Friedhöfe#
Cemeteries: Burying the deceased in an area of land reserved for this purpose was common even in prehistoric times, as ancient graveyards show. In Roman times burials took place on large areas of land along main roads leading out of a town or city. In Christian times the dead were buried around churches, and prominent members of the community were buried inside the church. The right to bury the deceased was reserved to parish churches. From the 18th century cemeteries were built out of town and those within the city were closed. In 1784 Emperor Joseph II ordered for all cemeteries located within built-up areas to be closed, and interment inside churches was banned. All cemeteries located outside of villages and towns in this period are similar throughout the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy. In Vienna new cemeteries were established outside the city limits, some of which were dug up and converted into parks after the opening of the
- Central Cemetery in 1874. Many cemeteries are cultural monuments,
After the Edict of Tolerance for Protestants in 1781, Protestant
cemeteries were also established. In some places separating the burial
grounds according to religion is still common today. Generally
cemeteries are maintained by the municipalities, but are regulated by
the individual provinces. Austrian Jewish communities established
their own cemeteries, which still exist in many cities.
Bestattungsmuseum.