Founders Vault

'Pray for me and my Austria'

Empress Anna of Tyrol

The Founders' Crypt is the oldest part of the Imperial Crypt (1622-1632), dating back to the foundation of Empress Anna of Tyrol (N°1) and located beneath the Imperial Chapel.

The room is low, without decorations or windows, and separated from the Leopold Crypt by a Baroque grille. Here stand the simple, chest-like sarcophagi of the founding couple, Empress Anna and Emperor Matthias (N°2).

DETAILS OF THE VAULT

DETAILS ABOUT THE PERSONS

The entry to the Founders Vault

The coffins of the founding couple, Empress Anna (1585–1618) and Emperor Matthias (1557–1619).

Lion detail

Detailed view of the retrofitted feet

Tour of the Crypt

LEOPOLD VAULT

Personalities

in the Founders Vault

N° 1

1618

Empress Anna of Tyrol

*04.10.1585 Innsbruck - †15.12.1618 Vienna

Daughter of Archduke Ferdinand II. of Tyrol and Anna Katharina of Mantua. Crowned wife of Emperor Matthias. Awarded the Golden Rose by Pope Paul V. Borghese. Empress Anna is the testamentary founder of the Capuchin Monastery and the Imperial Crypt.

N° 2

1619

Emperor Matthias

*24.02.1557 Vienna - †20.03.1619 Vienna

Son of Maximilian II. and Infanta Maria. Husband of Archduchess Anna of Tyrol, whose marriage remained childless. Governor of Lower Austria. King of Hungary and Bohemia, crowned emperor in 1612. Supported the founding of the Capuchin monastery in St. Ulrich. Namesake of Schönbrunn Palace.