The Habsburg rulers from many previous centuries are all buried in the same vault at the Capuchin Church in Vienna.
On Tuesday, I visited the site. Empress Maria Theresa’s tomb is the most grand and glorious, of course.
Look closely for the spider web on her nose.
And compare the crown in the hand of death with the Holy Roman Empire crown:
Holy Roman Empire imperial crown, finished in the early 1000s. Worn only at the coronation of the Holy Roman Emperor. Of German origan, ca. 980. Gold, cloisonné, precious jewels, pearls.
I can’t tell if this is tears on her cheek, or warts.
The mourning figure carries the Imperial crown.
Detail, Habsburg hereditary crown. Prague, 1602.
And while not the last of the line, certainly the last of the great ones:
Franz Joseph
Sisi
