The streets of Vienna today are not quite as busy due to an important Presidential election today, Sunday. It will indeed be interesting to find out if the “far right” gets elected due to the increasing frustrations from the Austrians with immigration issues. The opposition is the “far left” green party. The historical “moderate” party candidates were eliminated in the elections last month.
The first place we visited today was the Imperial Crypt at a Capuchin Church where there is still a cloister run by the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin. The crypt is intended for members of Austria’s former Habsburg dynasty, who have been laid to rest in the crypt since 1633 (149 Habsburgs to be exact). Today, the Capuchin friars continue their customary role as the guardians and caretakers of the crypt along with their other pastoral work in Vienna. We were very surprised that the burial place of emperors is down under a church that is very modest, located on a side street with traffic, shops, restaurants and cafes surrounding it. Walking past the church, one would never think that the Habsburgs were down under!
Once inside, the crypt (aka Capuchin Crypt) is certainly not grandiose. As we passed among the sarcophagi, some were incredibly intricate works of art, some were fairly simple. It was like walking through history. The extraordinary details on these burial vessels in unreal. It was well worth the visit to see the last resting place of the Imperial family. One Habsburg member was interred as recently as 2011.
Our next stop after lunch, was a 2-mile trek to the Belvedere Palace. The Belvedere Palace consists of two Baroque palaces, the upper and lower Belvedere, lovely gardens with decorative tiered fountains and cascades, Baroque sculptures and intricate wrought iron gates and the Palace Stables. It also houses the Belvedere Art Museum. The palace complex was built as a summer residence for Prince Eugene Savoy. The prince never lived at this magnificent palace; but just used the palace to store and display art! We thought this palace was far more impressive than the Schonbrunn Palace that we visited yesterday; and, we could easily move right in! The palace has a wondeful display of artworks, especially Klimt, Gustav and Picasso. Klimt’s famous painting “The Kiss’ is also on display here. All in all, the Belvedere is a beautiful place with extraordinary architecture. We think it is one of the “must-see” places in Vienna.
