by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2012

Dedicated to my husband Howard who tolerates my interest for “dead royals” as he calls them. All photos except for the photo of the interior of the Capuchin Church were taken by Susan or Howard Flantzer in August 2012.  Please do not copy any photos that we have taken.  If you wish to use a photo please contact me.

• Unofficial Royalty: Burial Site: House of Habsburg-Lorraine: Emperors of Austria
• Unofficial Royalty: Empire of Austria/Dual Monarchy of Austria-Hungary Index

I’ve been to a number of royal burial sites: Westminster Abbey in London, UK; St. George’s Chapel in Windsor, UK; St. Denis Basilica outside of Paris, France;  Church of Our Lady in Laeken, Brussels, Belgium; Riddarholmen Church in Stockholm, Sweden; Roskilde Cathedral in Roskilde, Denmark; the Cathedral of Sts. Peter and Paul in St. Petersburg, Russia along with three churches I visited on this same trip in Munich, Germany where Bavarian royals are buried.

The Habsburgs are buried near Hofburg Palace in a crypt at a Capuchin church where there is still a cloister. The crypt is in the care of the monks from the cloister. Unlike any of the other burial sites I’ve visited, the church is small and is on a street with traffic, shops, and stores, restaurants, and cafes. One cafe is directly across from it. Walking past the church, one would never think the burial place of emperors is there. No photos were allowed in the church which is more like a chapel with one main altar and two side altars. However, photos were allowed in the Imperial Crypt.

The burial place of the Habsburgs is so unlike the soaring structures containing the other burial sites I’ve visited and certainly not as grandiose. When the casket of a deceased Habsburg is brought to the Capuchin Church, a ceremony takes place before the remains are allowed in.  Accompanying the casket, the master of ceremonies knocks three times on the door. The Capuchin monk who is the custodian of the Imperial Crypt calls out, “Wer begehrt Einlass?” (“Who requests entry?”) The master of ceremonies responds with all the imperial and royal titles of the deceased person. The custodian then says, “Wir kennen ihn nicht” (“We know him not.”)  Again, the master of ceremonies knocks three times on the door and again the custodian asks, “Wer begehrt Einlass?” (“Who requests entry?”)  This time the master of ceremonies replies, “[First Name], ein sterblicher, sündiger Mensch.”  (“[First Name], a mortal, sinful human being.”). The custodian’s final response is, “So komme sie herein.” (“Come in.”) and the door is opened. It’s apparent to me that the simplicity of the Imperial Crypt is reflected in this ceremony.

This ceremony was held in 2011, upon the death of 98-year-old Otto von Habsburg, the last Crown Prince of Austria, Hungary, Bohemia, and Croatia, and later in his long life, a member of the European Parliament. Otto von Habsburg, who refrained from using royal titles, was the eldest and the longest surviving of the eight children of Karl I, the last Emperor of Austria and his wife Zita of Bourbon-Parma. In the video below, the master of ceremonies first reads Otto von Habsburg’s many royal titles and the custodian of the Imperial Crypt then says, “Wir kennen ihn nicht.” (“We know him not.”) Again, the master of ceremonies knocks three times on the door and again the custodian asks, “Wer begehrt Einlass?” (“Who requests entry?”) The custodian then reads Otto von Habsburg’s political titles as a Member of the European Parliament, a member of the conservative party Christian Social Union in Bavaria, and the senior member of the European Parliament. Again, the custodian replies, “Wir kennen ihn nicht.” (“We know him not.”) Again, the master of ceremonies knocks three times on the door and again the custodian asks, “Wer begehrt Einlass?” (“Who requests entry?”) The master of ceremonies replies, “Otto von Habsburg, ein sterblicher, sündiger Mensch.” (“a mortal, sinful human being.”). The custodian says, “So komme sie herein.” (“Come in.”) and the door is opened.

• YouTube: Otto von Habsburg Funeral – Entering the Capuchin Church

Plan of the Imperial Crypt
A. Founders’ Vault
B. Children’s Columbarium
C. Leopold’s Vault
D. Karl’s Vault
E. Maria Theresa’s Vault
F. Franz’s Vault
G. Ferdinand’s Vault
H. New Vault
I. Franz Joseph’s Vault
J. Crypt Chapel
K. The Tuscan Vault

After paying an admission fee, we descended down the stairs marked by a sign that said “Zur Kaisergruft” to the series of crypts containing the remains of the Habsburgs.

We entered a large crypt, Leopold’s Vault, with many caskets all in a similar style. 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.

There was a small crypt we could not enter but could see called the Founders Vault where Anna of Tyrol and her husband Matthias, Holy Roman Emperor rest in peace. Anna and Matthias had the idea to establish this crypt as a burial place for the Habsburgs.

Among the tombs in Karl’s Vault is the sarcophagus of Karl VI, Holy Roman Emperor, famous for the death’s head with the crown of the Holy Roman Empire.

Maria Theresa’s Vault contains the largest tomb, that of Maria Theresa, Queen of Hungary, Croatia, and Bohemia and Archduchess of Austria in her own right, and her husband Holy Roman Emperor Franz I who became Holy Roman Emperor only because his wife could not because she was a female.  Despite the snub, Maria Theresa wielded the real power. The tomb of Maria Theresa was under conservation. There were workers there and some of the caskets were moved from their places. Throughout the Imperial Crypt were signs warning that if the tombs or caskets were touched an alarm would sound. My husband found out how this would happen. As he prepared to take a photo of Maria Theresa’s tomb, he could see red laser beams on his camera’s viewer.

Franz’s Vault contains the tomb of Holy Roman Emperor Franz II/Emperor Franz I of Austria surrounded by the caskets of his four wives (two died in childbirth and one died of tuberculosis) in each of the vault’s corners. Due to the conservation work, some of the wives’ caskets had been moved out of place and I only found three of the tombs.

In Ferdinand’s Vault only two sarcophagi, those of Emperor Ferdinand of Austria and his wife Maria Anna of Savoy, are visible, but many tombs are interred in the walls.

The New Vault was built 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, 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.

Franz Joseph’s Vault contains three tombs: Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria who reigned for 68 years; Elisabeth of Bavaria, his wife known as Sissi who was assassinated (tomb on the left); and their only son Crown Prince Rudolf who apparently died by suicide (tomb on the right), along with his mistress, Baroness Mary Vetsera, at his Mayerling hunting lodge.

Last is the Crypt Chapel where the most recent interments have occurred. Zita of Bourbon-Parma, the wife of Emperor Karl (the last emperor), two of her sons Otto and Carl Ludwig, along with Otto’s wife Princess Regina of Saxe-Meiningen and Carl Ludwig’s wife Princesse Yolande de Ligne are buried here. Yolande de Ligne died in 2023 so her tomb is not in these photos taken in 2011. The Crypt Chapel contains a memorial to Emperor Karl I, beatified by the Roman Catholic Church and known as Blessed Karl. He is buried at the Church of Our Lady of Monte on the island of Madeira in Portugal. There is also a memorial to Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie, Duchess of Hohenberg. Both were assassinated at Sarajevo, an event which was one of the causes of World War I. Franz Ferdinand and his wife are buried at Artstetten Castle, Austria.

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