Zentralfriedhof

Zentralfriedhof is one of the world's largest and most famous cemeteries. The name Zentralfriedhof is German for “Central Cemetery.” The cemetery is located in the outer city district of Simmering in Vienna, Austria. With over 330,000 graves covering the 590 acre lot it is no surprise that it is one of the largest cemeteries in the world. Unlike many cemeteries that evolved and grew more popular slowly, Zentralfriedhof was popular right away. The idea to establish a new big cemetery for Vienna originated in 1863. Due to mass industrialism the city realized that the population would eventually increase to such an extent that smaller community cemeteries would be useless. It was predicted that eventually Vienna’s population would grow to 4 million inhabitants by the end of the 20th century. After hearing the rumors of a soon to be massive population growth the city council decided in 1869 that a large flat area in Simmering will be the site for the soon to be massive cemetery. Only a year later the cemetery was designed by Frankfurt landscape architects Karl Jonas Mylius and Alfred Friedrich Bluntschli. Zentralfriedhof was officially opened in November of 1874 on All Saint’s Day. Although the cemetery was grand, it caused much controversy at first. The Roman Catholic Church was very angry that the cemetery allowed different faith groups to be interred on the same ground. The argument became more aggressive when the city had announced that it did not want an official Catholic opening for the cemetery. Eventually the tensions faded away with an agreement to let Catholic representatives open Zentralfriedhof with a small blessing ceremony. The cemetery was inaugurated so early in the morning that it was almost unnoticed. The inauguration was held on October 31, 1874. Zentralfriedhof is currently the second largest cemetery in Europe with 3.3 million bodies interred there. The cemetery is open to private car traffic of the cemetery grounds except on All Saint’s Day due to possible traffic jams. There is a public cemetery bus that has multiple stops inside the cemetery’s grounds. Zentralfriedhof makes a popular tourist site for many people due to its extreme beauty and size. Central Cemetery was and still is one of the most grand cemeteries ever made.