Imperial Crypt

Since 1633 The Imperial Crypt in Vienna has been the principal place of entombment for the Habsburg dynasty, hereditary Emperors of the Holy Roman Empire, and their descendents.

The Sarcophagi

The free-standing tombs are usually variations of either a flat-topped storage chest, or a tub with sloping sides and a convex lid of tapered decks.

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Ornamentation ranges from simple to elaborate.

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Until far in the 1700s, the most common material for a sarcophagus here was a bronze-like alloy of tin, coated with shellac.

Related Topics:
Sarcophagus - Tin - Shellac

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The splendid tombs of the baroque and rococo eras are made of true bronze, a nobler and therefore more expensive material.

Related Topics:
Baroque - Rococo - Bronze

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Reforming Emperor Joseph II{{bioxrefa|42|Imperial Crypt Vaults}} decreed simplified burial customs for the people, and introduced the use of lighter and cheaper copper into the Imperial Crypt, where it was then used into the 1800s.

Related Topics:
Joseph II - Copper

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In the later 1800s a mixture of cast brass and bronze as well as silver-bronzed copper was adopted.

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Other metals were used only rarely, except for silver and gold plating on decorations.

Related Topics:
Silver - Gold

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Only one sarcophagus, that of Emperor Franz Joseph,{{bioxrefa|142|Imperial Crypt Vaults}} is made from stone instead of metal.

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Various techniques of metalworking were used: full casting for the sarcophagus; hollow casting for decorative sculpture; carving, engraving, and hammered relief for surface decoration.

Related Topics:
Full casting - Hollow casting - Carving - Engraving - Relief

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The parts for chests and covers are riveted together, ornaments and decorative figures are screwed on.

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The sculptor responsible for the most elaborate tombs is Balthasar Ferdinand Moll.

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In order to guarantee the stability of the enormous display tombs, they have iron bracings and wood lining inside. This avoids both cave-ins and a buckling of the side walls from the weight of the cover. (The cover of the double tomb of Empress Maria Theresia{{bioxrefa|56|Imperial Crypt Vaults}} and her husband,{{bioxrefa|55|Imperial Crypt Vaults}} weighs approximately 1700 kg/3,800 lb!)

Related Topics:
Iron - Wood - Maria Theresia

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Within the outer case lays a wooden coffin that is wrapped in silk (black with gold trim for rulers, red with silver trim for others).

Related Topics:
Coffin - Silk

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The coffin usually has two locks, the key to one is kept by the Capuchin Guardian of the crypt, the other is kept in the Schatzkammer of the Hofburg palace in Vienna.

Related Topics:
Schatzkammer - Hofburg

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Within the coffin, the body usually has had the organs removed as a necessary part of the embalming process for its display before the funeral. The heart has been placed into a silver urn and sent elsewhere (usually the Herzgruft in the Augustinerkirche), and the intestines and other organs have been put into a copper urn and deposited in the Dukes' Crypt in the catacombs of Vienna?s cathedral, the Stephansdom.

Related Topics:
Organs - Embalming - Urn - Herzgruft - Augustinerkirche - Stephansdom

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