The Viennese have always had a strange
preoccupation with death. This is reflected both in pompous funeral rites and
elaborate burial sites. On this illustrated walk we introduce you to four very
different ones. The medieval Chapel of St. Virgil’s next to St. Stephen’s
Cathedral was originally built for Austria's first patron saint (of Irish
descent!). In the majestic burial vault of the Church of the Capuchin Friars
the remains of more than 150 members of the Habsburg dynasty were laid to rest
in the most elaborate sarcophagi designed by the greatest artists of their
time. After a visit to the unique “Heart Crypt” at St. Augustine's we descend
into the burial crypt of St. Michael's, the former court parish church. Its
painted baroque coffins, mummified corpses and the newly restored sarcophagus
of Pietro Metastasio, author of Mozart's opera seria, 'La Clemenza di Tito',
also give us a vivid insight into the sepulchral history of Vienna. The tour
ends on Graben where the plague epidemic of 1679 is commemorated by the Trinity
Column at its centre.
