!!!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 18%%sup th/% 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, such as the St. Marx Cemetery in Vienna, the Petersfriedhof Cemetery in Salzburg and the "Cemetery of the Romantics" in Maria Enzersdorf. During World War I cemeteries were established near the front (e.g. in East Tirol near Kartitsch) or near prisoner of war camps. A large cemetery for Austrian soldiers is located at Redipuglia in the Isonzo region (Italy). After World War II war cemeteries also became necessary in Austria, and the maintenance of Soviet cemeteries was stipulated by the Austrian State Treaty (Staatsvertrag) of 1955. The graves of fallen Austrian soldiers who fought in the German Army are mainly located in large cemeteries (especially in Lower Austria). \\ 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. %%language [Back to the Austrian Version|AEIOU/Friedhöfe|class='wikipage austrian'] %% [{FreezeArticle author='AEIOU' template='Lexikon_1995_englisch'}] [{ALLOW view All}][{ALLOW comment All}][{ALLOW edit FreezeAdmin}]