria (1657 – 1658), son of Holy Emperor Ferdinand III
• Archduke Leopold Wilhelm of Austria, Bishop of Olomouc, Bishop of Breslau (1614 – 1662), son of Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand II
• Archduke Karl Joseph of Austria (1649 – 1664), son of Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand III
• Archduke Ferdinand Wenzel Josef of Austria (1667 – 1668), son of Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I, his heart is also interred here
• Archduke Johann Leopold of Austria (born and died 1670), son of Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I
• Archduchess Maria Anna Antonie of Austria (born and died 1672), daughter of Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I
• Margarita Teresa of Spain, Holy Roman Empress (1651 – 1673), first wife of Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I
• Archduchess Anna Maria Sophie of Austria (born and died 1674), daughter of Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I
• Claudia Felicitas of Austria, Holy Roman Empress (1653 – 1676), second wife of Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I
• Archduchess Maria Josefa Klementina of Austria (1675 – 1676), daughter of Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I
• Eleonora Magdalena of Mantua, Holy Roman Empress (1630 – 1686), third wife of Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand III
• Archduchess Maria Margareta of Austria (1690 – 1691), daughter of Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I, her heart is also interred here
• Archduchess Maria Antonia of Austria (1669 – 1692), daughter of Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I, wife of Maximilian II Emanuel, Elector of Bavaria
• Archduchess Maria Theresa of Austria (1684 – 1696), daughter of Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I
• Archduke Leopold Joseph of Austria (1700 – 1701), son of Holy Roman Emperor Joseph I, his heart is also interred here
• Archduchess Maria Josepha of Austria (1687 – 1703), daughter of Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I
• Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I (1640 – 1705)
• Holy Roman Emperor Joseph I (1678 – 1711)
• Archduke Leopold Johann of Austria (born and died 1716), son of Holy Roman Emperor Karl VI, his heart is also buried here
• Archduchess Maria Amalia of Austria (1724 – 1730), daughter of Holy Roman Emperor Karl VI
• Archduchess Marie Elisabeth of Austria (1737 – 1740), daughter of Empress Maria Theresa, her heart is also interred here
• Holy Roman Emperor Karl VI (1685 – 1740)
• Archduchess Marie Caroline of Austria (1740 – 1741), daughter of Empress Maria Theresa, her heart is also interred here
• Archduchess Maria Elisabeth of Austria (1680 – 1741), daughter of Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I
• Archduchess Maria Anna of Austria (1718 – 1744), daughter of Holy Roman Emperor Karl VI
• Elisabeth Christina of Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel, Holy Roman Empress (1691 – 1750), wife of Holy Roman Emperor Karl VI and mother of Empress Maria Theresa
• Archduke Karl Joseph of Austria ( 1745 – 1761), son of Empress Maria Theresa
• Archduchess Johanna Gabriele of Austria (1750 – 1762), daughter of Empress Maria Theresa
• Holy Roman Emperor Franz I Stephen (1708 – 1765), also Duke of Lorraine and Grand Duke of Tuscany, husband of Empress Maria Theresa
• Empress Maria Theresa (1717 – 1780)
• Archduchess Louise Elisabeth (1790 –  1791), daughter of Emperor Franz I of Austria
• Holy Roman Emperor Leopold II (1747 – 1792)
• Maria Luisa of Spain, Holy Roman Empress (1745 – 1792), wife of Holy Roman Emperor Leopold II
• Archduchess Karoline Leopoldine of Austria (1794 – 1795), daughter Franz I, Emperor of Austria
• Archduke Alexander Leopold of Austria, Palatine of Hungary (1772 – 1795), son of Holy Roman Emperor Leopold II
• Archduchess Maria Christina of Austria (1742 – 1798), daughter of Empress Maria Theresa, wife of Prince Albrecht of Saxony, Duke of Teschen.
• Archduchess Maria Amalia of Austria (1780 – 1798), daughter of Holy Roman Emperor Leopold II
• Archduchess Caroline Ludovika of Austria (1795 – 1799), daughter of Emperor Franz I of Austria
• Archduke Maximilian Franz of Austria, Bishop of Münster and Elector-Archbishop of Cologne (1756 – 1801), son of Empress Maria Theresa
• Archduchess Karoline Ferdinanda of Austria (1793 – 1802), daughter of Ferdinand III, Grand Duke of Tuscany and granddaughter of Holy Roman Emperor Leopold II
• Luisa Maria of Naples and Sicily, Grand Duchess of Tuscany (1773 – 1802), first wife of Ferdinando III, Grand Duke of Tuscany and granddaughter of Empress Maria Theresa
• Archduke Ferdinand Karl Anton of Austria (1754 – 1806), son of Empress Maria Theresa, founder of the House of Austria-Este
• Maria Teresa of Naples and Sicily, Empress of Austria (1772 – 1807), second wife of Emperor Franz I of Austria
• Archduke Joseph Franz of Austria (1799 – 1807), son of Emperor Franz I of Austria
• Archduke Johann Nepomuk Karl of Austria (1805 – 1809), son of Emperor Franz I of Austria
• Maria Carolina of Austria, Queen of Naples and Sicily (1752 – 1814), daughter of Empress Maria Theresa, wife of King Ferdinando I of the Two Sicilies
• Maria Ludovika of Austria-Este, Empress of Austria (1787 – 1816), third wife of Emperor Franz I of Austria
• Albrecht of Saxony, Duke of Teschen (1738 – 1822), husband of Archduchess Maria Christina of Austria
• Napoléon François Charles Joseph Bonaparte, Napoléon II (1811–1832), son of Napoléon Bonaparte and Maria Louise of Austria and grandson of Emperor Franz I of Austria
• Emperor Franz I of Austria (1768 – 1835)
• Emperor Ferdinand I of Austria (1793 – 1875)
• Archduke Franz Karl of Austria (1802 – 1878), son of Emperor Franz I of Austria and father of Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria

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Works Cited

• De.wikipedia.org. 2021. Grabmal Kaiser Friedrichs III. – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grabmal_Kaiser_Friedrichs_III.> [Accessed 26 December 2021].
• De.wikipedia.org. 2021. Herzogsgruft – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herzogsgruft> [Accessed 26 December 2021].
• De.wikipedia.org. 2021. Hochaltar des Stephansdoms – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hochaltar_des_Stephansdoms> [Accessed 26 December 2021].
• De.wikipedia.org. 2021. Kanzel des Stephansdoms – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kanzel_des_Stephansdoms> [Accessed 26 December 2021].
• De.wikipedia.org. 2021. Stephansdom – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephansdom> [Accessed 26 December 2021].
• De.wikipedia.org. 2021. Wiener Neustädter Altar – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiener_Neust%C3%A4dter_Altar> [Accessed 26 December 2021].
• En.wikipedia.org. 2021. Ducal Crypt, Vienna – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ducal_Crypt_(Vienna)> [Accessed 26 December 2021].
• En.wikipedia.org. 2021. St. Stephen’s Cathedral, Vienna – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Stephen%27s_Cathedral,_Vienna> [Accessed 26 December 2021].
• Jenkins, Simon, 2021. Europe’s 100 Best Cathedrals. Dublin: Penguin Random House.
• Stephanskirche.at. 2021. Domkirche St. Stephan. [online] Available at: <https://www.stephanskirche.at/> [Accessed 26 December 2021].

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2022

The Capuchin Church (German: Kapuzinerkirche), a Roman Catholic church in Vienna, Austria, which this writer has visited, contains the Imperial Crypt, the burial site for members of the House of Habsburg. The Imperial Crypt is in the care of the Capuchin monks from the cloister attached to the church. The burial place of the Habsburgs is so unlike the soaring structures containing the other burial sites I have visited and certainly not as grandiose. The Capuchin Church is small and is on a street with traffic, shops, stores, restaurants, and cafes. One cafe is directly across from it. Walking past the church, one would never think the burial place of emperors was there.

The Capuchin Church was founded by Anna of Tyrol and her husband Matthias, Holy Roman Emperor in 1617. Anna of Tyrol had come up with the idea of a Capuchin monastery and burial place for her and her husband and wanted to build it near Hofburg Palace in Vienna. In her will, Anna left funds to provide for the church’s construction. Anna died in December 1618, a year after she had made her will, and her husband Matthias died three months later. The foundation stone was laid in 1622, but the church was not completed and dedicated until 1632 because of the Thirty Years’ War. On Easter of 1633, the two sarcophagi containing the remains of Matthias and Anna were transferred to the Capuchin Church and placed in what is now called the Founders Vault.

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Although there have been renovations over the years, the main part of the church is more like a chapel with one main altar and two side altars. Father Norbert Baumgartner (1710 – 1773), a Capuchin friar at the cloister, painted the three altarpieces.

The right side altar is dedicated to St. Felix of Cantalice, the first Capuchin friar to be named a saint.

The left side altar is dedicated to St. Anthony of Padua.

Two side chapels contrast the simpler church. The Imperial Chapel contains a series of life-size statues of rulers from the House of Habsburg and a high altar with a painting of Mary, Help of Christians. The last heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, Otto von Habsburg, who died in July 2011, and his wife Regina of Saxe-Meiningen, who died in 2010 but was temporarily interred elsewhere, lay in repose in the Imperial Chapel before their burial in the Imperial Crypt.

The Pietà Chapel has a marble altar with a life-size Pietà, created by Austrian sculptor and painter Peter Strudel. The statue was originally in the Imperial Crypt and was moved into the Pietà Chapel at the end of the 18th century. In the floor in front of the altar is the burial place of Blessed Marco d’Aviano, an Italian Capuchin friar beatified by Pope John Paul II in 2003. Marco d’Aviano’s name has often been given to Austrian royals and other Roman Catholic royals. See Wikipedia: Marco d’Aviano Honorary Protection.

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What is Separate Burial?

A separate burial is a form of partial burial in which internal organs are buried separately from the rest of the body. Separate burials of the heart, viscera (the intestines), and the body were common in the House of Habsburg starting with the death of Ferdinand IV, King of the Romans in 1654 until the death of Archduke Franz Karl in 1878. Ferdinand IV of the Romans (1633 – 1654), son of Holy Emperor Ferdinand III, had a strong devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary and requested that his heart be interred in the Loreto Chapel at the Augustinekirche in Vienna. This established the tradition of interring the hearts of members of the Habsburg family in a crypt alongside the heart of Ferdinand IV. Until then, the hearts of Habsburgs had mostly been buried with the body in the coffin at the Imperial Crypt in the nearby Capuchin Church in Vienna or in St. Stephen’s Cathedral in Vienna where the entrails of the Habsburgs were traditionally interred. With the death of Ferdinand IV, King of the Romans, it became traditional for the body to be interred in the Imperial Crypt in the Capuchin Church in Vienna, the heart to be placed in an urn in the Herzgruft, the Heart Crypt in the Loreto Chapel of the Augustinerkirche in Vienna, and the entrails to be placed in an urn in the Ducal Crypt of St. Stephen’s Cathedral in Vienna.

After the end of the monarchy in 1918, some members of the Habsburg family resumed the tradition of heart burial but not viscera burial. When Karl I, the last Emperor of Austria, died in 1922, he was not allowed to be buried in the Imperial Crypt in Vienna and instead was buried at the Church of Our Lady of Monte on the island of Madeira in Portugal. His heart remained with his widow Empress Zita until it was interred in the Loreto Chapel of the Muri Monastery in Switzerland in 1971. When Empress Zita died in 1989, her body was buried in the Imperial Crypt at the Capuchin Church in Vienna and her heart was interred with her husband’s heart in the Loreto Chapel of the Muri Monastery in Switzerland. Karl and Zita’s son Otto von Habsburg, the last Crown Prince of Austria, requested that his heart be buried in the crypt of the Benedictine Abbey of Pannonhalma in Hungary. His body was interred in the Imperial Crypt at the Capuchin Church. The body of Otto’s wife Regina of Saxe-Meiningen was also interred in the Imperial Crypt but she requested that her heart be interred in her family’s crypt at Veste Heldburg (link in German) in Heldburg, Germany.

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Underneath the Capuchin Church lies the Imperial Crypt (German: Kaisergruft) which contains nearly 150 tombs of the Habsburg family. Through the years, additional vaults have been added and Capuchin friars still look after the tombs. By tradition, the bodies of the Habsburgs were buried at three locations. The hearts were interred in the Heart Crypt (German: Herzgruft) in the nearby Augustinerkirche in Vienna. The intestines were placed in copper urns in the Ducal Crypt (German: Herzogsgruft) of the Catacombs in St. Stephen’s Cathedral in Vienna. Their bodies were entombed in the Imperial Crypt. All the caskets and tombs in the Imperial Crypt are labeled in German with the identity of the person and the relationship to a Holy Roman Emperor, Emperor of Austria, or Archduke.

Read more about my visit to the Imperial Crypt at Unofficial Royalty: A Visit to the Kaisergruft (Imperial Crypt) in Vienna.

• Unofficial Royalty: Austrian Imperial Burial Sites: House of Habsburg-Lorraine: Emperors of Austria 1804-1918

A. Founders Vault: is the oldest part of the Imperial Crypt, dating from the original construction of the church which was completed in 1632.
B. Children’s Columbarium: was built in the 1960s and contains the sarcophagi of 12 children who had previously been in either the Founders Vault or the main hall of Leopold’s Vault
C. Leopold’s Vault: was built under the nave of the Capuchin Church beginning in 1657 by Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I following the edict of his father Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand III that the hereditary burial place of the imperial family would be in the Capuchin Church.
D. Karl’s Vault: was built in 1710 by Holy Roman Emperor Joseph I and extended in 1720 by Holy Roman Emperor Karl VI
E. Maria Theresa’s Vault:  started construction in 1754. It is behind the Capuchin Church with its dome rising into the cloister courtyard.
F. Franz’s Vault: was built in 1824 by former Holy Roman Emperor Franz II, now Emperor Franz I of Austria. The octagonal Franz’s Vault is attached to the right wing of the Maria Theresa Vault.
G. Ferdinand’s Vault: was built in 1842, along with the Tuscan Vault, in conjunction with the reconstruction of the cloister above. There are only two visible sarcophagi but Ferdinand’s Vault contains one-fourth of the Imperial Crypt’s burials, walled up into the corner piers.
H. New Vault: was built between 1960 and 1962 under the monastery grounds as an enlargement to eliminate overcrowding in the other nine vaults, and to provide a climate-controlled environment to protect the metal sarcophagi from further deterioration.
I. Franz Joseph’s Vault: and the adjacent crypt chapel (J) were built in 1908 as part of the celebrations of Emperor Franz Joseph’s 60 years on the throne.
J. Crypt Chapel: The Crypt Chapel was built, along with the Franz Joseph Vault, in 1908. It is usually entered from the south doorway of the Franz Joseph Vault. The most recent burials are here.
K. The Tuscan Vault:  was built in 1842, along with the Ferdinand Vault. This vault takes its name from burials here of the many descendants of the younger sons of Holy Roman Emperor Leopold II, who reigned as Grand Duke of Tuscany from 1765 – 1790, before he became Holy Roman Emperor.

Founders Crypt

Located under the Imperial Chapel, the Founders Crypt is the oldest part of the Imperial Crypt, dating from the original construction of the Capuchin Church. The Founders Crypt cannot be entered by visitors and is visible through a gate from the Leopold Crypt. It contains the two sarcophagi of the founders of the Capuchin Church.

• Anna of Tyrol, Holy Roman Empress (1585 – 1618) – wife of Holy Roman Emperor Matthias
• Holy Roman Emperor Matthias (1557 – 1619)

Leopold’s Crypt

Leopold’s Crypt was built under the nave of the Capuchin Church beginning in 1657 by Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I following the edict of his father Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand III that the burial place of the House of Habsburg would be at the Capuchin Church.

• Maria Anna of Spain, Holy Roman Empress (1606 – 1646) – 1st wife of Holy Emperor Ferdinand III
• Maria Leopoldine of Austria, Holy Roman Empress (1632 – 1649) – 2nd wife of Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand III
• Ferdinand IV, King of Bohemia, King of Hungary and Croatia, King of the Romans (1633-1654) – eldest son of Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand III
• Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand III (1608 – 1657)
• Claudia Felicitas of Austria-Tyrol, Holy Roman Empress (1653 – 1676) – 2nd wife of Holy Emperor Leopold I, heart urn interred, at her request, dressed in the habit of a Dominican nun, she was entombed beside her mother in the Dominican Church in Vienna
• Archduke Leopold Joseph of Austria (1682 – 1684) – son of Holy Emperor Leopold I
• Eleonora Magdalena Gonzaga of Mantua, Holy Roman Empress (1630 – 1686) – 3rd wife of Holy Emperor Ferdinand III
• Maria Anna Josepha of Austria, Electress of the Palatinate (1654 -1689) – daughter of Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand III
• Margarita Teresa of Spain, Holy Roman Empress (1651 – 1673) – 1st wife of Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I
• Maria Antonia of Austria, Electress of Bavaria (1669 – 1692) – daughter of Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I
• Archduchess Maria Theresia of Austria (1684 – 1696) – daughter of Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I
• Eleonora Maria of Austria, Queen of Poland (1653–1697 – daughter of Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand III, wife of King Michael of Poland
• Archduchess Maria Josepha of Austria (1687 – 1703) – daughter of Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I
• Archduke Leopold Johann of Austria (born and died 1716) – son of Holy Roman Emperor Karl VI
• Eleonora Magdalena of Pfalz-Neuburg, Holy Roman Empress (1655 – 1720) – 3rd wife of Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I
• Archduchess Maria Amalia of Austria (1724 – 1730) – daughter of Holy Roman Emperor Karl VI
• Archduchess Maria Magdalena of Austria (1689 – 1743) – daughter of Holy Emperor Leopold I
• Maria Anna of Austria, Queen of Portugal (1683 – 1754) – daughter of Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I, wife of King João V of Portugal, heart urn interred, her body was buried at the Monastery of St. John Nepomuk of the Discalced Carmelites in Lisbon, Portugal, which she founded

Children’s Columbarium

In the 1960s, the Children’s Columbarium, twelve niches in the wall of Leopold’s Crypt, was built for the coffins of twelve young children. The coffins were originally in the Founders Crypt or Leopold’s Crypt.

• Archduke Philipp August of Austria (1637 – 1639) – son of Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand III
• Archduke Maximilian Thomas of Austria (born and died 1639) – son of Holy Emperor Ferdinand III
• Archduchess Theresia Maria of Austria (1652 – 1653) – daughter of Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand III
• Archduke Ferdinand Josef of Austria (1657 – 1658) – son of Holy Emperor Ferdinand III
• Archduke Ferdinand Wenzel of Austria (1667 – 1668) – son of Holy Emperor Leopold I
• Archduke Johann Leopold of Austria (born and died 1670) – son of Holy Emperor Leopold I
• Archduchess Maria Anna of Austria (born and died 1672) – daughter of Holy Emperor Leopold I
• Archduchess Anna Maria Sophia of Austria (born and died 1674) – daughter of Holy Emperor Leopold I
• Archduchess Maria Josepha (1675 – 1676) – daughter of Holy Emperor Leopold I
• Archduchess Christina of Austria (born and died 1679) – daughter of Holy Emperor Leopold I
• Unnamed (born and died 1686) – son of Johann Wilhelm of Pfalz-Neuberg and Archduchess Maria Anna Josepha of Austria and grandson of Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand III
• Archduchess Maria Margareta of Austria (1690 – 1691) – daughter of Holy Emperor Leopold I

Karl’s Crypt

What is now known as Karl’s Crypt was first built in 1710 by Holy Roman Emperor Joseph. In 1720, the crypt was enlarged on the orders of Holy Roman Emperor Karl VI. Karl VI’s famous tomb has a death’s head at each corner wearing one of the crowns of his major realms, the Holy Roman Empire, the Kingdom of Bohemia, the Kingdom of Hungary, and the Archduchy of Austria.

• Archduke Leopold Joseph of Austria (1700 – 1701) – son of Holy Roman Emperor Joseph I
• Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I (1640 – 1705)
• Holy Roman Emperor Joseph I (1678 – 1711)
• Holy Roman Emperor Karl VI (1685 – 1740)
• Archduchess Maria Elisabeth of Austria (1680 – 1741) – daughter of Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I
• Wilhelmine Amalia of Brunswick-Lüneburg, Holy Roman Empress (1673 – 1742) – wife of Holy Roman Emperor Joseph I, heart urn interred at her husband’s feet at her request, her body was buried at the Salesian Church in Vienna which she founded
• Archduchess Maria Anna of Austria (1718 – 1744) – daughter of Holy Roman Emperor Karl VI
• Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick- Wolfenbüttel, Holy Roman Empress (1691 – 1750) – wife of Holy Roman Emperor Karl VI

Maria Theresa’s Crypt

A Note About Maria Theresa: Born Archduchess Maria Theresa of Austria, she was the second and eldest surviving child of Holy Roman Emperor Karl VI. Her only brother died several weeks before she was born and her two younger siblings were sisters. The fact that Maria Theresa’s father did not have a male heir caused many problems. Maria Theresa’s right to succeed to her father’s Habsburg territories in her own right was the cause of the eight-year-long War of the Austrian Succession. Upon her father’s death in 1740, Maria Theresa became the sovereign in her own right of all the Habsburg territories which included Austria, Hungary, Croatia, Bohemia, Transylvania, Mantua, Milan, Lodomeria and Galicia, the Austrian Netherlands, and Parma. However, she was unable to become the sovereign of the Holy Roman Empire because she was female. The Habsburgs had been elected Holy Roman Emperors since 1438, but in 1742 Karl Albrecht, Duke of Bavaria and Prince-Elector of Bavaria from the Bavarian House of Wittelsbach was elected Holy Roman Emperor Karl VII. He died in 1745 and via a treaty Maria Theresa arranged for her husband Francis Stephen, Duke of Lorraine to be elected Holy Roman Emperor. Despite the snub, the formidable Maria Theresa wielded the real power and in reality, ruled the Holy Roman Empire. She is generally referred to by historians simply as Empress Maria Theresa and that is how she is referred to in this article. Maria Theresa and her husband had sixteen children. Eight of the couple’s children died in childhood and four of the eight died from smallpox.

Construction of the Maria Theresa Crypt started in 1754. It is located behind the Capuchin Church with its dome rising into the monastery courtyard.

• Archduchess Maria Elisabeth of Austria (1737 – 1740) – daughter of Empress Maria Theresa
• Archduchess Maria Karolina of Austria (1740 – 1741) – daughter of Empress Maria Theresa
• Unnamed daughter (1744) – daughter of Prince Charles of Lorraine and Archduchess Maria Anna of Austria and granddaughter of Holy Roman Emperor Karl VI
• Archduchess Maria Karolina of Austria (born and died 1748) – daughter of Empress Maria Theresa
• Countess Karoline von Fuchs-Mollard (1675 – 1754) – governess and lady-in-waiting of the Empress Maria Theresa
• Archduke Karl Joseph of Austria (1745 – 1761) – son of Empress Maria Theresa
• Archduchess Johanna Gabriela of Austria (1750 – 1762) – daughter of Empress Maria Theresa
• Archduchess Christina of Austria (born and died 1763) – daughter of Holy Roman Emperor Joseph II
• Isabella of Parma, Archduchess of Austria (1741 – 1763) – 1st wife of Holy Roman Emperor Joseph II
• Holy Roman Emperor Franz I (1708 – 1765), husband of Empress Maria Theresa
• Archduchess Christina of Austria (born and died 1767) – daughter of Duke Albert of Saxony-Teschen and Archduchess Maria Christina
• Maria Josepha of Bavaria, Holy Roman Empress (1739 – 1767) – 2nd wife of Holy Roman Emperor Joseph II
• Archduchess Maria Josepha of Austria (1751 – 1767) – daughter of Empress Maria Theresia
• Archduchess Maria Theresa of Austria (1762 – 1770) – daughter of Holy Roman Emperor Joseph II
• Empress Maria Theresa (1717 – 1780) – in her own right Queen of Bohemia, Queen of Hungary, Queen of Croatia, Archduchess of Austria along with some other titles of Habsburg hereditary lands (wife of Franz I)
• Holy Roman Emperor Joseph II (1741 – 1790)

Franz’s Crypt

Holy Roman Emperor Franz II = Emperor Franz I of Austria: Upon the death of his father Holy Roman Emperor Leopold II in 1792, Franz was elected the last Holy Roman Emperor and reigned as Holy Roman Emperor Franz I. Franz feared that Napoleon Bonaparte could take over his personal Habsburg territories within the Holy Roman Empire, so in 1804 he proclaimed himself Emperor Franz I of Austria and reigned until his death in 1835. Franz’s decision proved to be a wise one. Two years later, after Napoleon’s victory at the Battle of Austerlitz, the Holy Roman Empire was dissolved and lands that had been held by the Holy Roman Emperor were given to Napoleon’s allies creating the Kingdom of Bavaria, the Kingdom of Württemberg, and the Grand Duchy of Baden. Franz is referred to as Emperor Franz I of Austria in this article.

In 1824, Emperor Franz I of Austria built the octagonal Franz’s Crypt attaching it to the Maria Theresa Crypt. The crypt contains the tomb of Franz surrounded by the caskets of his four wives (two died in childbirth, one died of tuberculosis, and one survived him) in the crypt’s corners.

• Elisabeth of Württemberg, Archduchess of Austria (1767 – 1790) – 1st wife of Emperor Franz I of Austria
• Maria Theresa of Naples and Sicily, Empress of Austria (1772 – 1807) – 2nd wife of Emperor Franz I of Austria
• Maria Ludovika of Austria-Este, Empress of Austria (1787 – 1816) – 3rd wife of Emperor Franz I of Austria
• Emperor Franz I of Austria (1768 – 1835)
• Caroline Augusta of Bavaria, Empress of Austria (1792 – 1873) – 4th wife of Emperor Franz I of Austria
• Prince Napoleon II of France (1811 – 1832), son of Napoléon Bonaparte, Emperor of the French and his second wife Archduchess Maria Louise of Austria and grandson of Franz I, Emperor of Austria; in 1940, he was reinterred in Les Invalides in Paris, France

Ferdinand’s Crypt

Ferdinand’s Crypt was built in 1842, along with the Tuscan Crypt, during the renovation of the monastery which is above the crypt. Only two sarcophagi, those of Emperor Ferdinand of Austria and his wife Maria Anna of Savoy, are visible, but 25% of the tombs in the Imperial Crypt are interred in the walls of Ferdinand’s Crypt.

Sarcophagi placed in the vault:

• Emperor Ferdinand I of Austria (1793 – 1875)
• Maria Anna of Savoy, Empress of Austria (1803 – 1884) – wife of Emperor Ferdinand I of Austria

Interred in wall niches:

• Archduchess Ludovica Elisabeth of Austria (1790 – 1791) – daughter of Emperor Franz I of Austria
• Archduchess Karoline Leopoldine of Austria (1794 – 1795) – daughter of Emperor Franz I of Austria
• Archduke Alexander Leopold of Austria (1772 – 1795) – son of Holy Roman Emperor Leopold II
• Archduchess Maria Amalia of Austria (1780 – 1798) – daughter of Holy Roman Emperor Leopold II
• Archduchess Karoline Louise of Austria (1795 – 1799) – daughter of Emperor Franz I of Austria
• Luisa of Naples and Sicily, Grand Duchess of Tuscany (1773 – 1802), granddaughter of Empress Maria Theresa, first wife of Ferdinando III, Grand Duke of Tuscany
• Archduchess Amalie Therese of Austria (born and died 1807) – daughter of Emperor Franz I of Austria
• Archduke Joseph Franz of Austria (1799 – 1807) – son of Emperor Franz I of Austria
• Archduke Johann Nepomuk Karl of Austria (1805 – 1809) – son of Emperor Franz I of Austria
• Archduchess Karoline Ferdinanda of Austria (1793 – 1802), daughter of Grand Duke Ferdinand III of Tuscany and granddaughter of Holy Roman Emperor Leopold II
• Archduchess Maria Anna of Austria (1835 – 1840) – sister of Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria
• Archduchess Maria Karolina of Austria (1821 – 1844) – daughter of Archduke Rainer of Austria and granddaughter of Holy Roman Emperor Leopold II
• Archduchess Sophie Friederike of Austria (1855 – 1857) – daughter of Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria
• Archduchess Maria Anna of Austria (1804 – 1858) – daughter of Emperor Franz I of Austria
• Archduchess Maria Eleonore of Austria-Teschen (born and died 1864) – daughter of Archduke Karl Ferdinand of Austria-Teschen
• Maria Ferdinanda of Saxony, Grand Duchess of Tuscany (1796 – 1865) – 2nd wife of Grand Duke Ferdinand III of Tuscany
• Archduchess Maria Antoinetta of Austria (1858 – 1883) – daughter of Grand Duke Ferdinand IV of Tuscany
• Archduchess Henriette Maria of Austria (1884 – 1886) – daughter of Archduke Karl Salvator of Austria
• Archduke Rainer Salvator of Austria (1880 – 1889) – son of Archduke Karl Salvator of Austria
• Archduchess Stephanie of Austria (1886 – 1890) – daughter of Archduke Friedrich of Austria, Duke of Teschen
• Archduchess Maria Antonia of Austria (1874 – 1891) – daughter of Archduke Karl Salvator of Austria
• Archduke Ferdinand Salvator of Austria (1888 – 1891) – son of Archduke Karl Salvator of Austria
• Archduke Karl Salvator of Austria (1839 – 1892) – son of Leopold II, Grand Duke of Tuscany
• Archduke Robert Ferdinand (1885 – 1895) – son of Grand Duke Ferdinand IV of Tuscany
• Archduke Albrecht Salvator of Austria (1871 – 1896) – son of Archduke Karl Salvator of Austria
• Archduchess Natalie of Austria (1884 – 1898) – daughter of Archduke Friedrich of Austria, Duke of Teschen
• Archduke Leopold of Austria (1823 – 1898) – son of Archduke Rainer of Austria and grandson of Holy Roman Emperor Leopold II
• Maria Antonia of the Two Sicilies, Grand Duchess of Tuscany (1814 – 1898) – 2nd wife of Grand Duke Leopold II of Tuscany
• Maria Immaculata of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Archduchess of Austria (1844 – 1899) – wife of Archduke Karl Salvator of Austria
• Archduke Ernst of Austria (1824 – 1899) – son of Archduke Rainer of Austria and grandson of Holy Roman Emperor Leopold II
• Adelgunde of Bavaria, Duchess of Modena (1823 – 1914) – wife of Francesco V, Duke of Modena
• Archduchess Marie Caroline of Austria-Teschen (1825 – 1915) – daughter of Archduke Karl, Duke of Teschen and wife of Archduke Rainer Ferdinand of Austria
• Archduke Ludwig Salvator of Austria (1847 – 1915) – son of Grand Duke Leopold II of Tuscany
• Archduke Joseph Ferdinand of Austria (1872 – 1942) – son of Grand Duke Ferdinand IV of Tuscany
• Maria Theresa of Portugal, Archduchess of Austria (1855 – 1944) – 3rd wife of Archduke Karl Ludwig of Austria, brother of Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria
• Archduke Leopold of Austria (1897 – 1958) – son of Archduke Leopold Salvator of Austria

Tuscan Crypt

The Tuscan Crypt was built in 1842 at the same time as the Ferdinand Vault. The vault takes its name from the many descendants of the younger sons of Holy Roman Emperor Leopold II. Leopold reigned as Pietro Leopoldo I, Grand Duke of Tuscany from 1765 – 1790. He abdicated as Grand Duke of Tuscany in favor of his second son Ferdinando when he was elected Holy Roman Emperor.

• Holy Roman Emperor Leopold II (1747 – 1792), reigned 1765 – 1790 as Pietro Leopoldo I, Grand Duke of Tuscany, abdicated in favor of his son Ferdinando when he was elected Holy Roman Emperor
• Maria Luisa of Spain, Holy Roman Empress (1745 – 1792) – wife of Holy Roman Emperor Leopold II
• Archduchess Maria Christina of Austria, Duchess of Teschen (1742 – 1798) – daughter of Empress Maria Theresa and wife of Prince Albrecht of Saxony, Duke of Teschen
• Archduke Ferdinand Karl of Austria-Este (1754 – 1806) – son of Empress Maria Theresa, husband of Maria Beatrice d’Este, the heiress of Modena and Reggio, founders of the House of Austria-Este
• Maria Carolina of Austria, Queen of Naples and Sicily (1752 – 1814) – daughter of Empress Maria Theresa and 1st wife of King Ferdinand IV of Naples and Sicily
• Albert, Duke of Saxony-Teschen (1738 – 1822) – husband of Archduchess Maria Christina of Austria
• Maria Beatrice d’Este, Duchess of Massa, Archduchess of Austria (1750 – 1829) – wife of Archduke Ferdinand Karl of Austria-Este
• Archduke Anton Viktor of Austria (1779 – 1835) – son of Holy Roman Emperor Leopold II
• Archduke Ferdinand Karl Joseph of Austria-Este (1781 – 1850) – son of Archduke Ferdinand Karl of Austria-Este
• Archduke Ludwig Joseph of Austria (1784 – 1864) – son of Holy Emperor Leopold II
• Leopold II, Grand Duke of Tuscany (1797 – 1870)
• Francesco V, Duke of Modena (1819 – 1875)
• Ferdinand IV, Grand Duke of Tuscany (1835 – 1908)
• Archduke Rainer Ferdinand of Austria (1827 – 1913) – son of Archduke Rainer Joseph of Austria and grandson of Holy Roman Emperor Leopold II

New Crypt

The New Crypt was built under the monastery grounds from 1960 – 1962 to provide more space. The two most famous tombs in the New Vault stand directly across from each other: Empress Marie-Louise of France, daughter of Emperor Franz I of Austria and the second wife of Napoleon I, Emperor of the French and Emperor Maximilian I of Mexico, second son of Archduke Franz Karl and brother of Emperor Franz Joseph. Emperor Maximilian of Mexico was deposed and executed by a firing squad.

• Archduke Leopold Wilhelm of Austria (1614 – 1662) – son of Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand II
• Archduke Karl Joseph of Austria (1649 – 1664) – son of Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand III
• Karl Joseph of Lorraine, Archbishop and Prince-Elector of Trier (1680 – 1715) – son of Archduchess Eleonora Maria of Austria and grandson of Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand III
• Archduke Maximilian Franz of Austria, Archbishop and Elector of Cologne, (1756 – 1801) – son of Empress Maria Theresa
• Archduke Rudolf of Austria (born and died 1822) – son of Archduke Karl of Austria, Duke of Teschen
• Henrietta of Nassau-Weilburg, Archduchess of Austria (1797 – 1829) – wife of Archduke Karl of Austria, Duke of Teschen
• Archduke Rudolph of Austria, Cardinal-Archbishop of Olomouc (1788 – 1831) – son of Holy Roman Emperor Leopold II
• Unnamed stillborn son (1840) – son of Archduke Franz Karl of Austria and grandson of Emperor Franz I of Austria
• Archduke Karl of Austria, Duke of Teschen (1771 – 1847) – son of Holy Roman Emperor Leopold II
• Archduchess Marie-Louise of Austria, Empress of the French (1791 – 1847) – daughter of Emperor Franz I of Austria, 2nd wife of Napoleon I, Emperor of the French
• Archduke Karl Albrecht of Austria (1847 – 1848) – son of Archduke Albrecht, Duke of Teschen
• Margaretha of Saxony, Archduchess of Austria (1840 – 1858) – 1st wife of Archduke Karl Ludwig of Austria
• Hildegard of Bavaria, Archduchess of Austria, Duchess of Teschen (1825–1864) – wife of Archduke Albrecht, Duke of Teschen
• Archduchess Mathilde of Austria-Teschen (1849 – 1867) – daughter of Archduke Albrecht, Duke of Teschen
• Archduke Maximilian of Austria, Emperor Maximilian of Mexico (1832- 1867) – son of Archduke Franz Karl of Austria, grandson of Emperor Franz I of Austria
• Maria Annunciata of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Archduchess of Austria (1843 – 1871) – 2nd wife of Archduke Karl Ludwig of Austria
• Sophie of Bavaria, Archduchess of Austria (1805 – 1872) – wife of Archduke Franz Karl of Austria and mother of Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria
• Archduke Karl Ferdinand of Austria-Teschen (1818 – 1874) – son of son of Archduke Karl, Duke of Teschen
• Archduke Franz Karl of Austria (1802 – 1878) – son of Emperor Franz I of Austria and father of Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria
• Archduke Wilhelm of Austria-Teschen (1827 – 1894) – son of Archduke Karl, Duke of Teschen
• Archduke Albrecht of Austria, Duke of Teschen (1817 – 1895) – son of Archduke Karl, Duke of Teschen
• Archduke Karl Ludwig of Austria (1833 – 1896) – son of Archduke Franz Karl of Austria, brother of Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria, father of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria
• Archduke Otto of Austria (1865 – 1906) – son of Archduke Karl Ludwig of Austria, nephew of Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria, father of Karl I, the last Emperor of Austria
• Archduke Rainer Karl of Austria (1895 – 1930) – son of Archduke Leopold Salvator of Austria
• Archduke Leopold Salvator of Austria (1863 – 1931) – son of Archduke Karl Salvator of Austria
• Maria Josepha of Saxony, Archduchess of Austria (1867 – 1944) – wife of Archduke Otto of Austria and mother of Karl I, the last Emperor of Austria

Franz Joseph’s Crypt

In 1908, Franz Joseph’s Crypt was built along with the adjacent Crypt Chapel in celebration of Emperor Franz Joseph’s sixty years on the throne. Currently, Franz Joseph, with a reign of 67 years and 355 days, is the sixth longest-reigning monarch in history. Along with Franz Joseph’s tomb, the crypt contains the tombs of his wife Elisabeth of Bavaria, known as Sissi, who was assassinated, and their only son Crown Prince Rudolf who died by suicide along with his mistress Baroness Mary Vetsera at his Mayerling hunting lodge.

• Crown Prince Rudolf of Austria (1858 – 1889) – son of Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria
• Elisabeth of Bavaria, Empress of Austria (1837 – 1898) – wife of Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria
• Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria (1830 – 1916)

Crypt Chapel

The Crypt Chapel, where the most recent interments have occurred, was built in 1908 along with Franz Joseph’s Crypt. Zita of Bourbon-Parma, the wife of Karl I, the last Emperor of Austria, two of her sons Otto and Carl Ludwig, and Otto’s wife Regina of Saxe-Meiningen are buried here. There is a space reserved for Carl Ludwig’s widow Princesse Yolande de Ligne. The Crypt Chapel contains a memorial to Emperor Karl I, who has been beatified by the Roman Catholic Church and who is buried at the Church of Our Lady of Monte on the island of Madeira, Portugal. There is also a memorial to Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie, Duchess of Hohenberg. Both were assassinated at Sarajevo, an event that was one of the causes of World War I. Franz Ferdinand and his wife are buried at Artstetten Castle in Austria.

• Zita of Bourbon-Parma, Empress of Austria (1892 – 1989) – wife of Emperor Karl I of Austria
• Carl Ludwig von Habsburg, Archduke Karl Ludwig of Austria (1918 – 2007) – son of Emperor Karl I of Austria
• Otto von Habsburg, the last Crown Prince of Austria (1912 – 2011) – son of Emperor Karl I of Austria
• Regina of Saxe-Meiningen, Regina von Habsburg (1925 – 2010) – wife of Otto von Habsburg

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Works Cited

• De.wikipedia.org. 2021. Kaisergruft – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaisergruft> [Accessed 22 December 2021].
• De.wikipedia.org. 2021. Kapuzinerkirche (Wien) – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kapuzinerkirche_(Wien)> [Accessed 22 December 2021].
• En.wikipedia.org. 2021. Capuchin Church, Vienna – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capuchin_Church,_Vienna> [Accessed 22 December 2021].
• En.wikipedia.org. 2021. Imperial Crypt – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imperial_Crypt> [Accessed 22 December 2021].
• Flantzer, Susan, 2012. A Visit to the Kaisergruft (Imperial Crypt) in Vienna. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/royal-burial-sites/austrian-imperial-burial-sites/a-visit-to-the-kaisergruft-imperial-crypt-in-vienna/> [Accessed 22 December 2021].
• Flantzer, Susan, 2012. Burial Sites – House of Habsburg-Lorraine: Emperors of Austria. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/royal-burial-sites/austrian-imperial-burial-sites/house-of-habsburg-lorraine-emperors-of-austria/> [Accessed 22 December 2021].

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2022

The Augustinerkirche (Augustinian Church), which this writer has visited, is a Roman Catholic church located in Vienna, Austria, adjacent to the Hofburg Palace, the winter palace of the Habsburgs. Originally built as a separate building, the church became integrated with the Hofburg Palace as the palace expanded over the centuries. The church looks relatively inconspicuous from the outside but it has an impressive interior. The Augustinerkirche is most known for its Herzgruft (Heart Crypt) in the Loreto Chapel where silver urns containing the hearts of Habsburg family members are interred (see below).

In 1327, Friedrich I, Duke of Austria founded a monastery with a church for the Augustinian order of monks. The church was built as a Gothic three-aisled hall church by the Bavarian builder Dietrich Ladtner of Pirna from 1330 – 1339 but it was not consecrated until 1349. In 1634, the Augustinerkirche became the imperial court parish church and remained so until the end of the monarchy in 1918. After the church was named the imperial court parish church, it was renovated in the Baroque style and a tower was added in 1652. During the reign of Holy Roman Emperor Joseph II, eighteen side altars were removed when the church was restored to its original Gothic style by Austrian architect Johann Ferdinand Hetzendorf von Hohenberg (link in German).

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A Note About Two Habsburg Rulers

Empress Maria Theresa: Born Archduchess Maria Theresa of Austria, she was the second and eldest surviving child of Holy Roman Emperor Karl VI. Her only brother died several weeks before she was born and her two younger siblings were sisters. The fact that Maria Theresa’s father did not have a male heir caused many problems. Maria Theresa’s right to succeed to her father’s Habsburg territories in her own right was the cause of the eight-year-long War of the Austrian Succession. Upon her father’s death in 1740, Maria Theresa became the sovereign in her own right of all the Habsburg territories which included Austria, Hungary, Croatia, Bohemia, Transylvania, Mantua, Milan, Lodomeria and Galicia, the Austrian Netherlands, and Parma. However, she was unable to become the sovereign of the Holy Roman Empire because she was female. The Habsburgs had been elected Holy Roman Emperors since 1438, but in 1742 Karl Albrecht, Duke of Bavaria and Prince-Elector of Bavaria from the Bavarian House of Wittelsbach was elected Holy Roman Emperor Karl VII. He died in 1745 and via a treaty, Maria Theresa arranged for her husband Francis Stephen, Duke of Lorraine to be elected Holy Roman Emperor. Despite the snub, the formidable Maria Theresa wielded the real power and in reality, ruled the Holy Roman Empire. She is generally referred to by historians simply as Empress Maria Theresa and that is how she is referred to in this article.

• Unofficial Royalty: Maria Theresa, Archduchess of Austria, and Queen of Hungary, Croatia, and Bohemia

Holy Roman Emperor Franz II = Emperor Franz I of Austria: Upon the death of his father Holy Roman Emperor Leopold II in 1792, Franz was elected the last Holy Roman Emperor and reigned as Holy Roman Emperor Franz I. Franz feared that Napoleon Bonaparte could take over his personal Habsburg territories within the Holy Roman Empire, so in 1804 he proclaimed himself Emperor Franz I of Austria and reigned until he died in 1835. Franz’s decision proved to be a wise one. Two years later, after Napoleon’s victory at the Battle of Austerlitz, the Holy Roman Empire was dissolved and lands that had been held by the Holy Roman Emperor were given to Napoleon’s allies creating the Kingdom of Bavaria, the Kingdom of Württemberg, and the Grand Duchy of Baden. Franz is referred to as Emperor Franz I of Austria in this article.

• • Unofficial Royalty: Franz I, Emperor of Austria
  • Unofficial Royalty: What was the Holy Roman Empire?

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The High Altar

The current high altar was designed and made by German sculptor Andreas Halbig from 1857 – 1870. It was made from sandstone and made in the polychrome style, the decoration of architectural elements and sculpture in a variety of colors. The altar was originally made for the Votivkirche in Vienna but the architect of the Votivkirche rejected the altar because it would have prevented a view of the ambulatory, so the altar was installed in the Augustinerkirche in 1873. The altar shows Christ the King as ruler of the world, surrounded by angels and saints.

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The Altar Dedicated to Blessed Karl of Austria, the last Emperor of Austria

In 2004, a new side altar was dedicated to Blessed Karl of Austria. On October 3, 2004, Pope John Paul II beatified Karl I, the last Emperor of Austria, and he is known as Blessed Karl of Austria. Beatification is the third of four steps toward sainthood in the Roman Catholic Church. On January 31, 2008, the Roman Catholic Church, after a 16-month investigation, formally recognized a second miracle attributed to Karl I which is required for his canonization as a saint. However, no word on his canonization has been forthcoming.

• Unofficial Royalty: Karl I, Emperor of Austria

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The Cenotaph of Archduchess Maria Christina of Austria, Duchess of Teschen

Archduchess Maria Christina of Austria (1742 – 1798), was the fifth of the sixteen children of Empress Maria Theresa and Francis I Stephen, Holy Roman Emperor. According to Empress Maria Theresa’s writings, Maria Christina was her favorite child. Allowed to marry for love, Maria Christina married Prince Albrecht of Saxony. The couple received the Duchy of Teschen, and Maria Christina and her husband were jointly appointed Governor of the Austrian Netherlands, serving from 1781 – 1789 and 1791 – 1792. Maria Christina’s last illness was a long one. The day before her death at the age of 56, she wrote a farewell letter to her husband in which she told him of her deep and lifelong love for him. After the death of his wife, her grieving husband Albrecht had an impressive cenotaph (empty tomb) built for Maria Christina, designed and sculpted by Italian neoclassical sculptor Antonio Canova.

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Habsburg Weddings

Information about the Augustinerkirche often says many Habsburg weddings took place there. In reality, many of these marriages were proxy marriages. A proxy marriage was a wedding in which one or both of the individuals being married are not physically present, usually being represented instead by other persons. It was very common during this time period for princesses to have a proxy marriage in their home country. The groom would usually be represented by one of the bride’s male relatives. Once the bride arrived in the groom’s home country, a larger religious ceremony was usually held.

For example, the proxy marriage of Archduchess Maria Antonia of Austria, daughter of Empress Maria Theresa, and Louis-Auguste, Dauphin of France, the future Queen Marie Antoinette and King Louis XVI of France, was held at the Augustinerkirche in Vienna on April 19, 1770, with Maria Antonia’s brother Archduke Ferdinand of Austria standing in for Louis-Auguste, Dauphin of France. On May 16, 1770, Maria Antonia, now known by her French name Marie Antoinette, and Louis-Auguste were married in person in a grand ceremony held in the Chapel Royal at the Palace of Versailles in Versailles, France.

The weddings below were ceremonies where both the bride and groom were present in the Augustinerkirche. They were not proxy marriages. This is very likely an incomplete list.

• February 12, 1736 – Archduchess Maria Theresa of Austria (Empress Maria Theresa) and Francis Stephen, Duke of Lorraine
• October 6, 1760 – Holy Roman Emperor Joseph II and his first wife Princess Isabella of Parma
• November 10, 1816 – Emperor Franz I of Austria and his fourth wife Princess Caroline Augusta of Bavaria
• April 24, 1854 – Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria and Duchess Elisabeth in Bavaria
• February 20, 1868 – Archduchess Maria Theresia of Austria-Este and King Ludwig III of Bavaria
• May 10, 1881 – Crown Prince Rudolf of Austria and Princess Stéphanie of Belgium

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What is Separate Burial?

A separate burial is a form of partial burial in which internal organs are buried separately from the rest of the body. Separate burials of the heart, viscera (the intestines), and the body were common in the House of Habsburg starting with the death of Ferdinand IV, King of the Romans in 1654 until the death of Archduke Franz Karl in 1878. Ferdinand IV of the Romans (1633 – 1654), son of Holy Emperor Ferdinand III, had a strong devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary and requested that his heart be interred in the Loreto Chapel at the Augustinekirche in Vienna. This established the tradition of interring the hearts of members of the Habsburg family in a crypt alongside the heart of Ferdinand IV. Until then, the hearts of Habsburgs had mostly been buried with the body in the coffin at the Imperial Crypt in the nearby Capuchin Church in Vienna or in St. Stephen’s Cathedral in Vienna where the entrails of the Habsburgs were traditionally interred. With the death of Ferdinand IV, King of the Romans, it became traditional for the body to be interred in the Imperial Crypt in the Capuchin Church in Vienna, the heart to be placed in an urn in the Herzgruft, the Heart Crypt in the Loreto Chapel of the Augustinerkirche in Vienna, and the entrails to be placed in an urn in the Ducal Crypt of St. Stephen’s Cathedral in Vienna.

After the end of the monarchy in 1918, some members of the Habsburg family resumed the tradition of heart burial but not viscera burial. When Karl I, the last Emperor of Austria, died in 1922, he was not allowed to be buried in the Imperial Crypt in Vienna, and instead was buried at the Church of Our Lady of Monte on the island of Madeira in Portugal. His heart remained with his widow Empress Zita until it was interred in the Loreto Chapel of the Muri Monastery in Switzerland in 1971. When Empress Zita died in 1989, her body was buried in the Imperial Crypt at the Capuchin Church in Vienna and her heart was interred with her husband’s heart in the Loreto Chapel of the Muri Monastery in Switzerland. Karl and Zita’s son Otto von Habsburg, the last Crown Prince of Austria, requested that his heart be buried in the crypt of the Benedictine Abbey of Pannonhalma in Hungary. His body was interred in the Imperial Crypt at the Capuchin Church. The body of Otto’s wife Regina of Saxe-Meiningen was also interred in the Imperial Crypt but she requested that her heart be interred in her family’s crypt at Veste Heldburg (link in German) in Heldburg, Germany.

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Herzgruft – Heart Crypt in the Loreto Chapel

The Herzgruft (Heart Crypt) in the Loreto Chapel has 54 silver urns containing the hearts of 54 members of the Habsburg family. The chapel is dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary as Our Lady of Loreto. The women from the House of Habsburg prayed for the gift of children in the Loreto Chapel, and after giving birth, they offered prayers of thanksgiving in the chapel.

During the renovations of the Augustinerkirche by Austrian architect Johann Ferdinand Hetzendorf von Hohenberg (link in German), the original Loreto Chapel was demolished and a new one was built. A separate room in the new Loreto Chapel was set up for the heart urns. At the same time, the hearts of Anna of Tyrol, Holy Roman Empress, Holy Roman Emperor Matthias, and Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand II, originally interred in the royal monastery of the Poor Clares next to the Hofburg Palace, were transferred to the Loreto Chapel. The last Habsburg whose heart was interred at the Loreto Chapel was Archduke Franz Karl, son of Emperor Franz I of Austria and father of Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria, who died in 1878.

The current Loreto Chapel, located behind a wrought iron gate in the right aisle, adjacent to the high altar, was built in 1724 and is the successor to the original 1627 Loreto Chapel. Access to the heart crypt is by an iron door to the left of the altar in the Loreto Chapel. The heart crypt is a semicircular room with bare walls in which the urns are placed on two shelves side by side in the sequence of death dates. The heart urns are made of silver except for the gold urn of Holy Roman Emperor Matthias. The heart urn of Prince Napoleon II of France, son of Napoléon Bonaparte, Emperor of the French and his second wife Archduchess Maria Louise of Austria, daughter of Emperor Franz I of Austria, is usually decorated with a ribbon in the blue, white, and red colors of the French tricolor.

All but three of those whose hearts are interred in the Augustinerkirche are buried in the Imperial Crypt in the Capuchin Church in Vienna, a short distance from the Augustinekirche. The burial place of those three is noted below.

• Unofficial Royalty: A Visit to the Kaisergruft (Imperial Crypt) in Vienna
• Unofficial Royalty: Austrian Imperial Burial Sites: House of Habsburg-Lorraine: Emperors of Austria

Note: Holy Roman Emperors were elected. The Habsburg Holy Roman Emperors were also the Kings of Hungary, Croatia, and Bohemia and sovereigns of Austria and other Habsburg territories.

The upper row of heart urns arranged in sequence of death dates, from left to right:

• Anna of Tyrol, Holy Roman Empress (1585 – 1618), wife of her cousin Holy Roman Emperor Matthias
• Holy Roman Emperor Matthias (1557 – 1619)
• Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand II (1578 – 1637), buried in the Grazer Dom in Graz, Austria
• King Ferdinand IV of the Romans (1633 – 1654), son of Holy Emperor Ferdinand III
• Archduke Leopold Wilhelm of Austria, Bishop of Olomouc, Bishop of Breslau, and Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights (1614 – 1662), son of Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand II
• Margarita Teresa of Spain, Holy Roman Empress (1651- 1673), niece, cousin, and first wife of Holy Emperor Leopold I
• Eleonora Magdalena of Mantua, Holy Roman Empress (1630 – 1686), third wife of Holy Emperor Ferdinand III
• Archduchess Maria Antonia of Austria, Electress of Bavaria (1669 – 1692), daughter of Holy Emperor Leopold I, wife of Maximilian II Emanuel, Elector of Bavaria
• Archduchess Maria Theresia of Austria (1684 – 1696), daughter of Holy Emperor Leopold I
• Archduchess Maria Josepha of Austria (1687 – 1703), daughter of Holy Emperor Leopold I
• Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I (1640 – 1705)
• Holy Roman Emperor Joseph I (1678 – 1711)
• Holy Roman Emperor Karl VI (1685 – 1740)
• Archduchess Maria Elisabeth of Austria, Governor of the Austrian Netherlands (1680–1741), daughter of Holy Emperor Leopold I
• Archduchess Maria Anna of Austria, Governor of the Austrian Netherlands (1718 – 1744), daughter of Holy Emperor Karl VI
• Unnamed princess (born and died 1744), daughter of Prince Charles of Lorraine and Archduchess Maria Anna of Austria
• Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, Holy Roman Empress (1691 – 1750), wife of Holy Emperor Karl VI
• Archduke Karl Joseph of Austria (1745 – 1761), son of Holy Emperor Francis I Stephen and Empress Maria Theresa
• Archduchess Maria Johanna of Austria (1750 – 1762), daughter of Holy Emperor Francis I Stephen and Empress Maria Theresa
• Franz I Stephen, Holy Roman Emperor, Duke of Lorraine, and Grand Duke of Tuscany (1708 – 1765), husband of Empress Maria Theresa
• Empress Maria Theresa, Archduchess of Austria, and Queen of Hungary, Croatia, and Bohemia in her own right (1717 – 1780), eldest surviving child of Emperor Karl VI, wife of Holy Emperor Franz I Stephen
• Archduchess Louise Elisabeth (1790 – 1791), daughter of Emperor Franz II of Austria
• Holy Roman Emperor Leopold II (1747 – 1792)
• Maria Luisa of Spain, Holy Roman Empress (1745 – 1792), wife of Holy Emperor Leopold II
• Archduchess Maria Karoline Leopoldine of Austria (1794 – 1795), daughter of Holy Emperor Franz II
• Archduke Alexander Leopold, Palatine of Hungary (1772 – 1795), son of Holy Emperor Leopold II
• Archduchess Maria Amalia of Austria (1780 – 1798), daughter of Holy Emperor Leopold II
• Archduchess Maria Christina of Austria (1742 – 1798), daughter of Empress Maria Theresa, wife of Prince Albrecht of Saxony, Duke of Teschen
• Archduchess Caroline Ludovika of Austria (1795 – 1799), daughter of Emperor Franz I of Austria
• Archduke Maximilian Franz of Austria, Archbishop of Cologne (1756 – 1801), son of Empress Maria Theresa
• Archduchess Karoline Ferdinanda of Austria (1793 – 1802), granddaughter of Holy Roman Emperor Leopold II
• Luisa of Naples and Sicily, Grand Duchess of Tuscany (1773 – 1802), granddaughter of Empress Maria Theresa, first wife of Ferdinando III, Grand Duke of Tuscany

The lower row of heart urns arranged in sequence of death dates, from left to right:

• Archduchess Marie Amalie of Austria, Duchess of Parma (1746 – 1804), daughter of Empress Maria Theresa, wife of Ferdinand I, Duke of Parma, buried in St. Vitus Cathedral in Prague, Kingdom of Bohemia, now in the Czech Republic
• Archduke Ferdinand of Austria (1754 – 1806), son of Empress Maria Theresa
• Maria Theresa of Naples and Sicily, Empress of Austria (1772 – 1807), second wife of Emperor Franz I of Austria
• Archduke Joseph of Austria (1799 – 1807), son of Emperor Franz I of Austria
• Archduke Johann Nepomuk of Austria (1805 – 1809), son of Emperor Franz I of Austria
• Maria Carolina of Austria, Queen of Naples and Sicily (1752 – 1814), daughter of Empress Maria Theresa, wife of King Ferdinand IV of Naples and Sicily
• Maria Ludovika of Austria-Este, Empress of Austria (1787 – 1816), third wife of Emperor Franz I of Austria
• Prince Albrecht of Saxony, Duke of Teschen (1738 – 1822), husband of Archduchess Maria Christina of Austria
• Archduke Rudolph Franz of Austria (born and died 1822), son of Archduke Karl of Austria, Duke of Teschen and grandson of Emperor Leopold II
• Prince Napoleon II of France (1811 – 1832), son of Napoléon Bonaparte, Emperor of the French and his second wife Archduchess Maria Louise of Austria, daughter of Franz I, Emperor of Austria; buried in Les Invalides in Paris, France
• Emperor Franz I of Austria (formerly Franz II, Holy Roman Emperor) (1768 – 1835)
• Archduke Anton Viktor of Austria (1779 – 1835), son of Holy Emperor Leopold II
• Archduke Karl of Austria, Duke of Teschen (1771 – 1847), son of Emperor Leopold II
• Archduke Ferdinand Karl Joseph of Austria-Este (1781 – 1850), son of Archduke Ferdinand of Austria-Este and grandson of Emperor Franz I of Austria
• Archduke Franz Joseph of Austria-Teschen (born and died 1855), son of Archduke Karl of Austria, Duke of Teschen and grandson of Holy Roman Emperor Leopold II
• Archduchess Maria Anna of Austria (1804 – 1858), daughter of Emperor Franz I of Austria
• Hildegard of Bavaria, Archduchess of Austria (1825 – 1864), wife of Archduke Albrecht of Austria, son of Archduke Karl of Austria, Duke of Teschen
• Archduke Ludwig Joseph of Austria (1784 – 1864), son of Holy Roman Emperor Leopold II
• Maria Ferdinanda of Saxony, Grand Duchess of Tuscany (1796 – 1865), second wife of Ferdinand III, Grand Duke of Tuscany
• Archduchess Mathilde of Austria-Teschen (1849 – 1867), daughter of Archduke Albrecht of Austria, Duke of Teschen
• Emperor Ferdinand I of Austria (1793 – 1875)
• Archduke Franz Karl of Austria (1802 – 1878), son of Emperor Franz I of Austria and father of Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria

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