It was meant to be a morbid treasure hunt — the hunt for music legend Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s grave. The day-long excursion had taken us to the city’s largest cemetery, Vienna Central Cemetery (Zentralfriedhof). The two hours there had all the trappings of a horror flick with a surprise guest appearance. No, it wasn’t the ghost of Mozart.
Our search started quite harmlessly. The first stop was St Marx Cemetery, in the third district. The place is maintained like a park and is a green oasis filled with flowering shrubs and overgrown plants interspersed amidst gravestones. A shaded canopy of trees led us to a small clearing. There, on a bed of white pebbles is his grave. Mozart was buried here, but this isn’t his final resting place.
Mozart’s mystery
The genius died on December 5, 1791, and was buried according to rituals of the time, in a communal grave with a plain wooden cross. Over the years, there has been much speculation about his death, with theories about him being buried a pauper and his skull being found in the grave. The greatest mystery about Mozart’s grave is that no one knows exactly where he was buried.
About 17 years after his death, his wife — who hadn’t attended his funeral as she was ill — tried to find the grave, but was unable to find the exact location. In 1859, once it was ascertained that his actual remains couldn’t be found, an educated guess was made and a commemorative grave was built. In 1891, on his 100th death anniversary, the tomb was moved. What remains is a representative monument, built by a cemetery attendant, Alexander Kugler, using discarded parts of other graves. The memorial is simple: a mourning angel leaning against a broken pillar.
It’s a beautiful and peaceful place. All around are flowers, in small vases and cultivated in a small patch. The silence is broken only by the sounds of birds; even the visitors speak in hushed tones.
Mozart’s tomb was moved to Vienna’s Central Cemetery, and so we braved a 40-minute tram ride to Simmering, on the outskirts of the city. Another attraction of this cemetery was that it was home to the graves of over 2.5 million souls, making it one of the largest burial grounds in the world. On entering, we found a map of the place, showing neatly divided rows and plots. There was no mention of the genius’ grave, so we decided to start walking, hoping the memorial would be conspicuous enough to spot. Later, we realised we should’ve looked for the sign ‘ehrengraber’ — it means honorary graves and is the highest honour bestowed by the city.
Zentralfriedhof is one of the oldest and largest cemeteries in Vienna, built in 1870. It is quite interdenominational, housing a Protestant cemetery, a Muslim burial ground, two Jewish cemeteries, a Russian Orthodox Burial Ground and a church. At 620 acres, and holding 330,000 graves, it is the largest in Europe, and the dead population is believed to be more than the actual population of Vienna. It even has its own bus line!
Much like the rest of the city, it is pleasing to the eye. Neatly marked pathways run through each marked section, leading off to graves, each more fascinating than the last. There were the standard angels and religious figures, busts of people, and a creepier selection showing children clutching toys and pets, frozen in time.
Many tombstones also had the names of the architects who built them. The cemetery was empty but for us, and another couple, all of us hunting for the same spot. We passed by two wide arcades, each with 36 crypts, acting as gates leading to the Karl Borromäus Kirche (Charles Borromeo Church). This proved to be our final clue: the most important graves would have to be around the church.
A little ahead of the church, we found the ehrengraber. At the centre was Mozart’s tomb, an imposing structure with an angel seated on books and holding a harp and a sheet of music. A solitary rose and a heart-shaped locket were the only decorations; in front was a small patch of flowers. The genius was surrounded by his peers; to his left was Ludwig van Beethoven, to the right was Franz Schubert, and a little further away, Johann Strauss and Johannes Brahms. Many of these legends died before Mozart, but their graves were moved there to keep them together — peers in life, friends in death.
A light rain started as we paid our respects. Dusk threw long shadows all about, adding a sombre background to the moment.
The Zentralfriedhof, for those interested in history, is also home to many musicians, scientists, pioneers and explorers from across Europe. The cemetery is still functioning.
The cemetery shuts early and we found ourselves locked in, but managed to find an emergency exit after walking to another end of the place. On the way, we encountered a surprise guest: a deer frozen on our path, just like the idiom it gave rise to. We walked out wondering if perhaps the deer was paying his respects to a loved one.
Address: Zentralfriedhof, Simmeringer Hauptstraße 234, 1110 Vienna (look for group 32A).
