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Vienna’s sewers came to fame in the 1949 film classic The Third Man , when Harry Lime, played by Orson Welles, was chased through the city’s underworld by the police. Filmed in the rubble of postwar Vienna, The Third Man is still remembered today as several tours follow in the footsteps of the characters.

The crypt beneath the Kapuzinerkirche (Capuchin church) was established by Empress Anna in 1618 and served as the Habsburgs’ burial place for more than 350 years. Among the 146 bodies resting in elaborately decorated sarcophagi or simple coffins are 12 emperors and 19 empresses. However, their hearts were buried separately in silver containers in the crypt of the Augustin church (see p63) and their intestines in copper urns in the catacombs of the Stephansdom.

In the 18th century many graveyards were closed down as plague epidemics spread quickly in the densely populated cities. Cemeteries were relocated beneath city churches, and bones were disinterred and reburied in the crypts. The catacombs underneath Stephansdom were constructed after Emperor Karl VI issued a decree to close the cathedral’s graveyard in 1732. Today it is hard to image that the Stephansplatz was once crammed with gravestones (see p9).

This crypt contains well-preserved mummies, some of them still wearing Baroque frocks and wigs. From 1631 to 1784 some 4,000 bodies were buried here, including nobles who wanted to rest close to the emperor at his Hofburg residence opposite (see p48).

Remains of the Roman camp Vindobona (see p40) can be seen at this underground museum. Excavations show archaeological finds such as pottery and coins.

The Scots’ Abbey on Freyung has widespread vaults that were continually expanded after its foundation in 1155. The storage rooms and wine cellars bear remains from the Romanesque, Baroque and Biedermeier periods. Today the area is used as an exhibition space of the Art Cult Centre (see p45).

The large Gothic Saint Virgil’s Chapel was only discovered in the 1970s when the Vienna metro line U1 was constructed – it had been hidden underground for some 200 years. The foundations of the crypt are visible on the square. Built in 1250, it was originally used for public burials, until a Vienna merchant turned it into his private crypt in the 14th century.

The Augustin Church was built in 1327 in Gothic style. In the course of its history, many imperial weddings took place here, including Marie Louise’s marriage to Napoleon in 1810 and Franz Joseph I and Sisi’s wedding in 1851. But the church is most famous for its Herzerlgruft (hearts’ crypt) containing the hearts of Austria’s emperors.

In the Middle Ages most of Vienna’s houses had as many storeys below ground as they had above. The cellars stored vats of wine, vegetables and other goods, and in some cases stables. In times of war the Viennese even lived in these cellars. This extensive underground labyrinth was often connected by tunnels. Many of the cellars were destroyed during the construction of the metro system and numerous underground car parks, but some remain as “Keller ” (cellar) restaurants, such as Rathauskeller at Wipplingerstrasse 8 and Esterhazykeller at Haarhof 1.

A long staircase leads down to the Club Fledermaus, named after the bats (Fledermaus ) that would have inhabited Vienna’s cellars in the Middle Ages. Today it is frequented by night owls who invade the red velvet interior as one of the major party spots in town. There are events Wednesday to Sunday.