Famous composers

Famous composers

Vienna has long been known as the musical metropolis for famous composers. Although many of the city’s famed composers were not native Viennese, it was here that their careers began to achieve international renown. The city of Vienna has dedicated a number of honorary tombs to these composers, whose music has become immortal. The graves of Ludwig van Beethoven, Johannes Brahms, Josef Lanner, Franz Schubert and the members of the famed Strauss dynasty are located on the central cemetery. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is only present in the form of a monument. His mortal remains rest in a shaft, or trench grave at the Saint Marx cemetery, the former graveyard in the Third Viennese borough of Landstrasse.

Ludwig van Beethoven
Johannes Brahms
Josef Lanner

Forest cemetery

The Forest Cemetery is the quiet area of Vienna’s Central Cemetery. It was opened in May of 2009.

The entrance was designed as a joint memorial for all those buried here. The two steel sculptures were inspired by trees. The so-called "name tree" bears as inscription the names of the dead, with their date of birth and death. Their friends and relatives can place lighted candles on the “lantern tree”. Of the approximately 200 trees located at the 10.000-square-metre- large site, 36 were selected for use as urn interments. The trees, chiefly ash and maple, are 40 to 60 years old. Each of the 36 trees is encircled by 12 burial sites, within each is room for two urns.

The Forest cemetery at Vienna's Central Cemetery
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Old arcades

The old arcades were the first structures in the Central Cemetery and can be found on the main avenue.

They contain 36 tombs of well-known and wealthy Viennese families. Each of the tombs in the arcades has a capacity of up to 15 coffins. The neo-renaissance brick- buildings were built in 1880. Three years later, Georg Glaser carried out the paintings and the gilding. The tombs are adorned with numerous reliefs and sculptures.

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Vienna Central Cemetery

Park of Strenght and Tranquillity

The Park of Strength and Tranquility in group number 23 was laid out according to the old traditions of geomancy and landscape gardening.

When people walk through this garden, they might lose all their mental blocks, unload their grief or meditate in the atmosphere of stillness. The gate at the exit from the park is made of granite – a reference to the Japanese “tori”, which flank the entrances to Japanese temples and monasteries. They symbolize the leave-taking of one world and entering another.

Park of Strenght and Tranquillity
More about Park of Strenght and Tranquillity

Memorial site of the anatomy station

The anatomy group is situated along a wall to the Protestant cemetery.

The first funeral on this almost 4.400 m² large meadow-like area took place in 1975. The remains of more than 17.000 persons, who donated their bodies to the cause of science, lie here. Until 1999 they were buried in coffins. Since then, there are circular containers set into the ground in which they are cremated. The architect, Christof Riccabona, designed for this purpose an octagonal area made of brick-red walls of various heights.

A nameplate is provided for each of those buried here. These uniformly designed plates may be ordered from the cemetery administration.

New anatomy memorial at the Central Cemetery

Falcos Grave

Falco’s grave is one of those most visited in group number 40.

The pop-singers real name was Johann Hölzl. His hit “Der Kommissar” got to the top of the European charts. In 1986 another hit-song of his- “Rock me Amadeus”- made it to the American charts. He was the first Austrian to accomplish this feat and the song remained at the top of the American charts 4 weeks long. On the 6th of February 1998, Hans (short for Johann) died in a car crash in his adopted homeland, the Dominican Republic. A blood test after the accident said that in his blood were large amounts of alcohol and drugs. There are those who claim that his death may have been a suicide, but onene thing remains certain though: the world lost a brilliant artist, who was a trend-setter of his time.

Hans Hölzel - "Falco"
Falco (Wikipedia)

Group 40

Here in group number 40 is the last resting place of many personalities who had been active in the arts.

Prominent figures from the world of sport are also buried here, like the soccer player and coach, Ernst Oczwirk, whose grave you can see on the right He played during the golden age of Austrian soccer. After all, the national team won bronze at the 1954 World Cup. Paul Löwinger and his wife, Liesl, are buried in the next grave. He had been a theatre owner, a popular comedian and writer. Löwinger is said to have been the very last comedian to entertain his audience by impersonating the traditional figure of Punch.

On the left, the graves of the sculptor Siegfried Charoux and the actor and cabaret star, Dr. Ernst Waldbrunn. He was well-known as part of the satirical duo with Karl Farkas in the Viennese cabaret Simpl, as well as in radio and television.

Graves of honor group 40
Memorial to the Austrian fought in Spain

The lower church

The more simply designed lower church contains a central hall, around with chapels are arranged.

These chapels, which are separated by columns, contain a total of 38 tombs.
The main chapel, situated directly below the high altar, contains the tomb of Dr. Karl Lueger, a former mayor of Vienna. He was born on the 24th of October 1844 and died on the 10th of March 1910. The populist and anti-Semitic politics of his Christian Social Party are sometimes viewed as a model for Hitler's Nazism.

Cemetery Church of St. Charles Borromeo

The galleries

Three important sculptures adorn the galleries.

Two of the figures are by Viktor Tilgner and Wilhelm Lovrek. The electroplating sculpture is from the workshops of the Württemberg Metalworks Factory. These sculptures are typical of many works of art that can be seen on the graves at Vienna’s Central Cemetery.

The High altar

The High altar has paintings from historicism to the style of the Nazarenes.

By employing non-biblical images, the artist depicted here in a highly realistic and conspicuous fashion the biblical story of eternal life. In the picture on the left you see two angels: the one who is kneeling has laid his hand on an hour-glass. This can be seen as a counter-part to the turret clocks with their inscription “Tempus fugit” and is a symbol of time running out. The scythe and the open grave symbolize death. In a drastic manner, this picture depicts the transience of human existence. The story continues on the picture in the centre: A man whose body was buried and whose skull was well preserved appears to Christ as a pilgrim. The scallop-shell on his hat is a reference to his pilgrimage. He has laid his pilgrim’s cane and the bottle of water on the steps of Christ’s throne. He no longer needs them, as he has reached his goal. Christ’s accept the pilgrim, and the angel brings him a palm branch, the symbol of victory and of eternal life. However, Christ’s eyes and his open arms are not directed at the pilgrim but at the interior of the church: for each and everyone of us is invited to come to Christ. The picture on the right is entitled “The city of Vienna honours its dead.” It is Vindobona, the personification of the city of Vienna, that is depicted here. She kneels down and, in the picture in the centre, she holds up to Christ the newly built cemetery church. Next to her, in festive garb, is the mayor of Vienna at the time, Dr. Karl Lueger. We can see in the background an angel with folded hands. He looks upward, towards heaven – probably with the wish on his lips that God may receive this church with benevolence.

An unrecognised Jewel
Cemetery Church of St. Charles Borromeo

The upper church

The impressive cemetery church of Saint Charles Borromeo is a total work of art, that delves deeply into the question of transience: the problem of life and death against the background of the passing of time in this life and the eternity that awaits us in the hereafter.

In his design for the church, the architect, Max Hegele, spanned the entire spectrum of architecture and art: extending from more contemporary concepts, as in the instance of art nouveau to older Christian architecture – as in Saint Charles church in Vienna and St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome – and reaching as far back as the temples and burial sites of the pharaohs in ancient Egypt, with their belief in life after death. Painted on to the firmament in the dome vault are 999 stars – a reference to God’s omnipresence. The cemetery church consists of an upper and a lower church, which was conceived as a tomb complex. The floor-level of the upper church is three metres above that of the cemetery itself.

Cemetery Church of St. Charles Borromeo
Vienna's old town conservation fund

Presidents tomb

It is here that since 1945 the former Presidents of Austria‘s Second Republic are buried: Dr. Karl Renner, Dr. Theodor Körner, Dr. Adolf Schärf, Dr. Franz Jonas, Dr. Rudolf Kirchschläger, Dr. Thomas Klestil and Dr. Kurt Waldheim.

They are known as “the First Men of Austria”. The sarcophagus in the centre of the tomb is merely decorative. The entrance to the tomb itself is in front, in the second of the three covering plates. In the tomb, the coffins of the Federal Presidents rest in niches with a total of 18 places for this purpose. There too, are the mortal remains – in coffins or urns – of their spouses. Julius Raab and his foreign minister, Leopold Figl were in office in 1955 when, with the signing of the state treaty, Austria regained its sovereignty. On the right are the burial sites of Herta Firnberg and Rosa Jochmann. The achievements of these two women in politics are unforgettable.

Presidents tomb and state funerals (Wikipedia)
Karl Renner (Wikipedia)
Honorary President graves

Wolter, Negrelli and Thonet

It is the imperial court actress, Charlotte Wolter, whose mortal remains lie in the grave.

Among other things, she was celebrated for designing her own costumes. Charlotte Wolter was buried, at her own wish, dressed in the costume of Iphigenie, her most successful role. Alois Negrelli Ritter von Moldelbe was a hydraulic engineer. He drew up the plans for the Suez Canal, which – after his death – were carried out by the Frenchman, Ferdinand de Lesseps. Vis-à-vis stands the monument of the “Family Thonet”: It is the family vault of Michael Thonet, a master cabinetmaker who is world-famed as a pioneer in the field of furniture design. His creation, “the mother of all chairs”, achieved fame as an article of daily use. From 1859 to 1930, about 50 million of these chairs were produced and sold. In 1867, the Thonet Brothers were awarded a gold medal at the Paris World Fair for the design of this chair. The Thonet Brothers were officially appointed as purveyors to the royal and imperial court.

Michael Thonet (Wikipedia)
Gebrüder Thonet (Wikipedia)

The Strauss Family

The first tomb is the final resting place of Eduard Strauss, the youngest of the three sons of Johann Strauss Senior and his wife, Maria Anna.

At his own wish, Eduard Strauss was buried in his uniform – that of the director of music at the court balls. The King of Waltz is also buried on the central cemetery: Johann Strauss Junior. He is considered to have been the founder of the golden age of Viennese operettas.
Josef Strauss was the second oldest son of Johann and Maria Anna Strauss. Having successfully completed an engineering course as his father wished, Josef took instruction in the violin. Following a concert tour to Warsaw in 1870, he fell into a coma and died shortly afterwards in Vienna. Diagonally opposite you can find the tomb of Johann Strauss Senior.

Josef Strauss (Wikipedia)
Strauss Family
Eduard Strauss (Wikipedia)
Johann Strauss (son) (Wikipedia)
Johann Strauss (father) (Wikipedia)

Honorary tombs for Nestroy, Mohs, Hrdlicka

Nestroy was an Austrian writer of popular plays, actor and opera singer, who always stood up for freedom and was thus forced to spend many hours in police custody.

Nestroy fought against censorship. The large impressive monument is the grave of the mineralogist Friedrich Mohs. The scale he invented to classify the hardness of minerals is still in use today and is especially popular among stonemasons. Opposite his tomb is the bizarre sepulchre designed by the Austrian sculptor, Alfred Hrdlicka. It is the final resting place of his first wife Barbara.

Johann Nestroy
Prof. Friedrich Mohs
Prof. Friedrich Mohs (Wikipedia)
Alfred Hrdlicka
Alfred Hrdlicka (Wikipedia)