Karl Vault

‘... so that you may know, wanderer, that majesty never perishes, even in death.’

Inscription on the sarcophagus of Emperor Charles VI.

The late Baroque Karl Vault lies directly beneath the altar area and the monks' choir of the Capuchin Church and fascinates visitors with some of the most beautiful works in the Capuchin Crypt. It was designed as a continuation of the Leopold Vault and was built between 1710 and 1720 under Emperor Joseph I. (N°35) and Emperor Charles VI. (N°40) by Lukas von Hildebrandt. Seven sarcophagi and the heart urn of Empress Amalia Wilhelmina (N°34) rest in the Charles Vault.

Details about the crypt

Details about the people

Sarcophagus of Emperor Charles VI.

Sarcophagus of Emperor Charles VI.: Detail

Sarcophagus of Emperor Charles VI.: Skull with imperial crown

Sarcophagus of Empress Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick

Sarcophagus of Empress Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick: detail

Sarcophagus of Empress Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick: detail of a head

LEOPOLD VAULT

Vault Tour

MARIA THERESA VAULT

Personalities

in the Karl Vault

1701

Leopold Joseph

*29.10.1700 Vienna - †04.08.1701 Vienna

Only son of Empror Joseph I. and Amalia Wilhelmina of Brunswick-Lüneburg. Upon his death, the regency passed from Emperor Joseph I to Charles VI.

N° 40

1740

Emperor Charles VI.

*01.10.1685 Vienna - †20.10.1740 Vienna

Third son of Emperor Leopold I. and Eleonora Magdalena of Palatinate-Neuburg. King of Bohemia and Hungary. Holy Roman Emperor from 1711 to 1740. Lost the Spanish crown and colonies to Philip of Anjou. Regulation of female succession through the Pragmatic Sanction. Talented musician and great patron of the arts. Expansion of Klosterneuburg as a monastery and residence. Founder of St. Charles's Church.

N° 145

1922

Emperor Charles I.

*17.08.1887 Persenbeug, Lower Austria - †01.04.1922 Funchal, Madeira, Portugal

Last Emperor of Austria. Great-nephew of Emperor Franz Joseph. Son of Archduke Otto and Princess Maria Josepha of Saxony. Husband of Princess Zita of Bourbon-Parma. As the “Emperor of Peace,” he strove to establish peace and save the Habsburg Empire. In 1918, he renounced his official duties, then emigrated and went into exile (Switzerland, Madeira). Beatified by Pope John Paul II.