Kapuzinerkirche
The Kapuzinerkirche is also known as the Church of St. Mary of the Angels. It is located in the ring behind the Opera. This church also serves as a monastery for the Order of the Friars Minor Capuchin. It was founded in 1617 and was dedicated in 1632. It is found on the Neue Markt square, which is near the imperial Hofburg Palace. Its mausoleum called the Imperial Crypt, has been the place for the burial of the Habsburg dynasty, the hereditary Emperors of the Holy Roman Empire and their descendants. These crypts date back to 1619 and were founded by the Catholic Emperor Matthias. Buried in these crypts are 138 Habsburg tombs including the likes of Maria Theresa, her husband Franz Stephan, Franz Joseph and Empress Zita. The crypt is also the final resting place for 12 other emperors, 16 other empresses and dozens of archdukes. However, an interesting fact about these is that only the bodies are in here because the hearts are in the urns in the Loreto Chapel of the Augustinerkirche in the Hofburg complex.
The most outstanding of all the Imperial tombs is the double sarcophagus of Maria Theresa and her consort, Francis Stephen, the parents of Marie Antoinette, the “king of Rome” and the ill—fated son of Napoleon and Marie-Louise who were buried in a bronze coffin.
The church bears many plaques that are in remembrance of the fallen military regiments. On one of the plaques, “In faithful remembrance of the 1st Ulan Regiment and its death” is engraved. The church also features a monument dedicated to heroes who fought against the Turks. The altar itself is modest yet glamorous. It is ornately decorated which has provided many tourists the hunger for more.
The place is so overwhelming that one will have to really be amazed at how the whole structure came to be. Seeing the tombs of the royalties is something that is worth noting for. Once in a lifetime experience indeed it is to see this place.
