Herzgruft

The Loretokapelle is a side chapel of Vienna's Augustinerkirche in the 1st district, dedicated to Saint Mary of Loreto and located since 1784 in the chapel group adjoining the church to the south. The Loreto tradition derives from the Italian pilgrimage shrine of Loreto, whose Casa Santa was venerated in Vienna in replica form. The chapel is most famous, however, as the Habsburg Heart Crypt: 54 silver urns hold the hearts of deceased members of the House of Habsburg, a tradition that began with Emperor Ferdinand IV in 1654 and continued into the 19th century. The Augustinerkirche itself was the Austrian court parish church and the setting for many Habsburg weddings. Access to the chapel is limited.