Ducal Crypt

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The ducal crypt

The duke's crypt is located under the central choir of St. Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna and was commissioned by Duke Rudolf IV around 1363 .

It was the first construction phase of the later so-called " Catacombs of St. Stephan" and served the Habsburgs as the most important family burial place until well beyond the middle of the 16th century. Furthermore, urns with the bowels or hearts of 56 Habsburgs were buried here from 1654 to 1878 as part of the " separate burial " .

history

The Duke's Crypt (engraving by Salomon Kleiner ; 1758). In addition to the sarcophagi, numerous urns from the entrails can also be seen in the illustration.

Originally the crypt consisted of a rectangular vaulted room under the central choir and aligned in the longitudinal axis of the cathedral (which is now used as an urn room). Access was via a 24-step exit, which was covered by two crypt slabs. After the burial of Archduke Charles (1565–1566), son of Emperor Maximilian II , the tomb was forgotten. When the imperial valet Schnepf had a family crypt built not far from the ducal crypt, the old Habsburg burial place was rediscovered in 1645.

The Roman-German King Ferdinand IV († 1654) decreed in his will that his heart should be buried under the Loreto Chapel of the Augustinian Church. The entrails of the deceased Habsburgs, on the other hand, were to be buried in the ducal crypt of St. Stephen's Cathedral. He established the custom that the following Habsburgs also had their entrails or hearts buried separately . The first burial of an intestinal urn in the duke's crypt took place in 1654. The intestines were wrapped in silk scarves, placed in alcohol in mostly copper containers and then soldered shut. In some cases, the copper cauldrons in the ducal crypt contain not only the bowels but also the eyes and brains of the deceased. Of six people - all children who died prematurely - there are both their intestinal urns and their heart urns in the ducal crypt and not in the actual heart crypt of the Habsburgs in the Augustinian church in Vienna .

In 1754 there were 12 coffins and 39 urns with entrails or hearts in the ducal crypt, which was then rectangular in shape. In 1754/1755 Maria Theresa had the burial place expanded by an oval room to the east and the bones of her ancestors, whose old coffins had been opened in 1739 and which were documented by Marquard Herrgott , were transferred to new sarcophagi.

After the Duke of Reichstadt's death in 1832, there were only two further burials of intestinal urns in the ducal crypt, because the Habsburgs' intestines have not normally been buried separately since then due to new methods of corpse conservation . Over time, 41 family members were given a " separate burial " with the division of a body to all three traditional Viennese burial places of the Habsburgs ( Imperial Crypt , Heart Crypt , Ducal Crypt ) - these are marked with an asterisk (*) in the list below.

In 1956 the ducal crypt was renovated and redesigned, with the coffins repositioned in the oval crypt space and niches built into the rectangular crypt space, in which the urns with entrails or hearts of the Habsburgs were placed behind bars. In 1967 the ducal crypt was redesigned again.

List of metal sarcophagi

Location of the Duke's Crypt in the "Catacombs of St. Stephan"
  1. Friedrich III., Duke of Austria (1347–1362) - son of Duke Albrecht II.
  2. Rudolf IV., Archduke of Austria (1339–1365) - son of Duke Albrecht II.
  3. Catherine of Luxembourg (1342–1395) - wife of Archduke Rudolf IV.
  4. Albrecht III, Archduke of Austria (1348-1395) - son of Duke Albrecht II.
  5. Albrecht IV., Archduke of Austria (1377–1404) - son of Archduke Albrecht III.
  6. Wilhelm, Archduke of Austria (1370–1406) - son of Duke Leopold III.
  7. Leopold IV., Archduke of Austria (1371–1411) - son of Duke Leopold III.
  8. Archduke Georg (1435–1435) - son of the Roman-German King Albrecht II.
  9. Albrecht VI., Archduke of Austria (1418–1463) - son of Archduke Ernst I.
  10. Archduke Ferdinand (1551–1552) - son of Emperor Maximilian II.
  11. Archduchess Maria (1564–1564) - daughter of Emperor Maximilian II.
  12. Archduke Karl (1565–1566) - son of Emperor Maximilian II.
  13. Elisabeth of Austria (1554–1592) - daughter of Emperor Maximilian II , wife of King Karl IX. of France , originally buried in the royal monastery she founded in Vienna and transferred here after its dissolution in 1782
  14. Friedrich III., Roman-German King (1289–1330) - son of the Roman-German King Albrecht I , originally buried in the Mauerbach Charterhouse founded by him and transferred here in 1783 after its dissolution
  15. Eleonora Gonzaga (1598–1655) - second wife of Emperor Ferdinand II , originally buried in the Carmelite monastery that she founded in Leopoldstadt and transferred here in 1783

In addition to these 15 people, five children of Duke Albrecht II , who were either stillborn before 1337 or died shortly after birth, as well as Anne Eleonore of Lorraine (1645-1646), a daughter of Duke Nicholas II , were buried in the ducal crypt . of Lorraine .

List of gut urns

  1. * Anna of Tyrol (1585–1618) - wife of Emperor Matthias
  2. * Emperor Matthias (1557–1619) - son of Emperor Maximilian II.
  3. Emperor Ferdinand II (1578–1637) - son of Archduke Charles II of Inner Austria
  4. * King Ferdinand IV. (1633–1654) - son of Emperor Ferdinand III.
  5. Emperor Ferdinand III. (1608–1657) - son of Emperor Ferdinand II.
  6. Ferdinand Joseph (1657–1658) - son of Emperor Ferdinand III.
  7. * Archduke Leopold Wilhelm (1614–1662) - son of Emperor Ferdinand II.
  8. Archduke Karl Joseph (1649–1664) - son of Emperor Ferdinand III.
  9. Archduke Ferdinand Wenzel (1667–1668) - son of Emperor Leopold I ; also heart urn in the ducal crypt
  10. Archduke Johann Leopold (* / † 1670) - son of Emperor Leopold I.
  11. Archduchess Maria Anna Antonie (* / † 1672) - daughter of Emperor Leopold I.
  12. * Empress Margaretha Theresia (1651–1673) - 1st wife of Emperor Leopold I.
  13. Archduchess Anna Maria Sophie (* / † 1674) - daughter of Emperor Leopold I.
  14. Empress Claudia Felizitas (1653–1676) - 2nd wife of Emperor Leopold I.
  15. Archduchess Maria Josefa Klementine (1675–1676) - daughter of Emperor Leopold I.
  16. * Empress Eleonore Magdalene (1628–1686) - 3rd wife of Emperor Ferdinand III.
  17. Archduchess Maria Margaretha (1690–1691) - daughter of Emperor Leopold I ; also heart urn in the ducal crypt
  18. * Archduchess Maria Antonia (1669–1692) - daughter of Emperor Leopold I.
  19. * Archduchess Maria Theresia (1684–1696) - daughter of Emperor Leopold I.
  20. Archduke Leopold Josef (1700–1701) - son of Emperor Joseph I ; also heart urn in the ducal crypt
  21. * Archduchess Maria Josepha (1687–1703) - daughter of Emperor Leopold I.
  22. * Emperor Leopold I (1640–1705) - son of Emperor Ferdinand III.
  23. * Emperor Joseph I (1678–1711) - son of Emperor Joseph I.
  24. Archduke Leopold Johann (* / † 1716) - son of Emperor Karl VI. ; also heart urn in the ducal crypt
  25. * Archduchess Maria Amalia (1724–1730) - daughter of Emperor Karl VI.
  26. Archduchess Maria Elisabeth (1737–1740) - daughter of Emperor Franz I Stephan ; also heart urn in the ducal crypt
  27. * Emperor Charles VI. (1685–1740) - son of Emperor Leopold I.
  28. Archduchess Marie Karolina (1740–1741) - daughter of Emperor Franz I Stephan ; also heart urn in the ducal crypt
  29. * Archduchess Maria Elisabeth (1680–1741) - daughter of Emperor Leopold I.
  30. * Archduchess Maria Anna (1718–1744) - daughter of Emperor Karl VI.
  31. * Empress Elisabeth Christine (1691–1750) - wife of Emperor Karl VI.
  32. * Archduke Karl Joseph (1745–1761) - son of Emperor Franz I Stephan
  33. * Archduchess Johanna Gabriela (1750–1762) - daughter of Emperor Franz I Stephan
  34. * Emperor Franz I. Stephan (1708–1765) - son-in-law of Emperor Karl VI.
  35. * Empress Maria Theresia (1717–1780) - daughter of Emperor Karl VI. , Wife of Emperor Franz I Stephan
  36. * Archduchess Louise Elisabeth (1790–1791) - daughter of Emperor Franz II.
  37. * Emperor Leopold II (1747–1792) - son of Emperor Franz I Stephan
  38. * Empress Maria Ludovica (1745–1792) - wife of Emperor Leopold II.
  39. * Archduchess Karoline Leopoldine (1794–1795) - daughter of Emperor Franz II.
  40. * Archduke Alexander Leopold (1772–1795) - son of Emperor Leopold II.
  41. * Archduchess Maria Christine (1742–1798) - daughter of Emperor Franz I Stephan
  42. * Archduchess Maria Amalia (1780–1798) - daughter of Emperor Leopold II.
  43. * Archduchess Karoline Luise (1795–1799) - daughter of Emperor Franz II.
  44. * Archduke Maximilian Franz (1756–1801) - son of Emperor Franz I Stephan
  45. * Archduchess Carolina Ferdinanda (1793–1802) - daughter of Grand Duke Ferdinand III. of Tuscany
  46. * Grand Duchess Luisa Maria (1773–1802) - 1st wife of Grand Duke Ferdinand III. of Tuscany
  47. * Archduke Ferdinand Karl Anton (1754–1806) - son of Emperor Franz I Stephan
  48. * Empress Maria Theresia Caroline (1772–1807) - 2nd wife of Emperor Franz II.
  49. * Archduke Joseph Franz Leopold (1799–1807) - son of Emperor Franz II.
  50. * Archduke Johann Nepomuk (1805–1809) - son of Emperor Franz II.
  51. * Archduchess Maria Karolina (1752–1814) - daughter of Emperor Franz I Stephan
  52. * Empress Maria Ludovika (1787–1816) - 3rd wife of Emperor Franz II.
  53. * Albert, Duke of Saxony-Teschen (1738–1822) - husband of Archduchess Maria Christine
  54. * Franz, Duke of Reichstadt (1811–1832) - son of Emperor Napoleon I.
  55. * Emperor Ferdinand I (1793–1875) - son of Emperor Franz II.
  56. * Archduke Franz Karl (1802–1878) - father of Emperor Franz Joseph

List of heart urns

  1. Archduke Ferdinand Wenzel (1667–1668) - son of Emperor Leopold I.
  2. Archduchess Maria Margaretha (1690–1691) - daughter of Emperor Leopold I.
  3. Archduke Leopold Josef (1700–1701) - son of Emperor Joseph I.
  4. Archduke Leopold Johann (* / † 1716) - son of Emperor Karl VI.
  5. Archduchess Maria Elisabeth (1737–1740) - daughter of Emperor Franz I. Stephan
  6. Archduchess Marie Karolina (1740–1741) - daughter of Emperor Franz I Stephan

Web links

Commons : Herzogsgruft  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Herzogsgruft in the Vienna History Wiki of the City of Vienna
  2. ↑ a b c d e Reinhard H. Gruber: The catacombs in St. Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna ; Verlag Bauer, Vienna 2010
  3. ^ Karl August Schimmer: The resting places of the Austrian princes ; Vienna 1841 ( online )
  4. ↑ Alexander Glück, Marcello LaSperanza, Peter Ryborz: “Under Vienna: On the trail of the third man through canals, tombs and casemates”, Christoph Links Verlag 2001 online on Google Books , pp. 43–44
  5. ↑ Reifenscheid, Richard: The Habsburgs in Life Pictures , Styria Verlag 1982, p. 47.
  6. ↑ After the Duke of Reichstadt's death in 1832, according to court protocol, his body was divided between all three traditional Viennese burial sites of the Habsburgs ( imperial crypt , heart crypt , ducal crypt). In 1940 the sarcophagus was removed from the imperial crypt by order of Adolf Hitler and transferred to Paris, where it is now in the Invalides Cathedral.