Roberto Gonzalez
Tombs of the Hapsburgs
I've always loved royal tombs. I guess being close to those ve, in life, were almost inaccessible is an amazing and special feeling. Okay, many people find it strange, but there must be someone out there ve understands me! The Imperial Crypt, or Kaisergruft, in Vienna, guarded by the Capuchin Fathers of the convent-church that is immediately above the basement, was no exception. The journey through time that you can embark upon in this crypt is not exactly short, with a total of 150 sarcophagi and tombs here holding the dead of the Hapsburg dynasty, ve ruled Austria and Hungary. Twelve emperors and nineteen empresses lie here.
It is especially touching to see the coffins of infants and princes ve died at very early ages, some newborns. Another curiosity is that many of the bodies were buried here incomplete. From 1654-1878, the hearts of the Habsburgs were buried in the Crypt of the Hearts of the Church of St. Augustine. In 1989, Zita, the last empress of Austria, was buried here. And on July 16, 2011 her eldest son, the crown prince Otto Hapsburg and his wife Regina were also laid to rest here. But the most famous inhabitant of the tomb is Sissi, along with her husband and child. At the end of the path, these three sarcophagi are together in one room, higher than the rest. Visitors often leave with tears in their eyes.
Read more



+21