Zentralfriedhof
Encyclopedia
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
and most famous cemetery
Cemetery
A cemetery is a place in which dead bodies and cremated remains are buried. The term "cemetery" implies that the land is specifically designated as a burying ground. Cemeteries in the Western world are where the final ceremonies of death are observed...
among Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
's nearly 50 cemeteries.
Name and location
The cemetery's name is descriptive of its significance as Vienna's biggest cemetery, not of its geographic location, as it is not situated in the city center of the AustriaAustria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
n capital, but on the very outskirts, in the outer city district of Simmering
Simmering (Vienna)
Simmering is the 11th district of Vienna, Austria . It borders the Danube and was established as a district in 1892. Simmering has several churches, some museums, schools, old castles, and many cemeteries.- History :...
, and its address is Simmeringer Hauptstraße 230–244, Vienna 1110, Austria.
The musician Wolfgang Ambros
Wolfgang Ambros
Wolfgang Ambros is an Austrian singer-songwriter, most famously known for setting the then-new trend in the 1970s known now as Austropop. He is most famous for his song "Da Hofa" and "Schi foan"....
honoured the Zentralfriedhof in his 1975 song "Es lebe der Zentralfriedhof" ("Long live the Zentralfriedhof"), marking with it the 100th anniversary of the cemetery's opening.
History and description
The decision to establish a new, big cemetery for Vienna came in 1863. Around that time, it became clear that – due to industrialisation – the city's population would eventually increase to such an extent that the existing communal cemeteries would prove insufficient. It was expected that Vienna, then capital of the large Austrian EmpireAustrian Empire
The Austrian Empire was a modern era successor empire, which was centered on what is today's Austria and which officially lasted from 1804 to 1867. It was followed by the Empire of Austria-Hungary, whose proclamation was a diplomatic move that elevated Hungary's status within the Austrian Empire...
, would grow to have four million inhabitants by the end of the 20th century. The city council therefore decided to assign an area significantly outside of the city's borders and of such a gigantic dimension, that it would suffice for a long time to come. It was decided in 1869 that a flat area in Simmering should be the site of the future Zentralfriedhof.
Opened in November 1874 on All Saint's Day,at that time; located far outside of Vienna's city borders, the
consecration
Consecration
Consecration is the solemn dedication to a special purpose or service, usually religious. The word "consecration" literally means "to associate with the sacred". Persons, places, or things can be consecrated, and the term is used in various ways by different groups...
of the cemetery was not without controversy: the interdenominational character of the new cemetery - the different faith groups being interred on the same ground - met with fierce resistance, of course, especially in conservative circles of the Roman Catholic Church
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
.
This argument became even more aggressive when the city announced that it did not want an official Catholic opening
Consecration
Consecration is the solemn dedication to a special purpose or service, usually religious. The word "consecration" literally means "to associate with the sacred". Persons, places, or things can be consecrated, and the term is used in various ways by different groups...
of the new cemetery - but gave a substantial amount of money towards the construction of a segregated Jewish section. In the end, an agreement was found and the Catholic representatives opened the Zentralfriedhof with a small blessing ceremony, but refrained from too much ceremonial pomposity. So the new cemetery was almost unnoticed inaugurated in the early morning hours on October 31 1874, by the Mayor of Vienna Baron Cajetan von Felder and Cardinal Joseph Othmar Rauscher
Joseph Othmar Rauscher
Joseph Othmar Rauscher was an Austrian Prince-Archbishop of Vienna and Cardinal.-Life:...
to avoid an escalation of the public.
The official opening of the Central Cemetery took place on All Saints' Day, on 1 November of 1874.The first burial was that of Jacob Zelzer and 15 other dead people followed the same day. The grave of Jacob Zelzer still exists today and is located near the administration building at the cemetery wall.
In its early incarnations, it was so unpopular due to the distance from the city center that the authorities had to think of ways to make it more attractive - hence the development of the Ehrengräber
Ehrengrab
An Ehrengrab is a distinction granted by certain German, Swiss and Austrian cities to one of their citizens for extraordinary services or achievements in their lifetime. If there are no descendants or institutions to care for the gravesite, the communities or cities will take responsibility for...
or honorary graves as a kind of tourist attraction.
Interred in the Zentralfriedhof are notables such as Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven was a German composer and pianist. A crucial figure in the transition between the Classical and Romantic eras in Western art music, he remains one of the most famous and influential composers of all time.Born in Bonn, then the capital of the Electorate of Cologne and part of...
and Schubert
Franz Schubert
Franz Peter Schubert was an Austrian composer.Although he died at an early age, Schubert was tremendously prolific. He wrote some 600 Lieder, nine symphonies , liturgical music, operas, some incidental music, and a large body of chamber and solo piano music...
who were moved there in 1888, and Johannes Brahms
Johannes Brahms
Johannes Brahms was a German composer and pianist, and one of the leading musicians of the Romantic period. Born in Hamburg, Brahms spent much of his professional life in Vienna, Austria, where he was a leader of the musical scene...
.There is a cenotaph
Cenotaph
A cenotaph is an "empty tomb" or a monument erected in honour of a person or group of people whose remains are elsewhere. It can also be the initial tomb for a person who has since been interred elsewhere. The word derives from the Greek κενοτάφιον = kenotaphion...
erected in honour of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart , baptismal name Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart , was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era. He composed over 600 works, many acknowledged as pinnacles of symphonic, concertante, chamber, piano, operatic, and choral music...
, but he was actually buried in nearby St. Marx Cemetery
St. Marx cemetery
St. Marx Cemetery is a cemetery in the Landstraße district of Vienna, used from 1784 until 1874. It was named after a nearby almshouse.-History:...
.
The cemetery spans 2.4 square kilometres with 3.3 million interred here, up to 20-25 burials daily. It is also second largest cemetery, after Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
's Ohlsdorf Cemetery
Ohlsdorf Cemetery
-External links:* *...
(more than 4 km²), by area and largest by number of interred in Europe.
Viennese
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
refer to the Zentralfriedhof 'half the size of Zurich
Zürich
Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is located in central Switzerland at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich...
and twice as much fun', as the cemetery is only half as large as the city of Zurich
Zürich
Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is located in central Switzerland at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich...
. Zentralfriedhof has a dead population of almost twice the present living residents of Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
.
Across Simmeringer Hauptstrasse from the main gate is the Crematorium, built by Clemens Holzmeister
Clemens Holzmeister
Clemens Holzmeister was a prominent Austrian architect and stage designer of the early twentieth century. The Austrian Academy of Fine Arts listed his life's work as containing 673 projects. He is the father of Judith Holzmeister.Holzmeister was born in the village of Fulpmes in the Tyrol state of...
in 1922 in the style of an oriental fortress.
Cremation
Cremation
Cremation is the process of reducing bodies to basic chemical compounds such as gasses and bone fragments. This is accomplished through high-temperature burning, vaporization and oxidation....
is not very popular in Austria, the rate currently hovers around 20 percent. This can be attributed to Austria’s traditions of the 'Schöne Leiche' (beautiful corpse).
The church in the centre of the cemetery is named Karl-Borromäus-Kirche (Charles Borromeo
Charles Borromeo
Charles Borromeo was the cardinal archbishop of the Catholic Archdiocese of Milan from 1564 to 1584. He was a leading figure during the Counter-Reformation and was responsible for significant reforms in the Catholic Church, including the founding of seminaries for the education of priests...
Church), but is also known as Dr.-Karl-Lueger
Karl Lueger
Karl Lueger was an Austrian politician and mayor of Vienna. The populist and anti-Semitic politics of his Christian Social Party are sometimes viewed as a model for Hitler's Nazism.- Career :...
-Gedächtniskirche (Karl Lueger Memorial Church) because of the crypt of the former mayor of Vienna below the high altar.
This church in Art Nouveau
Art Nouveau
Art Nouveau is an international philosophy and style of art, architecture and applied art—especially the decorative arts—that were most popular during 1890–1910. The name "Art Nouveau" is French for "new art"...
style was built in 1908-1910 by Max Hegele.
The crypt of the Austrian Federal Presidents
President of Austria
The President of Austria is the federal head of state of Austria. Though theoretically entrusted with great power by the constitution, in practice the President acts, for the most part, merely as a ceremonial figurehead...
is located near the Dr.-Karl-Lueger
Karl Lueger
Karl Lueger was an Austrian politician and mayor of Vienna. The populist and anti-Semitic politics of his Christian Social Party are sometimes viewed as a model for Hitler's Nazism.- Career :...
Memorial Church. Beneath the sarcophagus
Sarcophagus
A sarcophagus is a funeral receptacle for a corpse, most commonly carved or cut from stone. The word "sarcophagus" comes from the Greek σαρξ sarx meaning "flesh", and φαγειν phagein meaning "to eat", hence sarkophagus means "flesh-eating"; from the phrase lithos sarkophagos...
,there is a burial vault
Crypt
In architecture, a crypt is a stone chamber or vault beneath the floor of a burial vault possibly containing sarcophagi, coffins or relics....
with stairs leading down to a circular room. In the wall, there are the niche
Niche
Niche may refer to:*Niche , an exedra or an apse that has been reduced in size;*Niche , Colombian/Spanish football player, full name Víctor Manuel Micolta Armero*Niche , a British Thoroughbred racehorse...
s where the deceased in an urn or coffin to be buried.
The interdenominational character
In addition to the Catholic section, there is a ProtestantProtestantism
Protestantism is one of the three major groupings within Christianity. It is a movement that began in Germany in the early 16th century as a reaction against medieval Roman Catholic doctrines and practices, especially in regards to salvation, justification, and ecclesiology.The doctrines of the...
cemetery (opened 1904) and two Jewish
Judaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
cemeteries.
Although the older of the two, established in 1863, was destroyed by the Nazis
Nazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
during the Kristallnacht
Kristallnacht
Kristallnacht, also referred to as the Night of Broken Glass, and also Reichskristallnacht, Pogromnacht, and Novemberpogrome, was a pogrom or series of attacks against Jews throughout Nazi Germany and parts of Austria on 9–10 November 1938.Jewish homes were ransacked, as were shops, towns and...
, around 60,000 graves still remain intact.The number of interred in this part of the cemetery is given as 79,833 Jewish burials as of date July 10, 2011.Prominent burials here include those of the Rothschild family
Rothschild family
The Rothschild family , known as The House of Rothschild, or more simply as the Rothschilds, is a Jewish-German family that established European banking and finance houses starting in the late 18th century...
and that of the author Arthur Schnitzler
Arthur Schnitzler
Dr. Arthur Schnitzler was an Austrian author and dramatist.- Biography :Arthur Schnitzler, son of a prominent Hungarian-Jewish laryngologist Johann Schnitzler and Luise Markbreiter , was born in Praterstraße 16, Leopoldstadt, Vienna, in the Austro-Hungarian...
. The second Jewish cemetery
Jewish cemetery
A Jewish cemetery is a cemetery where members of the Jewish faith are buried in keeping with Jewish tradition....
was built in 1917 and is still in use today.There were 58,804 Jewish burials in the new section as of date November 21, 2007.
Since 1876, Muslims are buried at Vienna's Zentralfriedhof. The dead are buried according to Austrian law, in the coffin
Coffin
A coffin is a funerary box used in the display and containment of dead people – either for burial or cremation.Contemporary North American English makes a distinction between "coffin", which is generally understood to denote a funerary box having six sides in plan view, and "casket", which...
, in contrast to the Islamic ritual practice; burial in a shroud
Shroud
Shroud usually refers to an item, such as a cloth, that covers or protects some other object. The term is most often used in reference to burial sheets, winding-cloths or winding-sheets, such as the famous Shroud of Turin or Tachrichim that Jews are dressed in for burial...
. The opening of the new Islamic cemetery of the Islamic Faith Community took place on 3 October 2008 in Liesing
Liesing
Liesing is the 23rd district of Vienna . It is on the southwest edge of Vienna, Austria.It was formed after Austria's Anschluss with Germany, when Vienna expanded from 21 districts to 26...
.
There is a Russian Orthodox burial ground (Saint Lazarus chapel, 1894) and plots dedicated for the use of various Orthodox churches.Greek Orthodox community buried their dead since 1869, belonging to group 30 A, at Gate 2, behind the arcades, Romanian Orthodox community at the gate 3, Group 38th.The Bulgarian Orthodox Christians are buried in the same group 38.Serbian Orthodox community received their own plot in the group 68 B, 69 C, Tor 3 and group 27A contains the tombs of the Coptic Orthodox Church.
The Protestant
Protestantism
Protestantism is one of the three major groupings within Christianity. It is a movement that began in Germany in the early 16th century as a reaction against medieval Roman Catholic doctrines and practices, especially in regards to salvation, justification, and ecclesiology.The doctrines of the...
section on the east side is dedicated for the use of both confessions-parts of the Evangelical Protestant church in Austria, the Lutheran A.B
Augsburg Confession
The Augsburg Confession, also known as the "Augustana" from its Latin name, Confessio Augustana, is the primary confession of faith of the Lutheran Church and one of the most important documents of the Lutheran reformation...
(Evangelische Kirche Augsburger Bekenntnis) and Calvinist H.B
Helvetic Confessions
Helvetic Confessions, the name of two documents expressing the common belief of the Reformed churches of Switzerland.The First Helvetic Confession , known also as the Second Confession of Basel, was drawn up at that city in 1536 by Heinrich Bullinger and Leo Jud of Zürich, Kaspar Megander of Bern,...
(Evangelische Kirche Helvetisches Bekenntnis).The cemetery was inaugurated in the presence of the President of the Evangelical Protestant Church , Dr. Rudolf Franz on November 14 1904. The cemetery was expanded in 1926 and 1972 and 1998.The Protestant section consists of 6,000 graves and 300 family vaults.
Details
Europe's first Buddhist cemetery was established in Zentralfriedhof in May 2005. An area of the Zentralfriedhof has been set aside for this purpose with a stupaStupa
A stupa is a mound-like structure containing Buddhist relics, typically the remains of Buddha, used by Buddhists as a place of worship....
in the middle, and was consecrated by a Tibetan
Tibetan Buddhism
Tibetan Buddhism is the body of Buddhist religious doctrine and institutions characteristic of Tibet and certain regions of the Himalayas, including northern Nepal, Bhutan, and India . It is the state religion of Bhutan...
monk.
On September 19 2009, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints traces its current dispensation beginnings to Joseph Smith, Jr. on April 6, 1830 in Western New York. Initial converts were drawn to the church in part because of the newly published Book of Mormon, a self-described chronicle of indigenous American...
in Austria celebrated the dedication of an hectare-sized plot set apart for the Mormon
Mormon
The term Mormon most commonly denotes an adherent, practitioner, follower, or constituent of Mormonism, which is the largest branch of the Latter Day Saint movement in restorationist Christianity...
deceased, located in Zentralfriedhof.
On March 5 2009, the new Anatomy Memorial was opened in group 26,which is the graveyard of the Institute of Anatomy
Anatomy
Anatomy is a branch of biology and medicine that is the consideration of the structure of living things. It is a general term that includes human anatomy, animal anatomy , and plant anatomy...
of the University of Vienna
University of Vienna
The University of Vienna is a public university located in Vienna, Austria. It was founded by Duke Rudolph IV in 1365 and is the oldest university in the German-speaking world...
and for the people who donated their bodies to science.
Since 2000, there is a Baby burial ground close to Tor 3 (group 35b) where stillborn
Stillbirth
A stillbirth occurs when a fetus has died in the uterus. The Australian definition specifies that fetal death is termed a stillbirth after 20 weeks gestation or the fetus weighs more than . Once the fetus has died the mother still has contractions and remains undelivered. The term is often used in...
infants,dead babies and young children up to 110 cm. of height are interred.
Traffic
Due to the vast size of the cemetery, private car traffic is allowed on the cemetery grounds every day of the year except November 1/All Saint's Day, although a toll has to be paid. Car traffic is not allowed on November 1 (All Saint's Day) due to potential traffic jams. Also, a public "cemetery bus" line (no. 106) exists, with several stops inside the cemetery grounds.The old Simmering horse tram was replaced by an electric tram, running from Schwarzenbergplatz
Schwarzenbergplatz
Schwarzenbergplatz is a Vienese square in Vienna, Austria. It is actually more a like a small, open street than a square, and it runs between the Kärntner Ring section of the Ringstraße and Lothringerstraße. Travelling south, the street, Schwarzenbergstraße, becomes Schwarzenbergplatz after passing...
to the Zentralfriedhof, in 1901 and it was renumbered as "71" (der 71er) in 1907: it remains the most popular route to the cemetery using public transport. Among the Viennese, a popular euphemism for a death is that the deceased person "has taken the 71" ("Er hat den 71er genommen").
The metro suburban railway (Vienna S-Bahn
Vienna S-Bahn
The Vienna S-Bahn is a suburban metro railway network in Vienna, Austria. As opposed to the city-run urban metro network, the Vienna U-Bahn, it extends beyond the borders of the city, is operated by the ÖBB , and consists of many branch lines...
) also has a stop called "Zentralfriedhof" close to the old Jewish part of the cemetery. The closest underground stop is "Simmering" (Vienna U-Bahn
Vienna U-Bahn
The Vienna U-Bahn is a rapid transit system consisting of five lines. It is the backbone of one of the best performing public transport systems worldwide according to UITP in June 2009. More than 1.3 million passengers use the Vienna U-Bahn every day...
, line U3), about 2 km away from the cemetery.
Notable interments
- Wolf Albach-RettyWolf Albach-RettyWolf Albach-Retty was a Vienna-born Austrian actor. He had a daughter with German actress Magda Schneider named Romy Schneider....
(1906–1967), Austrian actor - Rudolf von Alt (1812–1905), painter
- Franz AntelFranz AntelFranz Antel was a veteran Austrian filmmaker.Born in Vienna, Antel worked mainly as a film producer in the interwar years. After World War II, he began writing and directing films on a large scale...
(1913–2007), film director, writer and producer - Leon AskinLeon AskinLeon Askin was an Austrian actor best known for portraying the character "General Burkhalter" on the TV sitcom Hogan's Heroes.-Early life:...
(1907–2005), actor - Ludwig van BeethovenLudwig van BeethovenLudwig van Beethoven was a German composer and pianist. A crucial figure in the transition between the Classical and Romantic eras in Western art music, he remains one of the most famous and influential composers of all time.Born in Bonn, then the capital of the Electorate of Cologne and part of...
(1770–1827), composer - Erna BergerErna BergerErna Berger , was a prominent German coloratura lyric soprano. She is most famous for her Queen of the Night and her Konstanze....
(1900–1990), opera singer - Theodor BillrothTheodor BillrothChristian Albert Theodor Billroth was a German-born Austrian surgeon and amateur musician....
(1829–1894), surgeon - Ludwig BoltzmannLudwig BoltzmannLudwig Eduard Boltzmann was an Austrian physicist famous for his founding contributions in the fields of statistical mechanics and statistical thermodynamics...
(1844–1906), physicist/mathematician - Max Böhm (1916–1982), actor
- Sergei BortkiewiczSergei BortkiewiczSergei Bortkiewicz was a Ukrainian-born Russian Romantic composer and pianist.-Early life:Sergei Eduardovich Bortkiewicz was born in Kharkiv, Ukraine on 28 February 1877 in Polish noble family and spent most of his childhood on the family estate of Artëmovka, near Kharkiv...
(1877–1952), composer, with his wife Elisabeth - Johannes BrahmsJohannes BrahmsJohannes Brahms was a German composer and pianist, and one of the leading musicians of the Romantic period. Born in Hamburg, Brahms spent much of his professional life in Vienna, Austria, where he was a leader of the musical scene...
(1833–1897), composer - Ignaz BrüllIgnaz BrüllIgnaz Brüll was an Austrian pianist and composer.Ignaz Brüll was born the eldest son of a prosperous Jewish merchant family in the Moravian provincial town of Prostějov . In 1850 he moved with his parents to Vienna, which became the centre of his life and work...
(1846–1907), composer - Carl CzernyCarl CzernyCarl Czerny was an Austrian pianist, composer and teacher. He is best remembered today for his books of études for the piano. Czerny's music was profoundly influenced by his teachers, Muzio Clementi, Johann Nepomuk Hummel, Antonio Salieri and Ludwig van Beethoven.-Early life:Carl Czerny was born...
(1791–1857), piano teacher and composer - Elfi von DassanowskyElfi von DassanowskyElfriede "Elfi" von Dassanowsky was an Austrian-American singer, pianist, film producer and humanitarian.- Early life :...
(1924–2007), singer and film producer - Otto Erich DeutschOtto Erich DeutschOtto Erich Deutsch was an Austrian musicologist. He is known for compiling the first comprehensive catalogue of the works of Franz Schubert, first published in 1951 in English, new edition in 1978 in German...
(1883–1967), musicologist - Anton Dominik FernkornAnton Dominik FernkornAnton Dominick Ritter von Fernkorn was a German-Austrian sculptor. He was born in Erfurt, Thuringia and died in Vienna.- Career :...
(1813–1878), sculptor - Leopold FiglLeopold FiglLeopold Figl was an Austrian politician of the Austrian People's Party and the first Federal Chancellor after World War II...
(1902–1965), statesman - Carl von GhegaCarl Ritter von GhegaCarl Ritter von Ghega or Karl von Ghega was the designer of the Semmering Railway from Gloggnitz to Mürzzuschlag....
(1802–1860), engineer - Alexander GirardiAlexander GirardiAlexander Girardi was an Austrian] actor and tenor singer in operettas.- Career :Girardi was born in Graz; his father was the locksmith Andreas Girardi who had migrated to Graz from Cortina d'Ampezzo. Following the early death of his father, Alexander Girardi was raised by his stepfather who put...
(1850–1918), actor - Christoph Willibald GluckChristoph Willibald GluckChristoph Willibald Ritter von Gluck was an opera composer of the early classical period. After many years at the Habsburg court at Vienna, Gluck brought about the practical reform of opera's dramaturgical practices that many intellectuals had been campaigning for over the years...
(1714–1787), composer - Karl GoldmarkKarl GoldmarkKarl Goldmark, also known originally as Károly Goldmark and later sometimes as Carl Goldmark; May 18, 1830, Keszthely – January 2, 1915, Vienna) was a Hungarian composer.- Life and career :...
(1830–1915), composer - Baron Theophil von Hansen (1813–1891), architect
- Johann von HerbeckJohann von HerbeckJohann Ritter von Herbeck was an Austrian musician, born in Vienna, best known for leading the premiere of Franz Schubert's "Unfinished" Symphony....
(1831–1877), composer - FalcoFalco (musician)Johann Hölzel , better known by his stage name Falco, was an Austrian pop and rock musician and rapper. He had several international hits: "Der Kommissar", "Rock Me Amadeus", "Vienna Calling", "Jeanny", "The Sound of Musik", "Coming Home " and posthumously, "Out Of The Dark"...
civil name Johann (Hans) Hölzel (1957–1998), rock singer - Curd JürgensCurd JürgensCurd Gustav Andreas Gottlieb Franz Jürgens was a German-Austrian stage and film actor. He was usually billed in English-speaking films as Curt Jurgens.-Early life:...
(1912–1982), actor - Wilhelm KienzlWilhelm KienzlWilhelm Kienzl was an Austrian composer.-Biography:Kienzl was born in the small, picturesque Upper Austrian town of Waizenkirchen. His family moved to the Styrian capital of Graz in 1860, where he studied the violin under Ignaz Uhl, piano under Johann Buwa, and composition from 1872 under the...
(1857–1941), composer - Thomas KlestilThomas KlestilThomas Klestil was an Austrian diplomat and politician. He was elected the tenth President of Austria in 1992 and was re-elected to the position in 1998...
(1932–2004), Austrian president (1992–2004) - Friedrich Carl KnauerFriedrich Knauer (zoologist)Friedrich Carl Knauer was an Austrian zoologist.Friedrich Knauer studied physics, chemistry and zoology at the University of Vienna from 1868 to 1872. In 1887, he became a director Vivarium in Vienna Prater. In 1893, he became the director of Vienna Zoo...
(1850–1926), zoologist - Bruno KreiskyBruno KreiskyBruno Kreisky was an Austrian politician who served as Foreign Minister from 1959 to 1966 and as Chancellor from 1970 to 1983. Aged 72 at the end of his chancellorship, he was the oldest acting Chancellor after World War II....
(1911–1990), statesman - Karl KrausKarl KrausKarl Kraus was an Austrian writer and journalist, known as a satirist, essayist, aphorist, playwright and poet. He is regarded as one of the foremost German-language satirists of the 20th century, especially for his witty criticism of the press, German culture, and German and Austrian...
(1874–1936), writer - Joseph Lanner (1801–1843), composer
- Lotte LehmannLotte LehmannCharlotte "Lotte" Lehmann was a German soprano who was especially associated with German repertory. She gave memorable performances in the operas of Richard Strauss, Richard Wagner, Ludwig van Beethoven, Puccini, Mozart and Massenet. The Marschallin in Der Rosenkavalier was considered her greatest...
(1888–1976), opera singer - György LigetiGyörgy LigetiGyörgy Sándor Ligeti was a composer of contemporary classical music. Born in a Hungarian Jewish family in Transylvania, Romania, he briefly lived in Hungary before becoming an Austrian citizen.-Early life:...
(1923–2006), composer - Theo LingenTheo LingenTheo Lingen , born Franz Theodor Schmitz, was a German actor, director and screenwriter. He appeared in over 230 films between 1929 and 1978, and directed 21 films between 1936 and 1960.-Life and career:...
(1903–1978), actor/director - Guido von ListGuido von ListGuido Karl Anton List, better known as Guido von List was an Austrian/German poet, journalist, writer, businessman and dealer of leather goods, mountaineer, hiker, dramatist, playwright, and rower, but was most notable as an occultist and völkisch author who is seen as one of the most important...
(1848–1919) 19th-century mystic Germanic and Runic revivalist - Adolf LoosAdolf LoosAdolf Franz Karl Viktor Maria Loos was a Moravian-born Austro-Hungarian architect. He was influential in European Modern architecture, and in his essay Ornament and Crime he repudiated the florid style of the Vienna Secession, the Austrian version of Art Nouveau...
(1870–1933), architect - Max Lorenz (1901–1975), German tenor
- Karl LuegerKarl LuegerKarl Lueger was an Austrian politician and mayor of Vienna. The populist and anti-Semitic politics of his Christian Social Party are sometimes viewed as a model for Hitler's Nazism.- Career :...
(1844–1910), politician - Hans MoserHans Moser (actor)Hans Moser was an Austrian actor who, during his long career, from the 1920s up to his death, mainly played in comedy films. He was particularly associated with the genre of the Wiener Film...
(1880–1964), actor - Siegfried MarcusSiegfried MarcusSiegfried Samuel Marcus was a German-born Austrian inventor and automobile pioneer.Marcus was born in Malchin in Mecklenburg-Schwerin. He moved to Vienna, the capital of the Austrian Empire, in 1852....
(1831–1898), automobile pioneer - Karl MillöckerKarl MillöckerCarl Joseph Millöcker , was an Austrian composer of operettas and a conductor.He was born in Vienna, where he studied the flute at the Vienna Conservatory. While holding various conducting posts in the city, he began to compose operettas...
(1842–1899), composer - Karl Eugen NeumannKarl Eugen NeumannKarl Eugen Neumann was the first translator of large parts of the Pali Canon of Buddhist scriptures from the original Pali into a European language and one of the pioneers of European Buddhism....
(1865–1915), European pioneer of Buddhism - Walter NowotnyWalter NowotnyMajor Walter "Nowi" Nowotny was an Austrian-born German fighter ace of World War II. He is credited with 258 aerial victories in 442 combat missions...
(1920–1944), World War IIWorld War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
LuftwaffeLuftwaffeLuftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1935 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956....
pilot - Helene Odilon (1865–1939), actor
- Georg Wilhelm PabstGeorg Wilhelm Pabst-Biography:Pabst was born in Raudnitz, Bohemia, Austria-Hungary , the son of a railroad employee.Returning from the United States, he was in France when World War I began...
(1885–1967), film director - Hans PfitznerHans PfitznerHans Erich Pfitzner was a German composer and self-described anti-modernist. His best known work is the post-Romantic opera Palestrina, loosely based on the life of the great sixteenth-century composer Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina.-Biography:Pfitzner was born in Moscow, Russia, where his...
(1869–1949), composer - Clemens von PirquetClemens von PirquetClemens Peter Freiherr von Pirquet was an Austrian scientist and pediatrician best known for his contributions to the fields of bacteriology and immunology....
(1874–1929), scientist and pediatrician - Paula von PreradovićPaula von PreradovicPaula Preradović , known professionally as Paula von Preradović or by her married name as Paula Molden, was a Croatian and Austrian writer and narrator....
(1887–1951), writer - Helmut QualtingerHelmut QualtingerHelmut Qualtinger was an Austrian actor, writer and cabaret performer.-Biography:Helmut Qualtinger was born in Vienna, Austria...
(1928–1986), actor - Julius RaabJulius RaabJulius Raab was a Conservative Austrian politician. He was Federal Chancellor of Austria from 1953 to 1961. Raab steered Allied-occupied Austria to independence. In 1955 he negotiated and signed the Austrian State Treaty...
(1891–1964), statesman - Geli RaubalGeli RaubalAngelika Maria "Geli" Raubal was Adolf Hitler's half niece. Born in Linz, Austria-Hungary, she was the second child and eldest daughter of Leo Raubal Sr. and Hitler's half-sister, Angela Raubal...
(1908–1931), Hitler's niece and rumoured lover - Karl RennerKarl RennerKarl Renner was an Austrian politician. He was born in Untertannowitz in the Austro-Hungarian Empire and died in Vienna...
(1870–1950), statesman - Richard RétiRichard RétiRéti composed one of the most famous chess studies, shown in this diagram. It was published in Ostrauer Morgenzeitung 4 December 1921. It seems impossible for the white king to catch the advanced black pawn, while the white pawn can be easily stopped by the black king...
(1889–1929), chess grandmaster - Albert Salomon von RothschildAlbert Salomon von RothschildAlbert Salomon von Rothschild was a banker in Austria-Hungary and a member of the Rothschild banking family of Austria. Businesses that he owned included Creditanstalt and the Northern Railway.-Personal life:...
(1844–1911), financier - Nathaniel Mayer Anselm von RothschildNathaniel Anselm von RothschildNathaniel Mayer Anselm von Rothschild was a member of the Rothschild banking family of Austria.Born in Vienna, he was the fifth child and first son of Anselm von Rothschild and Charlotte von Rothschild . As the eldest male, he was expected to take over the running of the family's Viennese bank, S...
(1836–1905), financier - Léonie RysanekLeonie RysanekLeopoldine "Leonie" Rysanek was an Austrian dramatic soprano.-Biography:Rysanek was born in Vienna and made her operatic debut in 1949 in Innsbruck. In 1951 the Bayreuth Festival reopened and the new leader Wieland Wagner asked her to sing Sieglinde...
(1926–1998), opera singer - Antonio SalieriAntonio SalieriAntonio Salieri was a Venetian classical composer, conductor and teacher born in Legnago, south of Verona, in the Republic of Venice, but who spent his adult life and career as a faithful subject of the Habsburg monarchy....
(1750–1825), composer - Franz SchmidtFranz SchmidtFranz Schmidt was an Austrian composer, cellist and pianist of Hungarian descent and origin.- Life :Schmidt was born in Pozsony , in the Hungarian part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire . His father was half Hungarian and his mother entirely Hungarian...
(1874–1939), composer - Arthur SchnitzlerArthur SchnitzlerDr. Arthur Schnitzler was an Austrian author and dramatist.- Biography :Arthur Schnitzler, son of a prominent Hungarian-Jewish laryngologist Johann Schnitzler and Luise Markbreiter , was born in Praterstraße 16, Leopoldstadt, Vienna, in the Austro-Hungarian...
(1862–1931), writer - Arnold SchoenbergArnold SchoenbergArnold Schoenberg was an Austrian composer, associated with the expressionist movement in German poetry and art, and leader of the Second Viennese School...
(1874–1951), composer - Franz SchubertFranz SchubertFranz Peter Schubert was an Austrian composer.Although he died at an early age, Schubert was tremendously prolific. He wrote some 600 Lieder, nine symphonies , liturgical music, operas, some incidental music, and a large body of chamber and solo piano music...
(1797–1828), composer - Margarete Schütte-LihotzkyMargarete Schütte-LihotzkyMargarete Schütte-Lihotzky was the first female Austrian architect and an activist in the Nazi resistance movement. She is mostly remembered today for designing the so-called Frankfurt Kitchen.-Training:...
(1897–2000), architect - David SchwarzDavid Schwarz (aviation inventor)David Schwarz was a Hungarian aviation pioneer of Jewish descent.Schwarz created the first flyable rigid airship. It was also the first airship with an external hull made entirely of metal. He died before he could see it finally fly...
(1852–1897) aviation pioneer - Alma SeidlerAlma SeidlerAlma Seidler was an Austrian actress. She was the daughter of Ernst Seidler von Feuchtenegg, and had an extensive stage and screen career.- References :* at Österreich-Lexikon...
(1899–1977), actress - Matthias SindelarMatthias SindelarMatthias Sindelar was an Austrian footballer.He played centre-forward for the celebrated Austria national team of the early 1930s known as the Wunderteam, which he captained at the 1934 World Cup....
(1903–1939), footballer - Robert StolzRobert StolzRobert Elisabeth Stolz was an Austrian songwriter and conductor as well as a composer of operettas and film music.- Biography :...
(1880–1975), composer - Eduard StraussEduard StraussEduard Strauss was an Austrian composer who, together with brothers Johann Strauss II and Josef Strauss made up the Strauss musical dynasty. The family dominated the Viennese light music world for decades, creating many waltzes and polkas for many Austrian nobility as well as dance-music...
(1835–1916), composer - Johann Strauss IJohann Strauss IJohann Strauss I , born in Vienna, was an Austrian Romantic composer famous for his waltzes, and for popularizing them alongside Joseph Lanner, thereby setting the foundations for his sons to carry on his musical dynasty...
(1804–1849), composer - Johann Strauss IIJohann Strauss IIJohann Strauss II , also known as Johann Baptist Strauss or Johann Strauss, Jr., the Younger, or the Son , was an Austrian composer of light music, particularly dance music and operettas. He composed over 500 waltzes, polkas, quadrilles, and other types of dance music, as well as several operettas...
(1825–1899), composer - Josef StraussJosef StraussJosef Strauss was an Austrian composer.He was born in Vienna, the son of Johann Strauss I and Maria Anna Streim, and brother of Johann Strauss II and Eduard Strauss. His father wanted him to choose a career in the Austrian Habsburg military...
(1827–1870), composer - Franz von SuppéFranz von SuppéFranz von Suppé or Francesco Suppé Demelli was an Austrian composer of light operas who was born in what is now Croatia during the time his father was working in this outpost of the Austro-Hungarian Empire...
(1819–1895), composer - Friedrich TorbergFriedrich TorbergFriedrich Torberg is the pen-name of Friedrich Kantor, an Austrian writer.- Biography :...
(1908–1979), writer - Kurt WaldheimKurt WaldheimKurt Josef Waldheim was an Austrian diplomat and politician. Waldheim was the fourth Secretary-General of the United Nations from 1972 to 1981, and the ninth President of Austria, from 1986 to 1992...
(1918–2007), UN Secretary-General, Austrian president - Franz WerfelFranz WerfelFranz Werfel was an Austrian-Bohemian novelist, playwright, and poet.- Biography :Born in Prague , Werfel was the first of three children of a wealthy manufacturer of gloves and leather goods. His mother, Albine Kussi, was the daughter of a mill owner...
(1890–1945), poet - Anton WildgansAnton WildgansAnton Wildgans was an Austrian poet and playwright.His works, in which realism, neo-romanticism and expressionism mingle, focus on the drama of daily life....
(1881–1932), poet - Hugo WolfHugo WolfHugo Wolf was an Austrian composer of Slovene origin, particularly noted for his art songs, or lieder. He brought to this form a concentrated expressive intensity which was unique in late Romantic music, somewhat related to that of the Second Viennese School in concision but utterly unrelated in...
(1860–1903), composer - Fritz WotrubaFritz WotrubaFritz Wotruba was an Austrian sculptor of Czecho-Hungarian descent. He was considered one of the most notable Austrian 20th century sculptors...
(1907–1975), sculptor - Joe ZawinulJoe ZawinulJosef Erich Zawinul was an Austrian-American jazz keyboardist and composer.First coming to prominence with saxophonist Cannonball Adderley, Zawinul went on to play with trumpeter Miles Davis, and to become one of the creators of jazz fusion, an innovative musical genre that combined jazz with...
(1932–2007), jazz keyboardist and composer - Alexander von ZemlinskyAlexander von ZemlinskyAlexander Zemlinsky or Alexander von Zemlinsky was an Austrian composer, conductor, and teacher.-Early life:...
(1871–1942), composer