★★★★★ 5.0
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Central Cemetery
Six tons of white marble shaped like a piano wing—that's Udo Jürgens' grave in Group 40. But here's what's wild: when Vienna opened this cemetery in 1874 way out on Simmeringer, nobody wanted to be buried here. Too far away. So the city dug up Beethoven, Schubert, and Brahms and moved them here. Genius move. Suddenly everyone wanted in. Group 32A became Vienna's musical graveyard—Brahms sleeps next to Strauss beside Schubert. Three genius composers as eternal neighbors, all because one strategic decision turned a flop into history's greatest funeral destination.
Did You Know?
- : The Vienna Central Cemetery was opened in 1874 as a response to the city's growing population and the need for a large, interdenominational burial ground, making it one of the first cemeteries in Europe to allow people of all faiths to be buried together—a radical idea at the time that sparked controversy, especially among conservative Catholic circles.
- The cemetery is home to the world's first museum devoted to death and burial, the Funeral Museum (Bestattungsmuseum), which opened in 2014 and offers a fascinating look at Vienna's unique funeral traditions, historic hearses, and the city's theatrical approach to mourning.
- Hidden among its 2.5 square kilometers are over 170 animal species, 200 plant species, and even deer that roam quietly among the graves, making the Central Cemetery not just a place of remembrance but also a thriving urban nature reserve.