St. Michael's Church
The late Romanesque elements of St. Michael’s Church, which is located on Michaelerplatz very close to the Hofburg, date back to the first half of the 13th century. The choir was probably built between 1327 and 1340, followed by the lower parts of the spire. The church was rebuilt and extended several times over the following centuries and has remained largely in its present form since 1792.
On December 10, 1791, parts of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s famous Requiem were performed for the first time during his funeral. A memorial plaque in the church commemorates this event.
Also well worth seeing are the excavations on the square in front of the church, where Vienna’s city archaeologists uncovered the remains of a Roman settlement in 1990/91.
Vienna’s mummies
Today, the church is visited mostly for its interesting catacombs - due to the unusual environment, bodies don't decompose in it. From 1631 to 1784, about 4,000 people were buried here. Today, one can still see hundreds of coffins adorned with flowers or skulls, as well as mummified corpses, some of them in baroque frock-coats and wigs. The most famous person buried in the catacombs is Pietro Metastasio, who wrote some of the librettos of Mozart's operas.
Crypt tours
Public guided tours in German: Friday at 12 noon and 2 pm or Saturday at 10 am and 12 noon (in English on request)
Meeting point: Outside the main entrance to the church, 5 minutes before the tour begins
Other guided tours on request: +43 650 533 80 03 or gruft@michaelerkirche.at
