Imperial Crypt

The Imperial Crypt (Kapuzinergruft) is a burial vault beneath the Capuchin Church on the Neuer Markt in Vienna and serves as the principal dynastic burial place of the Habsburg family. It contains the remains of many Habsburg rulers and members, placed in ornate sarcophagi and coffins.

Visitors see a series of decorated chambers with monumental tombs and coffins arranged by dynastic rank, including the tombs of emperors and empresses. The layout concentrates funerary art and baroque and neo-classical sarcophagi in a relatively small, atmospheric vaulted space.

The crypt was established in the early 17th century as the Habsburg family vault and has been used continuously since then for dynastic burials. Over centuries additional chambers and memorials were added to accommodate successive generations of the family.

The entrance is at the Capuchin Church on Neuer Markt in Vienna’s Innere Stadt, in the historic centre of the city.

• Notable burials: The crypt holds the remains of well over a hundred Habsburg family members, including several emperors and empresses such as Franz Joseph I and Elisabeth (Sisi).
• Visitor notes: The interior is dim and compact; photography is often restricted and modest behaviour is expected inside the crypt.

What to See #

• Imperial vaults: Several burial chambers contain the principal sarcophagi and coffins of Habsburg members, arranged by dynastic groups and rank.
• Capuchin Church entrance: The Capuchin Church above the crypt forms the street-level entrance and connects visitors to the crypt below at Neuer Markt in central Vienna.