Ancient gravestones, impressive mausoleums and lush vegetation provide a spectacular backdrop, especially in April and May when the lilacs are in bloom: the Cemetery of St. Marx is a place with a unique atmosphere. It is located in Vienna’s 3rd district and is best reached by streetcar line 71.

Mozart’s resting place

This last remaining Biedermeier cemetery in Vienna gained great fame as the burial place of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. He was buried here on December 6, 1791. The exact location is no longer known. Today, a monument to the genius composer stands where the spot is thought to be. Mozart’s original grave was reinterred at the end of the 19th century and is now located in Vienna’s Central Cemetery.

© Schaub-Walzer/PID

Sanctuary of the European hamster

This Viennese cemetery also has a few other special attractions. Nobody has actually been buried here in the last 150 years. When the Central Cemetery was opened in the 1870s, the Cemetery of St. Marx lost its original purpose, making it a veritable time capsule. The gravestones from the Biedermeier period give a vivid impression of the funerary culture of the time. Many of the epitaphs seem almost bizarre from today’s perspective. Even more remarkable is the animal activity in the former cemetery: the site is one of the last refuges of the critically endangered European hamster, which happily goes about its business here.

© Schaub-Walzer, PID