Capuchin Burial
An integral part of every Capuchin monastery was the crypt, where the bodies of deceased monks and their benefactors, both male and female, were laid to rest in one or more chambers. Burials in the Brno tomb began in February 1656 when the Capuchins transferred the remains of their brethren who had originally been interred in the crypt of the first monastery outside the city walls. That monastery was leveled to the ground in 1645 during the Swedish siege of Brno.
The established practice was interrupted only by the burial reform initiated by Emperor Joseph II in 1784. Among other measures, the reform prohibited burials within city limits, whether in tombs or cemeteries. Up to that point, approximately 150 Capuchins and 50 benefactors had been interred beneath the Capuchin church in Brno.
However, the story of the Capuchin tomb was far from over. After some time, the brothers began to write another chapter, slowly shifting their focus from the deceased to the living... the visitors. They opened the gate to the underground for them, offering them the chance to confront their own mortality.