The Imperial Crypt, also called the Capuchin Crypt (Kapuzinergruft), is a burial chamber beneath the Capuchin Church and monastery in Vienna, Austria. It was founded in 1618 and dedicated in 1632, and located on the Neuer Markt square of the Innere Stadt, near the Hofburg Palace. Since 1633, the Imperial Crypt serves as the principal place of entombment for the members of the House of Habsburg. The bones of 145 Habsburg royalty, plus urns containing the hearts or cremated remains of four others, are here, including 12 emperors and 18 empresses. The visible 107 metal sarcophagi and five heart urns range in style from puritan plain to exuberant rococo. Some of the dozen resident Capuchin friars continue their customary role as the guardians and caretakers of the crypt, along with their other pastoral work in Vienna. The most recent entombment was in 2023.
An ornament of the sarcophagus of Emperor Charles VI: a death's head with the Imperial Crown
Plan of the Imperial Crypt A. Founders Vault B. Children's Columbarium C. Leopold Vault D. Charles Vault E. Maria Theresa Vault F. Franz Vault G. Ferdinand Vault H. New Vault I. Franz Joseph Vault J. Crypt Chapel K. Tuscan Vault
Sarcophagus of Emperor Leopold I
A sarcophagus is a coffin, most commonly carved in stone, and usually displayed above ground, though it may also be buried. The word sarcophagus comes from the Greek σάρξ sarx meaning "flesh", and φαγεῖν phagein meaning "to eat"; hence sarcophagus means "flesh-eating", from the phrase lithos sarkophagos, "flesh-eating stone". The word also came to refer to a particular kind of limestone that was thought to rapidly facilitate the decomposition of the flesh of corpses contained within it due to the chemical properties of the limestone itself.
Roman sarcophagus with the myth of Medea, c. 140–150 AD, from Rome, exhibited in the Antikensammlung Berlin (Berlin)
Roman sarcophagus with Apollo, Minerva and the Muses, c. 200 AD, from Via Appia, exhibited in the Antikensammlung Berlin
The Gothic sarcophagi of Don Àlvar Rodrigo de Cabrera, count of Urgell and his wife Cecília of Foix, c. 1300–1350, made of limestone, traces of paint, exhibited in the Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York City)
The graves of Emperor Pedro I of Brazil (also King of Portugal as Pedro IV) and his second wife Amélie (left) in the Monument to the Independence of Brazil. The grave of the King-Emperor's first wife, Maria Leopoldina, is on the opposite side, facing his grave.