The Capuchin Church in Vienna

Vienna

Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...

 is the church and monastery of the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin

Order of Friars Minor Capuchin

The Order of Friars Minor Capuchin is an Order of friars in the Catholic Church, among the chief offshoots of the Franciscans. The worldwide head of the Order, called the Minister General, is currently Father Mauro Jöhri.-Origins :...

. It is located on the Neuer Markt square in the Innere Stadt

Innere Stadt

The Innere Stadt is the 1st municipal District of Vienna . The Innere Stadt is the old town of Vienna. Until the city boundaries were expanded in 1850, the Innere Stadt was congruent with the city of Vienna...

, near the imperial Hofburg Palace. The official name is Church of St. Mary of the Angels, but is commonly known in Vienna as the Capuchin Church.

The church is most famous for the Imperial Crypt, the final resting place for members of the Habsburg dynasty.

History

About 1599 the Capuchin brothers under Lawrence of Brindisi

Lawrence of Brindisi

Saint Lawrence of Brindisi, O.F.M. Cap., , born Giulio Cesare Russo, was a Catholic priest and a member of the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin....

 resided at Vienna on their way to Prague

Prague

Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...

, where they had been sent by Pope Clement VIII

Pope Clement VIII

Pope Clement VIII , born Ippolito Aldobrandini, was Pope from 30 January 1592 to 3 March 1605.-Cardinal:...

 in the course of the Counter-Reformation

Counter-Reformation

The Counter-Reformation was the period of Catholic revival beginning with the Council of Trent and ending at the close of the Thirty Years' War, 1648 as a response to the Protestant Reformation.The Counter-Reformation was a comprehensive effort, composed of four major elements:#Ecclesiastical or...

. The church was donated by will of Anna of Tyrol

Anna of Tyrol

Anna of Tyrol was the wife of Matthias, Holy Roman Emperor. By this marriage she was Holy Roman Empress, German Queen, Queen of Bohemia and Queen of Hungary. Her parents were Ferdinand II, Archduke of Austria and Anne Juliana Gonzaga.-Marriage:On 4 December 1611 in Vienna, Matthias and Anna were...

 (1585 – 1618), consort of Holy Roman Emperor Matthias of Habsburg

Matthias, Holy Roman Emperor

Matthias of Austria was Holy Roman Emperor from 1612, King of Hungary and Croatia from 1608 and King of Bohemia from 1611...

. Construction was delayed due to the outbreak of the Thirty Years' War

Thirty Years' War

The Thirty Years' War was fought primarily in what is now Germany, and at various points involved most countries in Europe. It was one of the most destructive conflicts in European history....

 and not finished until 1632, under the rule of Matthias' successor Ferdinand II

Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor

Ferdinand II , a member of the House of Habsburg, was Holy Roman Emperor , King of Bohemia , and King of Hungary . His rule coincided with the Thirty Years' War.- Life :...

. It was consecrated in 1632.

The aisleless church

Aisleless church

An Aisleless church is a single-nave church building that consists of a single hall-like room. While similar to the hall church, the aisleless church lacks aisles or passageways either side of the nave separated from the nave by colonnades or arcades, a row of pillars or columns...

 contains the tombs of friar Marco d'Aviano

Marco d'Aviano

Marco d'Aviano was a Capuchin friar. His real name was Carlo Domenico Cristofori, his birthplace Aviano, a small community in the Republic of Venice . From an early age, he felt attracted to a life of devotion and martyrdom...

 (d. 1699) and architect Donato Felice d'Allio

Donato Felice d'Allio

Donato Felice d'Allio was an Austrian architect of the Baroque....

 (1761) as well as a pietà

Pietà

The Pietà is a subject in Christian art depicting the Virgin Mary cradling the dead body of Jesus, most often found in sculpture. As such, it is a particular form of the Lamentation of Christ, a scene from the Passion of Christ found in cycles of the Life of Christ...

 by Peter Strudel

Peter Strudel

Peter Strudel or Peter Strudl was an Austrian sculptor and painter. His work forms the transition of Austria to the high baroque style.Strudel was born in Cles, Trentino....

. Its subterranean mausoleum

Mausoleum

A mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the interment space or burial chamber of a deceased person or persons. A monument without the interment is a cenotaph. A mausoleum may be considered a type of tomb or the tomb may be considered to be within the...

 is the Imperial Crypt  that has been the principal place of entombment for the Habsburg dynasty, Emperors of the Holy Roman Empire

Holy Roman Empire

The Holy Roman Empire was a realm that existed from 962 to 1806 in Central Europe.It was ruled by the Holy Roman Emperor. Its character changed during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period, when the power of the emperor gradually weakened in favour of the princes...

, and their descendants.

The lying in repose

Lying in repose

Lying in repose is a term used to describe when a deceased person, often of some stature, is available for public viewing. "Lying in repose" is different from the formal honor of "lying in state", which is generally held at the principal government building of the country and often accompanied by...

 for the last heir to the Austrian and Hungarian throne, Otto von Habsburg

Otto von Habsburg

Otto von Habsburg , also known by his royal name as Archduke Otto of Austria, was the last Crown Prince of Austria-Hungary from 1916 until the dissolution of the empire in 1918, a realm which comprised modern-day Austria, Hungary, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Slovakia,...

, took place in a side chapel on 15 July 2011.

The church is also used daily by the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Peter for the celebration of the 1962 extraordinary form of the Roman Rite

Extraordinary form of the Roman Rite

"An extraordinary form of the Roman Rite" is a phrase used in Pope Benedict XVI's motu proprio Summorum Pontificum to describe the liturgy of the 1962 Roman Missal, widely referred to as the "Tridentine Mass"...

.