Döbling Cemetery Explained

Döblinger Friedhof
Established:1880
Country:Austria
Location:Döbling, Vienna
Coordinates:48.2386°N 16.3281°W
Type:Public
Size:49981m2
Graves:6,853

The Döbling Cemetery (Döblinger Friedhof) is a cemetery in the 19th district of Döbling in Vienna, Austria.

Location

The cemetery lies in the south of Döbling on the border to Währing in the Katastralgemeinde of Oberdöbling, in the Hartäckerstraße. The cemetery's limits are defined in the south by the Peter-Jordan-Straße, in the west by the Borkowskigasse and in the north by the Hartäckergasse. It thus covers an area of 49,981 m2 and provides space for 6853 plots.[1]

History

Older cemeteries in Döbling

Traditionally, Unterdöbling’s dead were buried at the Heiligenstadt cemetery, while those from Oberdöbling were buried around the Döbling Parish Church. The latter was expanded in 1781; records exist of its use until 1783. When the church was torn down and rebuilt in 1826, the graveyard was presumably abandoned.

A new cemetery was founded to replace the graveyard in the course of the elevation of Döbling to an independent parish. This new cemetery was designed to accommodate not just Oberdöbling’s dead, but also those from Unterdöbling, which had been included in the new parish. The cemetery was created at the edge of Unterdöbling, on the road to Grinzing (today known as the Billrothstraße), but it had to be closed in 1885 as it neared capacity. The area was transformed into the Strauss-Lanner-Park in 1928.

The Döbling Cemetery

Permission to found a new cemetery was granted to the communities of Oberdöbling and Unterdöbling by the imperial district authorities in Hernals on 28 April 1880. The site chosen for the new cemetery covered a rhomboid-shaped area 7.5 jochs in size (a Joch is an old measurement equivalent to 0.5755 hectares in Austria) on the Türkenschanze. The cemetery was designed by architects Avanzo and Lange to hold 30,000 graves. It was officially opened on 10 June 1885 by the Döbling parish priest, Dr. Hulesch.

The Döbling Cemetery was open to believers of all confessions. A Jewish section was opened in 1888, and on 13 February 1894, the city authorities approved the creation of a burial site for Muslim soldiers of the imperial territorial army. The Muslim section covered an area of 404.4 m2 with space for 40 individual graves. Its use for Muslim burials was approved for a period of 20 years; it was expanded by a further 157 m2 in 1900. In addition to members of these minorities and the dead from Oberdöbling and Unterdöbling, the cemetery also provided space for deceased persons from Vienna, as many did not want to be buried at the city's main cemetery, the Zentralfriedhof and the surrounding suburbs could charge a premium price for the service.

Expansion of the cemetery

The Döbling Cemetery was expanded between 1899 and 1901 by 15,584 m2 onto land that was either bought or repossessed for this purpose. The site was expanded by a further 9334 m2 to 57,271 m2 in 1906. The Jewish section was enlarged into an unused section of the cemetery at the same time. The morgue was renovated between 1907 and 1908 and a chapel was built for consecrations. Thereafter, the Döbling Cemetery could not be expanded any further, so in 1911, it was decided to use the Grinzing Cemetery as a replacement. From April 1917, there were no more spaces in the Döbling Cemetery, and Döbling's dead had to be buried in Grinzing. Only after the ministry for military affairs decided to cease burying Muslim soldiers in Döbling in 1920 was it possible to use space in the cemetery allocated for this purpose for Christian graves instead, although the plots were not prepared until 1929 - 1931. When the cemetery was renovated in 1961, plots which had fallen into decay were freed up for reuse.

The morgue

The morgue was renovated in 1925; a second holding room was also added at this time. Further work was conducted in 1931. In 1969, a refrigeration facility was added in the treatment room. Between 1971 and 1972, the storage hall was redesigned in accordance with plans drawn up by architect Erich Boltenstern. The rear wall of the apse was decorated by painter Hermann Bauch. The storage room, which was conceived to permit the holding of cremation ceremonies, has space for up to 160 people.

Graves of famous persons

Graves dedicated in honour of well known individuals (see Ehrengrab)

The Döbling Cemetery contains 67 graves dedicated in honour of notable individuals.[2]

NameDatesProfession
Rudolf Auspitz1837–1906Politician and economist
Josef Bergauer1880–1947Author
Helene Bettelheim-Gabillon1857–1946Author
Lorenz Böhler1885–1973Surgeon, founder of modern accident surgery
Karl von Borkowski1829–1905Architect
Alfred Burgau1897–1964Actor
Hugo Charlemont1850–1939Painter
Egmont Colerus1888–1939Author
Josef Danilowatz1877–1945Painter
Babette Devrient-Reinhold1863–1940Actor in theatre and film
Richard Eybner1896–1986Actor
Karl Fellinger1904–2000Doctor
Theodor Gomperz1832–1912Philosopher and author
Caroline von Gomperz-Bettelheim1845–1925Opera singer
Ernst Haeussermann1916–1984Theatre director
Ludo Hartmann1865–1924Politician and proponent of education for all
John Haswell1812–1897Engineer and railway constructor
Kurt Heintel1924–2002Actor
Theodor Herzl (transferred to Jerusalem in 1949)1860–1904Author and founder of modern Zionism
Anton Hlavaček1842–1926Painter
Josef Kainz1858–1910Actor
Franz Kopallik1860–1931Painter
Ernst Lecher1856–1926Physicist
Maximilian Leidesdorf1819–1889Psychiatrist
Adolf Lieben1836–1914
Konrad Loewe1856–1912Actor
Julius Mannaberg1860–1941Doctor
Heinz Moog1908–1989Actor
Engelbert Mühlbacher1843–1903Historian and practitioner of diplomatics
Maria Nemeth (married name Grünauer)1897–1967Opera singer
Heinrich Obersteiner1847–1922Neurologist and psychiatrist
Georg Oeggl1900–1954Opera singer
Alfred Orel1889–1967Musicologist
Hans Robert Pippal1915–1998Painter
Josef Redlich1869–1936Lawyer and politician
Oswald Redlich1858–1944Historian
Rudolf Ribarz1848–1904Painter
Ferdinand von Saar1833–1906Author
Ferdinand Schmutzer1870–1928Graphic artist, photographer and portraitist
Egon Schweidler1873–1948Physicist
Otto Skorzeny1908–1975SS-Obersturmbannführer
Kurt Sowinetz1928–1991Actor
Otto Tressler1871–1965Actor
Erich Tschermak1871–1962Geneticist and botanist
Gustav Tschermak1836–1927Mineralogist
Eduard Veith1858–1925Painter
Eduard Volters1904–1972Actor
Rudolf Weyr1847–1914Sculptor
Emil Zuckerkandl1849–1910Anatomist and anthropologist

Other graves of famous persons

Other famous people buried in Döbling are:

NameDatesProfession
Rosy Barsony1909–1977Operetta singer
Felix Benedict1860–1917Opera singer
Moriz Benedikt1849–1920Journalist
Jörg Böhler1917–2005Surgeon (son of Lorenz Böhler)
Maria Cebotari1910–1949Opera singer
Rudolf Chrobak1843–1910Gynaecologist
Gustav Diessl1899–1948Actor
Friedrich Engel-Jánosi1893–1978Historian
Erik Frey1908–1988Actor
Friedrich Goldscheider1845–1897Ceramics dealer
Gertrude Grob-Prandl1917–1995Opera singer
Reinhold Häussermann1884–1947Actor, father of Ernst Haeusserman
Ernst Hartmann1844–1911Actor
Emil Hertzka1869–1932Director of Universal Edition
Peter Herz1895–1987Author, librettist, cabaret artist and lyricist
Wilhelm Jerusalem1854–1923Pedagogue and philosopher
Fritz Kachler1887-1975World champion athlete and engineer
Max Kassowitz1842–1913Paediatrician
Ignaz von Kuffner1892–1938
Ignatz Lieben1805–1862Merchant and banker
Robert von Lieben1878–1913Physicist and inventor
Franz von Matsch1861–1942Painter and sculptor
Josef Mikl1929–2008Painter and graphic artist
Wilhelm Miklas1872–1956President of Austria (1928–1938)
Ludwig Minkus1826–1917Composer
Marie-Louise von Motesiczky1906–1996Painter
Susi Nicoletti1918–2005Actor
Johann Radon1887–1956Mathematician
Heinrich Reinhardt1865–1922Composer
Helene Schneeberger1843–1898Actress
1849–1913Journalist and author
Emmerich Schrenk1915–1988Actor
Karl von Škoda1878–1929Engineer and industrialist
Rudolf Sommer1852–1913Actor
Adolf von Sonnenthal1834–1909Actor
Eduard Todesco1814–1887Entrepreneur, banker and philanthrope
Moritz Todesco1816–1873Entrepreneur, banker and patron of the arts
Rudolf Weys1898–1978Writer of cabaret and author
Alexander Witeschnik1909–1993Composer
Johann Zacherl1814–1888Manufacturer
Karl Ziegler1886–1944Chamber singer

Further reading

External links

Notes and References

  1. http://www.friedhoefewien.at/fhw/ep/channelView.do;jsessionid=C509E297FC45A0BB5844F7FBBF90C158?channelId=-26283&displayPage=%2fep%2fchannel%2fteaserBoxed.jsp&pageTypeId=13572 Döblinger Friedhof
  2. http://www.friedhoefewien.at/media/files/2008/DOE_EG_01-08_5814.pdf www.friedhoefewien.at – Ehrengräber des Friedhofs Döbling