There is so much to share about Vienna. I took around 550+ photographs, and after editing I narrowed it down to 350. Narrowed... right. I think for interests sake I will divide my experiences in Wien into a few blog postings. Otherwise the post will feel like a run-on sentence. o.O
Let's start with the dark underbelly of Vienna... charnel houses, catacombs, a funeral museum and a cemetery.
Stephansdom - stands on the ruins of two earlier churches, the first being a parish church consecrated in 1147. Stephansplatz was the location of a former cemetery, but laws were passed requiring the graves to be removed. During this time most people wanted to be buried on church consecrated ground, so this request was a bit of an upset. However, no one said anything against moving the bodies below the church, so they went further underground into catacombs and charnel houses - a vault or building where human skeletal remains are stored. Unfortunately photography was forbidden underground.
The stairway to the Stephansdom catacombs.
Kapuzinergruft - the Imperial Crypt - the second catacombs we went to. It lies below the Capuchin Church and monastery and was founded in 1618 and dedicated in 1632. The bodies of 145 Habsburg royalty, plus urns containing the hearts or cremated remains of four others, are deposited here, including 12 emperors and 18 empresses. The most recent entombment was in 2011 - Archduke
Otto (1912 - 2011) and his wife Archduchess
Regina (1925 - 2010). (wiki)
The large urn likely houses the ashes of the deceased, however the smaller one was usually used for preserving the heart.
The Funeral Museum.
This is a handmade funeral wreath from the Victorian era. It is made of tiny glass beads and takes about 6 months to make. These replaced floral arrangements because naturally, they lasted longer. Dark ones were reserved for married people and white for single people and children.
"Madame Récamier" by David - a painting made 3D.
This fascinating object was used quite often, but without any true
success. It basically alerted the caretaker of a cemetery if the dead
would rise. A newly placed corpse would have one part attached to them
for 48 hours. Within that time if the corpse moved (always because of a
body tremor or muscle twitch) a switch would click over and ring a bell
to alert the caretaker.
You can turn your loved ones' ashes into diamonds!
There was the fear in Vienna that one would wake up buried alive. So
there was an option for you to have this knife in the coffin placed
above your heart, so if you should wake up alive you would instantly be
stabbed through the heart. This option still exists today... for €300!
Zentralfriedhof - central cemetery.
Memorial and ashes of victims of National Socialism.
Special memorial for children and teens who were deemed "unworthy of life" -
used for experiments and euthanization.. Grave site for victims of National Socialism.
Other areas of the cemetery.
And of course... the Austrian pop/rock musician Falco... He is the first and only artist to date, whose principal language was
German, to score a number-one hit in the U.S. with "Rock Me
Amadeus". RIP.
To follow... a final summery of my time in Vienna...
Devi
