Austria Vienna Wien Museum

Funeral Museum

About

The Funeral Museum Vienna, located beneath the historic chapel at the Central Cemetery, offers a fascinating and often surprising look at Vienna’s unique relationship with death. With over 250 original objects and multimedia displays, the museum explores funeral customs, burial rites, and the evolution of Viennese funerary culture from the 18th century to today. Highlights include Emperor Joseph II’s infamous foldaway coffin, a heart palpitation knife, and a life-saving clock—devices born from the fear of premature burial. Visitors can view historical hearses, mourning attire, and even quirky items like football-shaped urns. Interactive stations present archival footage, including the funeral of Emperor Franz Joseph, and audio exhibits reveal the most-played funeral songs in Vienna. The museum’s dark humor extends to its gift shop, where items like “I read until I rot” tote bags reflect the city’s morbid wit. More than a curiosity, the Funeral Museum offers a thoughtful and engaging exploration of how a culture honors the end of life.

Vienna Austria

Location

The Funeral Museum Vienna (Bestattungsmuseum Wien) is located at Simmeringer Hauptstraße 234, 1110 Vienna, within the grounds of the Vienna Central Cemetery (Zentralfriedhof), just behind Gate 2 in the basement of the Aufbahrungshalle 2 (chapel of rest). This unique museum offers a fascinating and sometimes quirky insight into Vienna’s funeral and cemetery culture, displaying over 250 original objects and multimedia exhibits that trace the city’s relationship with death from the late 18th century to today. Highlights include historic hearses, heart puncture knives, and the famous foldaway coffin introduced by Emperor Joseph II. The museum’s location makes it an ideal starting point for exploring the vast and atmospheric Central Cemetery, one of Europe’s largest, where visitors can find the graves of famous composers such as Beethoven, Schubert, Brahms, and Strauss. Also nearby is the Cemetery of the Nameless, a poignant site dedicated to unidentified souls, and the enchanting St. Marx Cemetery, renowned for its Biedermeier gravestones and as Mozart’s burial place. The Simmering district is easily accessible by public transport, with the Wien Zentralfriedhof 2.Tor bus stop and tram connections offering convenient access to both the museum and the surrounding cemetery grounds.