By means of Joseph L. Garcia, Senior reporter
DURING a trip Business world When I went to Vienna in October, the Austrian capital felt like the setting of a fairy tale. Opposite our hotel on the Neuer Markt (the new market, but it had been that way since the Middle Ages) was the shop of AE Köchert, jewelers of the Habsburgs, the former imperial dynasty of Austria (and once the Holy Roman Empire). Diamond tiaras adorned their windows, while nearby street performers sang arias and waltzed along with their audiences. Bells from St. Stephen’s Cathedral woke up the square, populated by old-fashioned shops fifilled with only one specialty: fur, or silver, or stationery.
However, every fairy tale comes to an end, and for the rulers of the House of Habsburg, they were reminded of this by the Kapuziner Crypt, the Imperial Crypt. Located on the same Neuer Markt square (it was a two-minute walk from our hotel), this is where members of the Habsburg family were buried. Strangely enough, it’s only a seven-minute walk to their former seat of power, the Hofburg Palace (in addition to being a museum, it also houses thefiof the Austrian president, now Alexander Van der Bellen). The Hofburg Palace complex also houses their treasures in the Schatzkammer (the Imperial Treasury), for all to gaze at and see – at least one thing is true: you really can’t take it with you to your grave.
The Habsburg dynasty once ruled several areas outside their capital Vienna, which now form much of continental Europe: most of Germany, the modern Czech Republic, Spain, Italy, Belgium, Luxembourg, Switzerland and many more – all united under the Habsburg crown. A succession of wars divided the empire over the years, ending in the Napoleonic Wars, which ended the Holy Roman Empire and gave birth to the Austro-Hungarian Empire – which later emerged, along with Habsburg rule, into the axis of the World War was dissolved. I. It doesn’t matter – while parts of the empire were lost in the war, the Habsburgs maintained their influence over most of Europe through strategic marriages, hence the family motto: Bella gerant alii, tu felix Austria nube (“May others war, you happy Austria, faithful”).
The Capuchin Crypt, forever maintained by the Capuchin brothers, was founded in 1618 by Anna of Tyrol, wife of the Habsburg Emperor Matthias. Their coffeefins, made of lead, belong to the fiThe first thing you see when you enter the crypt, but there are so many graves (about 150), it really depends on what your eyes rest on first. To see the tombs of the Habsburgs, you pay about €8.50. Because the crypt is still a working church and monastery, guests are told via a sign to keep their voices low, not to take videos or photos with flash, and not to touch anything. During our visit on October 12, there was only one other silent tour group, wearing headphones, as a priest guided them through the tour, speaking in low tones into his own headphones.
We skipped some Habsburgs (sorry) and went to the tomb with Empress Maria Theresa and her husband, Franz Stefan I, Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. Empress Maria Theresa (died 1780) and her oFFspring changed much of the world: she introduced educational reforms in all her areas, uniting them all under one code in her name. Her son, Joseph II, expanded these reforms and introduced legal freedom for the serfs in 1782, ending serfdom in most of Europe (and in some ways giving a boost during the Industrial Revolution). His successor, younger brother Leopold II, fought the French for his sister, Marie Antoinette, who was trapped in the French Revolution. His son, Francis, continued this struggle into the French Revolutionary Wars (he failed to save his aunt from the guillotine, and was reportedly not very interested in doing so), later evolving into the Napoleonic Wars. The resulting Congress of Vienna helped shape Europe as we know it today.
The tomb of Maria Theresa and her husband stands in the center of a vault: impressive, as large as a small ship, under a dome where sunlight streams in. Veiled spirits guard her baroque tomb, and amid all this splendor a skull: a reminder of what we all change after death, no matter how great life has been (it’s still a skull with an imperial crown, though). Her successor, Joseph, lies before his parents, in more modest style, according to his own wishes: the inscription on his simple grave is almost faded and reads: Here lies a first, the pride of the best Meinung keiner seiner Plane durchsetzen konnte (“Here lies a ruler who, despite his best intentions, was unsuccessful in all his efforts”).
His wife Isabella’s grave, near a corner, changed the world in its own wayffwith the Habsburg matchmaking game. Archduchess Josepha was forced by her mother Maria Theresa to pray for her sister-in-law in the crypt. According to accounts, Isabella’s grave was not properly sealed and her body infected her sister-in-law with smallpox, later killing her. With the death of Archduchess Josepha, intended as a bride for Naples, her sister Maria Carolina, intended as a bride for France, took her place, and in turn the younger sister Marie Antoinette was sent to France. No smallpox, no Marie Antoinette, no Napoleon, no Congress of Vienna, no Austro-Hungarian Empire, no First World War – and perhaps few of the conflicts we see today.
We saw other Habsburg tombs: there’s Marie Christine, Maria Theresa’s favorite daughter, and everyone’s least favorite sibling (Marie Antoinette didn’t invite her to the Petit Trianon during a state visit), whose art collection is the backbone of the Albertina Museum, also close by; Maria Carolina, Marie Antoinette’s favorite sister, was also driven from her throne in Italy. After looking for famous names from that chapter of history, we went to the grave of Empress Elisabeth, another Habsburg celebrity.
Her tomb shares the raised space with her husband, Franz Joseph, and her son, Crown Prince Rudolf, although the tomb of her husband, the Emperor, stands in the center a few feet above his wife and child. Elizabeth, oneffKnown worldwide as Sisi, she enchanted the Belle Epoque world with her beauty, her style and her melancholic life. Stylishly thin due to an eating disorder brought on by the impact of imperial and family life on her mental health, she moved across Europe to avoid staying in the imperial capital of Vienna. Her life and death were assassinated in 1898 and are the subject of countless films, musicals and even a cartoon. The most recent showcase of her tragic life and its influence in pop culture was last seen in 2022, with The Empress streaming on Netflix.
Her grave is not lonely. Once again she reserves space with her husband and son (who died in a mysterious suicide in Mayerling) – but to this day, offRings are placed at her grave. We saw flowers, a framed photo of her and drawings of children telling her they loved her.
Other Habsburgs of her own age are also strangely honored: her brother-in-law, Maximillian, is also buried in the Capuziner Crypt. Mexican flags and other souvenirs from the country are placed at his grave, despite his failure to successfully rule the weak, newly established Mexican empire. For this, he was executed in 1867 by forces led by Benito Juarez (which led to the modern state of Mexico). His wife, Charlotte of Belgium, mourned him to the point of madness; she died a hermit in 1927, surviving the empires that shaped her world.
There are graves from a relatively new brand, which still retain their bronzed shine. They stand out for their newness: the graves of the family of Karl, the last emperor of Austria, who died in 1922. His wife, Zita of Bourbon-Parma, died in 1989 and was laid to rest there. After the dissolution of the empire, the Habsburgs were expelled from Austria and until recently were not allowed to return. The ex-empress did not gain access until 1982. After her death, she was declared a Servant of God by Pope Benedict XVI, which set her on the path to sainthood (which probably explains the flower offerings at her grave). The most recent funeral took place last year, in 2023, for Princess Yolande de Ligne, the widow of Archduke Carl Ludwig of Austria, a son of the last emperor.
We take some comfort in being told that after death we are all the same. Judging from the resting place of the Habsburgs, are we sure this is true? Some graves lie forgotten, while others are tended by priests centuries later; flowers were laid at their graves, while their names were still whispered with reverence. There will be no more souvenir shops with skull keychains and books about me when I die, that’s for sure. But the map to the KapuzinergruFt argues: “Those who believe that the rich and powerful have erected a final monument to their vanity are corrected: beauty and splendor are strongly contrasted by bare bones and toothless skulls. Above all, it reminds us that death can strike anyone – regardless of age or rank – at any time.”