Pay your respects to some of the most celebrated and influential composers the world has ever known in one of Europe’s most striking cemeteries.
Completed in 1874, the Central Cemetery is one of the largest cemeteries in the world, and has more people buried in it than any other cemetery in Europe. Stretching across some 200 hectares, millions of people have been laid to their final rest here. Much of its fame in the present day comes from the presence of musical luminaries such as Ludwig van Beethoven and Franz Schubert.
Take a stroll through the fantastic history of many of the leading lights of the “City of Music” by strolling among the elaborate graves of the likes of Brahms, Strauss, Schubert and Beethoven. The graveyard is designed in an Art Nouveau style, making for a pleasurable walk among the burial plots and buildings. For example, on entering through the main gate, a goddess playing the harp looks down upon you, while the attractive Church of St Borromeo lies a little further on both of these were designed by the architect Max Hegele.
Get a map from the guard on your way in. This will clearly show the curved layout of the cemetery, which is also divided into different areas by religion. Muslim, Jewish and Russian Orthodox Christian areas are included, as well as Catholic and Protestant areas – unsurprisingly, this decision caused serious conflict when the cemetery opened, but the city authorities stood firm (even if the opening ceremonies were quite subdued).
The Graves of Honour section is the most popular part of the cemetery. Take in Beethoven’s arresting tomb, and Schubert’s beautifully designed headstone. There is also a monument to Mozart here, but his remains are buried at St Marx’s Cemetery in the city. Austrian Prime Ministers in the period since World War II have also been interred here.
In contradiction of its name, the Central Cemetery is found well away from the core of Vienna. You can take a tram or a 20-minute drive to the south-east from the city centre to get here. It is open every day, and there is no fee for entry.
