Vienna - Virgilian Chapel

This extraordinary relic of Vienna's medieval past, which also houses a collection of historic Viennese ceramics, is open to the public. A comparison of architectural features - for example, the zig-zag motif on the rounded cross directly below the niche vaulting is similar to that on the Giant Gate of St Stephens's Cathedral - has enabled experts to date the chapel as 13th C. This subterranean room of niches was probably planned as a mausoleum and belonged to the Chrannest family from the early 14th C. It was their family vault in which they erected altars, the most important of which was dedicated to St Virgil.