Imperial Crypt

Beneath a modest Capuchin church in Vienna’s first district lies the burial vault of the Habsburg dynasty, the family that ruled Austria for six centuries. The Kapuzinergruft holds 149 royals including Maria Theresia, Franz Joseph, and Empress Elisabeth, each in a sarcophagus that reflects how that generation of the family chose to be remembered. Maria Theresia’s is enormous and theatrical, draped in military trophies; Franz Joseph’s is nearly plain. The last burial was in 2011, when Otto von Habsburg was interred here following the same centuries-old ceremony in which monks must be formally asked to open the door for the dead. Allow 30 to 45 minutes, enter from Tegetthoffstrasse 2, and combine with the nearby Karlskirche for a full afternoon in the 4th district.