Description
Opened in 1874 in the outer city district of Simmering, the Vienna Central Cemetery is the second largest cemetery in Europe with Hamburg's Ohlsdorf Cemetery being the largest one. Being the final resting place for people of all denominations, Vienna Central Cemetery is the most famous one among Vienna's 46 cemeteries and also the city's most visited landmark. The cemetery spans about 620 acres with over 330,000 interments, 1,000 honorary graves, and about 25 burials every day.
Recreation and Relaxation
Apart from its existence as a place of rest for the dead, the park landscape with its stunning flora and fauna is also a place of relexation and recreation. Around 17,000 trees and hedges with a total length of 40 km were planted on the cemetery grounds. The church in the centre of the cemetery is an Art-Nouveau-style church which was built in 1908. It is named Karl-Borromäus-Kirche.
Cemetery Tours
If you want to explore the cemetery on your own, you can do so using the ARTOUR app or an audio guide. Three routes are available, ranging from two to three to four hours. Visitors can borrow the audioguide at gate 2 on presentation of a photo ID and a small rental fee.
Of course, there are also guided tours available in the months of April to June as well as September and October, which last for two hours. In case you are not light on your feet, hop on the cemetery bus, which runs every 30 minutes and approaches about 20 stations. The round trip takes half an hour.
How to get there
If you want to travel by public transport, you can take the tram lines 71, 6 or S7. The trams start at U3 station Simmering and bring you to the main gates of Vienna Central Cemetery. In case you get here with a car, parking spaces are available at gates 1 to 5 as well as 9 and 11.