Imperial Crypt Vaults
The Imperial Crypt Vaults are the various chambers of the Imperial Crypt in Vienna, Austria, in which most members of the senior lines of the Habsburg dynasty, the hereditary Emperors of the Holy Roman Empire, have been entombed, beginning in 1632.
The Imperial Crypt Vaults are an interconnected series of ten subterranean vaulted rooms, built at various times as more space was needed.
The visible 107 metal sarcophagi and 5 heart urns range in style from puritan plain to exuberant rococo. The Imperial Crypt is one of the top tourist attractions in Vienna.
The bodies of 145 nobles, plus urns containing the hearts or cremated remains of four others, are deposited here. There is only one space left. They include 12 Emperors and 18 Empresses. The most recent entombment150 was in 2011.
From other families there are 32 spouses, plus four others,15 41 47 117 who have found their resting place here. Everyone else in the Imperial Crypt was born with the Habsburgs-only title of Archduke or Archduchess.
In 1960, with the various vaults overcrowded, a major rearrangement project began which resulted in the construction of the Children's Columnbarium and the New Vault. At the same time many bodies were moved to those new areas, others were moved from the Tuscan Vault and Ferdinand’s Vault and walled up into the corner piers of Ferdinand's Vault.
Subscript numbers behind the names of most persons listed in this article are used to avoid confusion in cross-references due to the similarity or duplication of names over the many generations. A unique small appears with the name of every person buried in the Imperial Crypt. The number corresponds with that person's entry in the listing below of occupants of each Vault, to which it is hyperlinked. When necessary to establish continuity, a person buried elsewhere is assigned a number preceded by an and then listed in the Selected Other Habsburgs section.
Read more about Imperial Crypt Vaults: The Founders' Vault, Leopold's Vault, Karl's Vault, Maria Theresa's Vault, Franz's Vault, Ferdinand's Vault, The Tuscan Vault, The New Vault, Franz Joseph's Vault, The Crypt Chapel, Selected Other Habsburgs
Famous quotes containing the words imperial and/or vaults:
“The formal Washington dinner party has all the spontaneity of a Japanese imperial funeral.”
—Simon Hoggart (b. 1946)
“Power, I said. Power to walk into the gold vaults of the nations, into the secrets of kings, into the holy of holies. Power to make multitudes run squealing in terror at the touch of my little invisible finger. Even the moon’s frightened of me. Frightened to death. The whole world’s frightened to death.”
—R.C. Sherriff (1896–1975)