Central Cemetery or Wiener Zentralfriedhof. 330,000 graves. Yikes! - Vienna Austria - ECTV

It is not only the graves that are impressive. - Among them are many graves of honour of world-famous musicians such as Johannes Brahms, Franz Schubert, Ludwig van Beethoven, but also Falco and Udo Jürgens. The cemetery church of St. Charles Borromeo is one of the most beautiful Art Nouveau churches in Vienna
The Vienna Central Cemetery was opened in 1874 and, with an area of almost two and a half square kilometres and around 330,000 graves with around three million deceased, is one of the largest cemeteries in Europe. It has been expanded a total of seven times in the course of its history, most recently in 1921. At the time of its opening, it was considered the largest in Europe. According to those buried, this is still true today, but in terms of area, the four-square-kilometre Ohlsdorf cemetery in Hamburg and Brookwood Cemetery near London are larger. [1] The Central Cemetery is one of the special sights of the city of Vienna due to its many graves of honour, the Art Nouveau buildings and the extensive grounds.
The consequences of the Josephine reforms
The "Josephine reforms" decreed by Emperor Joseph II in 1784 had a lasting impact on the Viennese funeral industry. Cemeteries within the line wall, the course of which corresponded to today's Gürtel, had to be abandoned. Instead, five "communal cemeteries" were built outside the lines, the Sankt Marx Cemetery, the Hundsturm Cemetery, the Matzleinsdorf Cemetery, the Währing Cemetery and the Schmelzer Cemetery. The burials themselves were to be designed as economically and functionally as possible, shaft graves and reusable folding coffins are just two examples of the imperially decreed austerity measures. Some of these reforms had to be withdrawn due to too much resistance among the population, but the principle of "communal cemeteries" banned from the city remained.
Around the middle of the 19th century, when Vienna's population - and thus also the number of deaths - was growing steadily, it was already foreseeable that the "communal cemeteries" in the suburbs would reach the limits of their capacity utilisation. In addition, in the sense of expanding urban development, there was an effort to close these cemeteries as soon as possible. In 1863, the Vienna City Council decided to build a central cemetery, far outside the city and so large that its capacity would never reach its limits, or only in the distant future. At the same time, the previous sole responsibility of the church for burial sites was abolished; this paved the way for a cemetery managed (and also financed) by the municipality.
The layout of the cemetery
When planning the size of the cemetery grounds, it was assumed that the capital and residence city of Vienna would develop into a metropolis with around four million inhabitants by the end of the 20th century, in view of the strong urban growth and the expansion of the Austrian Empire at the time. In the search for a suitable site, plots in Kaiserebersdorf, Rannersdorf, Himberg, Pellendorf and Gutenhof were shortlisted. On the basis of a study commissioned by the Vienna City Council from the Imperial and Royal Geological Institute, the selection was narrowed down to the plots in Kaiserebersdorf and Rannersdorf, as these two areas have an ideal soil condition and flat location for a cemetery. In this study, the geologist Dionýs Stur referred to the favorable properties of the loess soil present there, which accelerates the decomposition process of corpses compared to other types of soil and reduces the risk of "spreading and spreading epidemic diseases from the cemetery". Furthermore, it was pointed out that loess soil is easy to work with, so the excavation of graves can be carried out more quickly and there is also a lower risk of collapse of the grave walls. [2]
The decision was ultimately made in favor of Kaiserebersdorf. In 1869, the municipal council approved the acquisition of a plot of land in Kaiserebersdorf and two small plots of land in Simmering. In 1870, a competition was announced for the design of the cemetery. The design by the Frankfurt team of architects Karl Jonas Mylius and Alfred Friedrich Bluntschli convinced the jury, and after only three years of construction (1871 to 1874), Vienna's new "City of the Dead" was built. [3] However, as early as 1872, the Sankt Marx cemetery had to be closed for further burials, and space was also scarce in the other communal cemeteries, which is why part of the site was used as a temporary cemetery about a year before the opening.
My name is Eric Clark and I am a world traveler. I have been around the world a few times and decided to help fund my travels by sharing my videos and pictures. I have been to almost every country and would be glad to give tips and pointers. Drop me a note. = )

[@One2Daemon]

Nice job my man! Those were some heavy weight, famous graves too. Thoroughly enjoyed the experience you brought us all.

[@EricClarkTravelVideos]

Thanks!!! Thats nice to hear. =)
Thanks for watching.
Eric

[@jrhollywood]

great video Eric! Greetings from Georgia!!!

[@EricClarkTravelVideos]

Thanks so much for watching and sharing my travels with me. =)
Eric

[@CoffeeAndCatvrix]

Oh hey, Wien is beautiful! That cemetary is fantastic as well, of course we gotta talk of the musicians! Beethoven always did claim he was Viennese because of how he took his coffee.
Loving your videos man, greetings from a world traveler and historian in the US!

[@EricClarkTravelVideos]

Thanks so much for watching and sharing my travels with me. =)
Eric

[@CoffeeAndCatvrix]

@@EricClarkTravelVideos You're quite welcome! I am fairly new to your channel (I found you from someone on Twitter/X) but because I love European history, and seeing people get to experience the places I've been to with different eyes is fantastic, I've been having a blast watching your stuff!