The "beautiful corpse" is not only an ostentatious funeral, but also an expression of a certain quality of life. The Viennese have a very special relationship with death. So what better location for the Funeral Museum than Vienna’s world-famous Central Cemetery?

A modern, interactive museum has been created on an area of 300 m² beneath the historic chapel of rest. Surely also one of Vienna's most unusual museums. Visitors learn interesting facts about the Viennese funeral service, the funeral industry, the history of Vienna’s cemeteries and about the features of the "Viennese cult of the dead" from the end of the 18th century until today.

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Heart-puncturing knife and life-saving alarm

More than 250 original objects and photographic material are on display, including an original "Fourgon" (coach for transporting bodies) from around the year 1900. A heart palpitation knife and a life-saving clock are the most bizarre exhibits: They date to a time when people worried about being buried alive. From the year 1784 comes the famous foldaway coffin, which Emperor Joseph II. had used in order to be able to recycle coffins several times.

A billing instruction of the imperial court can also be seen: It concerns the costs for the transport and funeral of the heir to the throne Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie von Hohenberg, who were shot dead in Sarajevo in 1914.

300 square meters – 30 stations – 250 objects

Interactive and multimedia content can be found throughout the permanent exhibition of the Funeral Museum. Videos, including one of the funeral of Emperor Franz Joseph in 1916, can be watched on 13 monitors, while an audio station allows the public to listen to the most popular songs currently played at funerals.

Death cult merchandising with black humor

The gift shop at the Funeral Museum at Vienna’s Central Cemetery is one of a kind. Here, even the Grim Reaper himself is the subject of good-natured teasing – with cheeky sayings, dark humor, and a healthy dose of self-deprecation. Visitors will find unusual souvenirs and original merch around the theme of death, proving that even a serious topic can sometimes be looked at with a wink.

Further tips for cemetery fans

• Buried in the totally remote, overgrown Cemetery of the Nameless are people who were washed up by the Danube between 1840 and 1940.
• The well tended St. Marx Biedermeier cemetery is just a memorial site nowadays. The musical genius Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart found his final resting place here in 1791 (today: tomb at the Central Cemetery).

© Christian Houdek / PID