The Tuscan Vault

Maria Karoline

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The Toskana Vault, which adjoins the Franzens and Ferdinand Vault to the west, was built between 1840 and 1842 by Johann Höhne on behalf of Ferdinands I. (N°62). It was constructed at the same time as the Ferdinand Vault and is separated from it by an archway. The 21-meter-long and 5-meter-wide crypt room housed almost 50 coffins of the ruling family from the Habsburg-Tuscany branch, similar to a coffin repository. Today, only 14 sarcophagi remain here.

The Architecture

Pilasters and transverse arches divide the corridor-like space into five bays. There are semicircular windows on the south and north sides. The Toskana Vault is connected to the Franzens and Ferdinand Vault by an arcade arch. Gas lighting was introduced in 1845; it consisted of six chandeliers with 20 lights and four wall arms with four lights each. 

The sarcophagus

The coffins in the Toskana Vault, with their anonymous uniformity, reflect Josephine rationalism and the effects of the new burial regulations issued by Emperor Joseph II. (N°42), which did not exclude the imperial family. The artistic design is uniform, without decorative attributes. The sarcophagi are very simple, made of yellow cast iron or copper, smooth and partly riveted. Nothing but a brief inscription indicates the power that once surrounded those buried here. It seems as if the medieval egalitarian principle of the dance of death, according to which all are equal before death, has found a variation here.

While a rhythmic grouping was sought in the Maria Theresa and Franz Vaults, and in the Ferdinand Vault all coffins except the main sarcophagus were scattered in niches (now walled up) according to no recognizable pattern, the coffins in the Toskana Vault are placed in a depot-like manner.

Overview of the Tuscan Vault

Builder/Donor: Emperor Ferdinand I.

Architect: Johann Höhne

Architectural style: Late Classicism 

Sarcophagi:

• N°101 Franz V. of Austria-Este (1819-1875), Duke of Modena, dethroned in 1859
• N°102 Ferdinand Karl of Austria-Este (1781-1850)
• N°103 Anton Viktor (1779-1835),  son of Leopold II, Grand Master of the Teutonic Order
• N°104 Ludwig Joseph (1784-1864), son of Leopold II, conducted state affairs under Ferdinand I. together with Metternich and Kolowrat from 1835 to 1848
• N°105 Ferdinand Karl Anton of Austria-Este (1754-1806), son of Maria Theresa, Captain General of Lombardy
• N°106 Maria Beatrix of Modena-Este (1750-1829)
• N°107 Maria Karoline (1752-1814), Queen, wife of Ferdinand IV., King of the Two Sicilies
• N°108 Ferdinand IV. of Austria-Tuscany (1835-1908), Grand Duke of Tuscany
• N°109 Leopold II. of Austria-Tuscany (1797-1870), Grand Duke of Tuscany, father of Johann Orth
• N°110 Rainer Ferdinand (1827-1913)
• N°111 Albert of Saxony-Teschen (1738-1822), Duke of Saxony-Teschen, husband of Maria Christine
• N°112 Maria Christine („Mimi“) (1742-1798), Maria Theresa's favorite daughter
• N°113 Leopold II. (1747-1792), Emperor, son of Maria Theresa, successor to Joseph II.
• N°114 Maria Ludovica of Spain (1745-1792), Empress, wife of Leopold II.