St. Mark's Cemetery
St. Mark's Cemetery is one of the oldest Viennese cemeteries. In total, there are about 50 in the city. Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire Joseph II imposed a ban on the burial of poor citizens inside a city surrounded by walls. It was possible to bury only in common graves, where 5 departed were laid without coffins. Previously, the dead were sewn into linen bags.
In 1784, according to imperial rules, the place of a new cemetery was determined. The name was given to him from the shelter for the poor, which was nearby. The cemetery of St. Mark was not prestigious, because only the poor were buried on it. People called it « a stall of restless souls ». The emperor’s decision provoked a protest from the inhabitants of Vienna, they demanded that they return the right to be buried humanly. A year later, under the onslaught of the city council, the emperor had to cancel the requirement for bags and mass graves, and allow those who were in tombs to be left in the tombs.
In the first half of the 19th century, the city grew so that the cemetery of St. Mark was inside the city borders. It has already become prestigious, in it there were the last refuge of people of different estates, and nobles too. The last burial was carried out in 1874. Since 1937, tourists have been allowed to visit the cemetery.
Mozart's grave
Among the graves there are graves of people known to the whole world. Interesting is the story of B. AND. Mozart. He died at age 35. His financial situation was difficult, so he was buried in a common grave with the poor and stray tramps in December 1791. 18 years after the death of the composer, his wife Constanta failed to find the grave. In 1859, there was a plan for the placement of burials, according to which it was only possible to approximately find the burial place of Mozart. In the same year, a marble monument designed by von Gasser was erected on a conditional grave. In 1891, on the 100th anniversary of the death of a great musician, the monument was transferred to the "musical corner" of the Central City Cemetery. So that Mozart’s grave would not be lost again, the cemetery ranger built a small temporary monument of dilapidated tombstones that he found nearby. Currently, the monument of von Gasser's work rises again above Mozart's grave. Now from the main alley to the grave leads a white track.
Composer J. was buried in the cemetery. Strauss, sculptor G. R. Donner, writers F. Pfeiffer and A. Bauman and other celebrities.
St. Mark's Cemetery Nowadays
The cemetery is currently resembling a chestnut park, among the trees the ancient tombstones – from the simplest to the most pompous are clearly visible. Silence and greens only increase the feeling of sorrow, sadness and mortalness of human life. Many monuments are dilapidated or completely fallen. Not only the names of the deceased are carved on tombstones, but also professions are often indicated or simply signed « burger » – because it was the era of the bidermeier.
St. Mark's cemetery is not divided into sections according to the faiths of the departed. Near the grave of the Protestant, there may be the burial of a Jew, or Catholic, or Orthodox. On tombstones you can often see Russian names. A. is buried here. Hypsylanti – Lieutenant General of the Russian Army, Greek by nationality. He died in 1828. Known as the organizer of the uprising in Moldova against the Ottoman Empire, the thrill in one of A.'s poetic creations. WITH. Pushkin.
