Egmont's crypt

About

Egmont's crypt (Dutch: Egmontcrypte) is a crypt on the market square in Zottegem, Belgium. The crypt contains the remains of Lamoral, Count of Egmont and his wife Sabina of Bavaria.

Around 1563, Lamoral had a burial crypt built underneath the Church of the Assumption of Our Lady for his grandfather and mother. The remains of Lamoral himself were added to that crypt in 1568 after he was beheaded on Brussels' Grand-Place/Grote Markt. His wife Sabina of Bavaria († 1578) and his sons Philip († 1590) and Charles († 1620) were also buried there.

The crypt was used until the 17th century after which it fell into oblivion. In 1804, the graves were rediscovered by chance. They were transferred in 1857 to a newly built crypt, which was restored in 1952. The leaden coffins were enveloped in bronze sarcophagi. In 1954, the remains underwent a conservation treatment. In 2016, a glass dome was added to the crypt. In 2017, new genetic research brought to the fore that Egmont's remains had not been damaged by the Spaniards directly after his beheading, but many centuries later.

Leaden heart-shaped boxes for the hearts of Lamoral, Philip and Charles

Leaden heart-shaped box for Lamoral's heart

Leaden plaque (rediscovery of the crypt in 1804)

Copper burial plaque of Sabina Duchess of Bavaria (1578)