Facade of church
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This church, located at Tegetthofstrasse 2, is the burial site of over one hundred members of the House of Habsburg. Here are buried King Francis I and his wife Queen Adelgunde, and Francis' aunt Empress Maria Anna of Austria and her husband Emperor Ferdinand I of Austria.
The Toskanagruft is a large room immediately to the left of the Franzensgruft and the Ferdinandsgruft. It is not possible to enter the Toskanagruft, but it is possible to see it over the low wall which separates it from the Franzensgruft and the Ferdinandsgruft. Through the arch between the Franzensgruft and the Toskanagruft one can see three sarcophagi. The central one of these is that of King Francis I (Duke Francis V of Modena). 1 It is an ornate bronze sarcophagus which rests on six lion paw feet. The top of the sarcophagus is decorated with a large crucifix below which is a wreath encircling a Latin inscription: 2
Sarcophagus of King Francis I
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FRANCISCUS. V
ARCHIDVX. AVSTRIAE ESTENSIS
MVTINAE. MASSAE. CARRARAE. GVASTALLAE
DVX
NATVS MVTINAE
DIE. I. IVNII. MDCCCXIX
DENATVS. VINDOBONAE
DIE. XX. NOVEMBRIS. MDCCCLXXV
H. S. E.
Here lies
Francis V,
Archduke of Austria-Este,
Duke
of Modena, Massa, Carrara, [and] Guastalla,
born at Modena,
June 1, 1819,
died at Vienna,
November 20, 1875.
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The mortal remains of Francis' wife Adelgunde are interred in the far right pillar of the Ferdinandsgruft. On the pillar is an inscription listing the names of the sixteen members of the House of Habsburg interred there; Adelgunde's name and her birth and death years can be seen on the third line.
Tomb of Queen Adelgunde
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Until 1960 Queen Adelgunde's sarcophagus was in the Toskanagruft with that of her husband. 3 In that year, however, it was decided to reduce the number of sarcophagi in that room. Some sarcophagi were placed in the newly built Neue Gruft, while others (including that of Queen Adelgunde) were placed in niches in the wall of the Ferdinandsgruft. Later the arches of these niches were plastered over, so that today one can only see the plain wall with the name plaque.
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Sarcophagus of Empress Maria Anna of Austria
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On the right side of the Ferdinandsgruft is the sarcophagus of Empress Maria Anna of Austria (daughter of King Victor and younger sister of Queen Mary III and II). On the front and back ends of the sarcophagus are the Austrian coat-of-arms. The left side is decorated with an IHS monogram (for Jesus) encircled in a wreath and two lion faces; the right side is similarly decorated with an MR monogram (for Mary). The top of the sarcophagus is surmounted by a cusion on which sits the Austrian imperial crown. Below this is a crucifix and a wreath encircling a Latin inscription:
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MARIA · ANNA
IMPERATRIX · AVSTRIAE
VICTORIS · EMANVEL · I
SARDINIAE · REGIS
FILIA
NATA · DIE · XIX · SEPTEMBRIS
MDCCCIII
NUPTA · FERDINANDO · TVNC · A · A ·
PRINCIPI · HEREDITARIO
VINDOBONAE · DIE · XXVII · FEBR
MDCCCXXXI
CORONATA · REGINA · BOHEMIAE
DIE · XII · SEPTEMBRIS
MDCCCXXXVI
DENATA · PRAGAE · DIE · IV · MAII
MDCCCLXXXIV
H · S · E
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Here lies
Maria Anna,
Empress of Austria,
daughter
of Victor Emanuel I,
King of Sardinia;
born September 19,
1803;
married Ferdinand, then Archduke of Austria,
Hereditary Prince,
at Vienna, February 27,
1831;
crowned Queen of Bohemia,
September 12,
1836;
died at Prague, May 4,
1884.
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Sarcophagus of Emperor Ferdinand I of Austria
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In the centre of the room is a stone dais on which rests the similarly decorated sarcophagus of Maria Anna's husband, Emperor Ferdinand I of Austria. On the front of the stone dais is a Latin inscription:
FERDINANDVS · I.
AVSTRIAE · IMPERATOR.
NATVS · VINDOBONAE · XIX · APRILIS
MDCCXCIII.
DENATVS · PRAGAE · XXIX · IVNII
MDCCCLXXV.
Ferdinand I,
Emperor of Austria,
born at Vienna, April 19,
1793,
died at Prague, June 29,
1875.
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On the back of the stone dais is Ferdinand's motto in Latin:
RECTA · TVERI
I have governed rightly.
The crypt is open daily from 9.30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. (closed November 1 and 2; entrance fee € 4,00).
Telephone: 512-68-53-16; official website.
Notes
1 To the right of Francis' sarcophagus is the sarcophagus of Archduke Anton Victor of Austria; to the left is a very simple sarcophagus (perhaps that of Archduke Ludwig Joseph or Archduke Ferdinand Karl).
2 The text of this inscription is taken from Alois Jahn, Die Grabstätten der Habsburger und der mit Ihnen Verwandten Häuser in Österreichs Kirchen, Das Haus Habsburg, Band II, Teil 2 (Privately printed, 2001).
3"Die Ferdinandsgruft", Die Kaisergruft in Wien, http://www.kaisergruft.at/kaisergruft/ferdigr.htm.
Image 1 (Facade of church): unknown source.
Image 2 (Sarcophagus of King Francis I): © Noel S. McFerran 2005.
Image 3 (Tomb of Queen Adelgunde): unknown source.
Image 4 (Sarcophagus of Empress Maria Anna): © Noel S. McFerran 2005.
Image 5 (Sarcophagus of Emperor Ferdinand I): © Noel S. McFerran 2005.
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