{"id":67513,"date":"2024-02-12T04:46:00","date_gmt":"2024-02-12T03:46:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/?p=67513"},"modified":"2025-10-17T10:41:36","modified_gmt":"2025-10-17T09:41:36","slug":"michaelerkirche-crypt-tour","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/michaelerkirche-crypt-tour\/","title":{"rendered":"Michaelerkirche crypt tour"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignright size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/michaelercryptsmall.jpg\" alt=\"Drawing of a coffin\" class=\"wp-image-67512\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/michaelercryptsmall.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/michaelercryptsmall-100x100.jpg 100w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>Travel back (or down) into the past with a visit to the burial crypts of the Michaelerkirche church. A place to find the unexpected: like Italian poets and Austrian mummies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Crypts date back over 500 years<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Coffins, skulls and stories<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Check language availability, though<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Take a historical <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tiqets.com\/en\/vienna-walking-tours-l205287\/?partner=visitingvienna&amp;tq_campaign=LG_WalkingTours\" rel=\"sponsored\">walking tour<\/a>* of Vienna<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>See also:\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/michaelerkirche\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"27662\">Michaelerkirche<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Tour of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/stephansdom-catacombs\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"5459\">Stephansdom catacombs<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/kapuzinergruft\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"245\">The Imperial Crypt<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/weather\/how-to-keep-cool\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"74122\">How to keep cool in summer<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Skulls and silk<\/h2>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"500\" height=\"326\" src=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/michaelercrypt2.jpg\" alt=\"View down the main Michaelerkirche crypt\" class=\"wp-image-67510\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/michaelercrypt2.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/michaelercrypt2-300x196.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-small-font-size\">(View down the central crypt; press photo \u00a9 Robert Passini)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Streams of people pass across <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/michaelerplatz-2\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"27254\">Michaelerplatz square<\/a>. They flow in and out of the Kohlmarkt shopping street or the majestic domed entrance to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sightseeing\/hofburg\/\" data-type=\"page\" data-id=\"2708\">Hofburg<\/a>, whose statues see Hercules frozen in eternal conflict with the Hydra and Cerberus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>What few realise in all the modern hubbub is they are walking over a former cemetery. And, even today, the remains of hundreds of people lie only a few yards away&#8230;buried in the crypts of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/michaelerkirche\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"27662\">Michaelerkirche<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The church occupies one side of the square and first appeared when Vienna&#8217;s rulers were mere dukes and not yet emperors. The crypts came about as a consequence of a far-reaching imperial edict.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Corpses being notoriously unhelpful for urban water quality, Emperor Maximilian I banned cemetery burials in the city in the early 1500s. Crypt burials, however, remained on the approved list.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And so the powers that be at the Michaelerkirche began to expand their underground spaces: not a simple undertaking when electric lighting and power tools were still centuries away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A later imperial edict under Emperor Joseph II in the late 1700s then saw crypt burials cease, too.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/michaelercrypt1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"500\" height=\"325\" src=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/michaelercrypt1.jpg\" alt=\"Painted wooden coffin\" class=\"wp-image-67509\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/michaelercrypt1.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/michaelercrypt1-300x195.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-small-font-size\">(A painted wooden coffin with a stack of bones behind; press photo \u00a9 Robert Passini)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Fast forward to the 21st century, and regular guided tours allow us to explore those subterranean chambers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Not that the past is prepared to give up all of its secrets: some individual crypts remain sealed off in stone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On my tour, steps took us down into the dusky and low-vaulted crypt chambers to reveal what looks like a medieval film set (and has actually served as a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/songsfilms\/vienna-blood-season-2\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"38572\">period drama film set<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The rows of wooden coffins feel quite orderly, and you might wonder where all the bodies are. Then the guide reveals you&#8217;re standing on a thick layer of bones and building materials. At which point, inevitably, you have an urgent need to look down.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div align=\"center\"><em>Ad:<\/em><br><\/div><div data-tiqets-widget=\"discovery\" data-cards-layout=\"horizontal\" data-slug-ids=\"exp206741,exp238032\" data-partner=\"visitingvienna\" data-tq-campaign=\"DA_ConcTour\"><\/div><script defer src=\"https:\/\/widgets.tiqets.com\/loader.js\"><\/script>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:25px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>A little later, you encounter wall niches full of skulls, femurs and similar, not to mention coffins with detached lids. I found myself waiting for a skeletal hand to appear (I&#8217;ve maybe watched too much <em>Game of Thrones<\/em>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The guide also took us to some of the private crypts filled with sturdier metal coffins belonging to noble families of the past\u2026still striving (even in death) to be as close to the centre of power as possible; the Hofburg court being practically next door to the church.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Everything looks remarkably tidy compared to earlier days, when coffins would have been stacked on top of each other. Many collapsed under the weight of their fellows and the disintegrating touch of time and humidity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Throughout the tour, our guide described the formal and cultural history of the crypts, offered intriguing anecdotes on crypt management through the ages, and dealt deftly with questions of all kinds: from the biology of mummification to Christian symbolism.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"500\" height=\"327\" src=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/michaelercryptmetastasio.jpg\" alt=\"The coffin of Pietro Metastasio\" class=\"wp-image-67511\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/michaelercryptmetastasio.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/michaelercryptmetastasio-300x196.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-small-font-size\">(The coffin of Pietro Metastasio; press photo \u00a9 Robert Passini)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Quite apart from the atmospheric crypt experience, the Michaelerkirche version has three special attractions for visitors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Painted coffins with symbols illustrating the transience of life and Christian motifs. Some have been restored and remind us that our impression of old coffins is coloured by the decay of passing centuries<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Mummies. Not what you expect in the heart of central Europe, but air shafts and variable microclimatic conditions meant some corpses underwent a process of mummification. We saw four still clad in their silk garments<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The coffin of the famed court poet Pietro Metastasio (1698-1782), who lived next door in the Gro\u00dfes Michaelerhaus. His text <em>La Clemenza di Tito<\/em> provided the source material for the libretto to Mozart&#8217;s same-named opera, for example<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Another church has a different kind of lasting monument to Metastasio: the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/entertainment\/minoritenkirche\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"21026\">Minoritenkirche<\/a> contains a memorial to him inside.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As a final treat, the crypt tour also goes into a side chamber of the church. There, steps lead down to the last surviving part of the paved-over cemetery (thus revealing how much the street level has risen in the intervening years).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The chamber also features selected funeral items: simplistic copies of the insignia of power, like the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/museums\/austrian-crown\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"18904\">Crown of the Austrian Empire<\/a>, placed on the coffin when an emperor lay in state in the Michaelerkirche.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Tickets &amp; visitor tips<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Check the church <a href=\"https:\/\/www.michaelerkirche.at\/en\/tours-crypt\/\">website<\/a> for tour times, prices and availability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>At the time of writing, public tours were \u20ac10 for adults and in German only, with private English tours also available.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>My understanding is that you can accompany the German-language tours, but you will, of course, miss out on much of the information if not a German speaker.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For more darkened chambers and skulls (both real and decorative), try two more crypt experiences in the very centre of Vienna:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/stephansdom-catacombs\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"5459\">Stephansdom catacombs<\/a>: go on a guided tour of the crypts below the main cathedral. These include a mass grave for plague victims<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/kapuzinergruft\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"245\">Kaisergruft<\/a>: view the coffins and sarcophagi of dozens of emperors, empresses, and similar in the imperial crypt<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Oh, and all three crypt experiences make a nice change from summer temperatures if you&#8217;re <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/weather\/how-to-keep-cool\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"74122\">looking to keep cool<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How to get there<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Follow the travel tips at the bottom of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/michaelerkirche\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"27662\">Michaelerkirche article<\/a>. As a central location in historical surrounds, you likely pass the church while simply <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/transport\/walking-tour\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"50322\">walking around<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Address: Michaelerplatz 5, 1010 Vienna<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div align=\"center\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/maps\/d\/u\/0\/embed?mid=1asmHlbVpicbQLt1557vf6l4l0zQ\" width=\"400\" height=\"300\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Travel back (down) into the past with a visit to the burial crypts of the Michaelerkirche church<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":67512,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-67513","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sights","8":"entry"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67513","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=67513"}],"version-history":[{"count":18,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67513\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":86458,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67513\/revisions\/86458"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/67512"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=67513"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=67513"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=67513"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}