Beneath the Kapuzinerkirche, the Kapuzinergruft is the final resting place of most of the Habsburg royal family, including Empress Elisabeth and Franz Joseph I. Opened in 1618, it was instigated by Empress Anna (1585–1618). Her body and that of her husband, Emperor Matthias (1557–1619), were the first entombed in this impressive vault. A total of 150 Habsburgs are buried here, including 12 emperors and 22 empresses. Only three Habsburgs are notable through their absence. The last emperor, Karl I, was buried in exile in Madeira, and Marie Antoinette (daughter of Maria Theresia) still lies in Paris. The third is Duc de Reichstadt, son of Napoleon’s second wife, Marie Louise, who was transferred to Paris as a publicity stunt by the Nazis in 1940. Also on display are rows of urns containing the internal organs of the Habsburgs. One of the many privileges of being a Habsburg was to be dismembered and dispersed after death: their hearts are in the Augustinerkirche, their intestines in Stephansdom and the rest of their bodies are here in the Kapuzinergruft.
Guided tours are currently only in German, Monday to Saturday at 2pm and 3.30pm and Sunday at 2pm.
