The crypt contains graves of 142 members of the Habsburg family, among them 12 emperors and 18 empresses. The most recent royal grave is from 1989. The idea of creating the crypt was first put forward in 1617 by Empress Ana of the Tirol, wife of Emperor Matias I, who left a significant sum of money especially for this purpose in her final will and testament.

In the mid-20th Century, it became obvious that heat and humidity were causing considerable damage to the layout of the crypt and rapidly damaging the overall condition of the graves. A thorough restoration and enlargement of the vault was carried out. The new vault, located to the north of the Toscana, the Fernandina Vaults and the one of Francisco Jose were designed by the architect Karl Schwanzer. Their metallic doors is thework of the sculptor Rudolf Hoflehner.