Burggasse 2
Hours: 10.30am-12.30pm & 1.30-4pm
Tuesday & Friday January-April, daily May-December
Entrance fee
adult/child €6/2
Mausoleum of Ferdinand II is a historic burial place for king Ferdinand II. It was erected in the late 17th century. The magnificent Mausoleum of Emperor Ferdinand II is undoubtedly of the most beautiful and unusual buildings in Graz. It gracefully combines Mannerist Austrian Baroque with the theatrical splendour of Rome's great churches. The initial work of the Italian architect Pietro de Pomis was completed by the stuccowork and fresco decoration of Graz's own Fischer von Erlach. A beautiful oval dome adorns the funerary crypt, dominated by a great red-marble sarcophagus. Ferdinand (1578–1637), his wife and his son are interred in the crypt.
Emergence
In 1614, Ferdinand II entrusted his court artist
Giovanni Pietro de Pomis (1569–1633), who came from Lodi near Milan in
Lombardy, with the design and execution of this monumental tomb, which
was completed in 1636.
Ferdinand II decided to build a dignified
burial ground next to the Graz Cathedral on the site of the former
cemetery. The site of a Romanesque cemetery chapel with a ossuary that
had existed since 1265 and was dedicated to St. Catherine was chosen as
the building site. As a painter, architect and master builder, Pomis
took over the planning and construction management.
Conception
For the complex, two sacred buildings with different floor plans and
spatial concepts were connected: a church dedicated to St. Catherine of
Alexandria and an oval central building adjoining it to the south as a
burial chapel for Emperor Ferdinand II and his family. To the east
around the apse, an enclosing formwork was created around the sacristy
and the sacristan's apartment, which is crowned by a slender tower.
The conception of the complex shows the ecclesiastical and dynastic
representative intentions of the builder Ferdinand II:
The
cross-shaped floor plan of St. Catherine's Church indicates the
Christian faith, the oval shape of the burial chapel is a symbol of the
resurrection.
The crowning of the domes of St. Catherine's Church and
the burial chapel in the form of a scepter and imperial eagle with
imperial sword and orb symbolize the Habsburg dynasty and its claim to
power in the empire.
In the case of the St. Catherine's Church, the
patron saint of St. Catherine of Alexandria not only refers to a
medieval predecessor building, but is also related to the University of
Graz, which was founded by Archduke Charles II (Ferdinand II's father)
in 1585 and is run by the Jesuit Order, which is also under the patron
saint of St. Catherine of Alexandria (as patroness of science).
The
sandstone figures on the west facade - they represent Saint Catherine
flanked by two angels and two people she converted to Christianity - and
the painted copper panels in the niches with depictions from the lives
of the saints not only represent the titular saint of the church and
University-related program, but also show a counter-reformation aspect
in Porphyrius, who was converted to the Christian faith, and in
Faustina.
Building development
Built under the direction of
Giovanni Pietro de Pomis, the building shows strong Italian influences
on the building. The oval floor plan with an oval dome of the burial
chapel is the first of its kind outside of Italy.
After 1619/20
some changes were made to the complex: alterations to the west facade
with the insertion of segment and triangular gables, a motif from the
Jesuit church Il Gesu in Rome, a floor increase in the two side wings
and from 1622 roofing work. After Giovanni Pietro de Pomis died in 1633
before the work was completed, Pietro Valnegro took over the
construction management in 1633. In 1636, with the collaboration of
Antonio Pozzo, the tower in the form of a graceful campanile was
completed, and in 1637 the roof.
The entire complex was not
completed until after the death of Ferdinand II († 1637), since after
his election as emperor and the associated move to Vienna, construction
work had come to a standstill. The consecration of the crypt altar took
place in 1640, after which the construction work was temporarily
suspended. It was only after the shell had stood unfinished for four
decades that the building was required to be completed in 1686. In 1687,
Ferdinand's grandson, Emperor Leopold I, commissioned the then still
young Graz Baroque master builder Johann Bernhard Fischer to complete
the interior decoration and stucco work of the mausoleum. In 1714 the
church and six altars were consecrated.
After the Second World
War, both interior and exterior restorations and measures to repair the
dome roofing took place. Between 1960 and 2010, the complex served as
the burial place for the bishops of the Graz-Seckau diocese before it
was moved (again) to Graz Cathedral.
Exterior construction
The three-storey building of St. Catherine's
Church has a cruciform floor plan with a tambour dome over the crossing
with a crowning cross and angelic putti heads and cartouches under the
cornice. The apse are room parts included in the building complex, e.g.
B. the sacristy, presented in a semicircle. A circular, seven-storey
tower, which is divided by Ionic pilasters and cornices, protrudes in
the east apex. The design of the lantern is attributed to Pietro
Valnegro; the domed roof is crowned by a gilded scepter.
Above
the base zone is a two-storey main storey with Ionic three-quarter
columns in front of pilasters; Above the attic floor on the central axis
there is a segmental gable with an inscribed triangular gable. In the
niches of the side axes are iconographic representations from the life
of St. Catherine. On the gable stands a larger-than-life sandstone
figure of the saint, flanked by two angels holding martyr's crowns. The
sculptures are attributed to Sebastian Erlacher and date from 1635/36.
The rectangular stone portal with a triangular gable has sheet metal
door panels with wrought iron fittings (around 1714). Above it is an
inscription of the builder. In the east tower is a profiled round-arched
stone gate.
The building of St. Catherine's Church is structured
by bundled Ionic pilasters, symbols of the Holy Mass and St. Catherine
can be seen in the entablature of the main cornice, angelic putti heads
under the cornice and relief cartouches, probably formerly painted with
coats of arms, can be seen on the pilasters of the attic floor.
Interior construction
The single-nave nave consists of two bays and
barrel vaults. The transverse arms are also barrel-vaulted. The transept
has a tambour dome supported by clustered Corinthian pilasters. The
chancel has an apse with a semi-dome. The entablature protrudes strongly
and is cranked over the crossing pilasters. Both the nave and transept
have arched windows.
The remarkable stucco work in St.
Catherine's Church was carried out in 1688-1689 by Josef Serenio,
Girolamo Rossi and Antonio Quadrio. The designs for the stucco
decorations of the vaults – with the exception of those in the transept
vaults – are attributed to the Graz-born imperial court artist Johann
Bernhard Fischer von Erlach, who also provided the design for the St.
Catherine’s altar (1687), which served as the high altar of St.
Catherine’s Church. The sculptures of the Catherine altar were carved by
Marx Schokotnigg (1697–1699); The angel figures of the Marian altar
(1697-1701) and personifications of the Christian virtues in the burial
chapel for Emperor Ferdinand II are from the same artist.
The
frescoes in the nave with the apotheosis of the House of Habsburg, which
were created at the same time as the stucco decorations, were probably
painted by Franz Steinpichler. The main focus of the decoration of the
nave is on the glorious deeds of Emperor Leopold I. The liberation of
Vienna from the Turks in 1683 is shown in the center of these frescoes.
The nave vault is divided into fields by leaf frames, the crossing vault
is decorated with angel putti holding cartouches and crowns and imperial
busts of rulers from the House of Habsburg.
In the western
gallery, angel putti hold festoons and a cartouche with a frescoed coat
of arms of the noble Dietrichstein family on the parapet. On the west
wall are angel putti with an inscription cartouche - dated 1689 - which
refers to the builders Emperor Ferdinand II and Emperor Leopold I. In
the western wall of the shield arch, angelic putti span a drapery
containing the motto of Emperor Leopold I: "consilio et industria"
(Eng.: through advice and diligence [to the goal]).
The Holy
Sepulcher (1768-1769) by Veit Koeniger should also be highlighted from
the church furnishings, which is one of the most important “holy graves”
in Austria due to its multi-figure ensemble. However, it has only been
in the right transept since 1967. The Holy Sepulcher is considered a
major work by this late Baroque sculptor and shows a scaffolding with
the figures of Moses, David, Isaias, Jonas, Jeremiah and Daniel on the
sides. Inside this scaffolding you can see the body of Christ.
In
2005, five bells were cast in the Grassmayr foundry in Innsbruck for St.
Catherine's Church, which are tonally matched to the ringing of the
neighboring cathedral.
The oval burial chapel with a crypt beneath it, which contains the
burial sites of the donor and his family, is attached to the southern
transept of St. Catherine's Church.
In 1960 the burial chapel was
converted into the burial place of the bishops of the Graz-Seckau
diocese and an altar table was set up. By the end of the 20th century,
three bishops, Roman Sebastian Zängerle, Leopold Schuster and Leo
Pietsch, found their last resting place in the mausoleum of Emperor
Ferdinand II. They were buried in the wall of the burial chapel. After
an existing crypt under the Marienkapelle and under the Kreuzkapelle in
Graz Cathedral had been adapted as a new burial place for the bishops of
Graz-Seckau, the deceased bishops were transferred from the mausoleum of
Emperor Ferdinand II to this new bishop's crypt in 2010.
layout
A dome spans the entire burial chapel. The actual burial space for
Emperor Ferdinand II and his family is in the basement.
Frescoes
on the cupola depict the Catholic virtues and deeds of Emperor Ferdinand
II as a counter-reformer. They were painted around 1689 by Matthias
Echter. The fresco in the choir with the mystical marriage of St.
Catherine also comes from him. The stucco decorations on the dome are
said to have been designed by Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach. The
stucco niche figures represent personifications of the Christian virtues
(faith, love, hope, justice) and come from Marx Schokotnigg (1695–1696).
The paintings "St. Ignatius” (by Franz Wagenschön, 1766) and “Maria
Immaculata” (by Josef Tunner, 1858) were once used as altarpieces.
tomb dream
The stucco work of the crypt was made around 1640 by
Mattia Camin. They were renewed in 1694 by Josef Serenio. The pictorial
representations show the insignia and coats of arms of the countries
ruled by Emperor Ferdinand II, as well as symbols of death and the last
sacraments as well as painted scenes from the Old and New Testaments,
which refer to the resurrection and redemption through Christ.
double sarcophagus
The double sarcophagus made of red marble that is
now set up in the middle of the crypt was intended for the parents of
Emperor Ferdinand II and was probably made around 1608 by Sebastian
Carlone. It was originally located in the Graz Clarisse convent in
Paradeis and was transferred to its current location after this convent
was closed at the end of the 18th century. Only Maria von Bayern
(1551–1608) is buried in the double sarcophagus; Archduke Karl II
(1540–1590), on the other hand, has been buried in the Habsburg
mausoleum in the Seckau Basilica since 1590. The lid of the double
sarcophagus shows the fully three-dimensional reclining figures of
Charles II and Maria Anna.
coffin wall niches
The tombs of
Emperor Ferdinand II, his wife Maria Anna of Bavaria (1574-1616) and his
son Johann Karl (1605-1619), who died early, are designed as coffin wall
niches and marked by inscriptions. The wall niche with the emperor's
coffin is on the left side of the altar, directly above the wall niche
with the coffin of his son, who died young. The wall niche below the
coffin niche of Maria Anna of Bavaria on the right side of the altar
remained empty. Ferdinand II died in Vienna on February 15, 1637 and had
stipulated in his will that he should be buried in Graz.
heart
puzzle
From the crypt of the burial chapel, you can reach the
so-called heart crypt, in which there are still some heart urns. The
heart burials of the Habsburgs in Graz once included the hearts of
Ferdinand II, his mother Maria of Bavaria, his second wife Eleonora
Gonzaga and other archducal family members. The grave niches have been
empty since the beginning of the 20th century, and the vessels with
their contents were handed over to the mint in 1910. The separately
buried heart and entrails of Ferdinand II were originally in the same
urn, which was initially also kept in the mausoleum. The container was
later transferred to Vienna, where it was buried in the Queen's
Monastery. At the end of the 18th century, Joseph II had Ferdinand II's
entrails buried in the ducal crypt of St. Stephen's Cathedral and the
heart in a new beaker in the Loreto chapel of the Augustinian church.
Located in the city center of Graz, the complex was the most
important representative building of the imperial court in Graz and its
Counter-Reformation policies. Together with the neighboring cathedral,
the castle and the Old University (Jesuit University), it forms the
ensemble of the Graz city crown.
Among the three mausoleums from
the Counter-Reformation era in Styria (mausoleum for Archduke Charles II
in the Basilica of Seckau, mausoleum for Ruprecht von Eggenberg in
Ehrenhausen, mausoleum for Emperor Ferdinand II in Graz), the Graz
mausoleum, which was built most recently, is the most important Building
of European rank has a supra-regional position.
It is one of the
most important Mannerist buildings in Austria from the first half of the
17th century. It is the largest mausoleum built by the Habsburgs.
Together with the Graz Cathedral, the building with its domes and towers
visible from afar shapes the silhouette of the cityscape.