Döbling Cemetery

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.Döblinger Friedhof auf den Seiten der Friedhöfe Wien GmbH, accessed 4 December 2008

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.www.friedhoefewien.at – Ehrengräber des Friedhofs Döbling, Jänner 2008 (PDF, accessed 5 December 2008)

NameDatesProfessionRudolf Auspitz1837–1906Politician and economistJosef Bergauer1880–1947AuthorHelene Bettelheim-Gabillon1857–1946AuthorLorenz Böhler1885–1973Surgeon, founder of modern accident surgeryKarl von Borkowski1829–1905ArchitectAlfred Burgau1897–1964ActorHugo Charlemont1850–1939PainterEgmont Colerus1888–1939AuthorJosef Danilowatz1877–1945PainterBabette Devrient-Reinhold1863–1940Actor in theatre and filmRichard Eybner1896–1986ActorKarl Fellinger1904–2000DoctorTheodor Gomperz1832–1912Philosopher and authorCaroline von Gomperz-Bettelheim1845–1925Opera singerErnst Haeussermann1916–1984Theatre directorLudo Hartmann1865–1924Politician and proponent of education for allJohn Haswell1812–1897Engineer and railway constructorKurt Heintel1924–2002ActorTheodor Herzl (transferred to Jerusalem in 1949)1860–1904Author and founder of modern ZionismAnton Hlavaček1842–1926PainterJosef Kainz1858–1910ActorFranz Kopallik1860–1931PainterErnst Lecher1856–1926PhysicistMaximilian Leidesdorf1819–1889PsychiatristAdolf Lieben1836–1914Chemist, uncle of Robert von Lieben Konrad Loewe1856–1912ActorJulius Mannaberg1860–1941DoctorHeinz Moog1908–1989ActorEngelbert Mühlbacher1843–1903Historian and practitioner of diplomaticsMaria Nemeth (married name Grünauer)1897–1967Opera singerHeinrich Obersteiner1847–1922Neurologist and psychiatristGeorg Oeggl1900–1954Opera singerAlfred Orel1889–1967MusicologistHans Robert Pippal1915–1998PainterJosef Redlich1869–1936Lawyer and politicianOswald Redlich1858–1944HistorianRudolf Ribarz1848–1904PainterFerdinand von Saar1833–1906AuthorFerdinand Schmutzer1870–1928Graphic artist, photographer and portraitistEgon Schweidler1873–1948PhysicistOtto Skorzeny1908–1975SS-ObersturmbannführerKurt Sowinetz1928–1991ActorOtto Tressler1871–1965ActorErich Tschermak1871–1962Geneticist and botanistGustav Tschermak1836–1927MineralogistEduard Veith1858–1925PainterEduard Volters1904–1972ActorRudolf Weyr1847–1914SculptorEmil Zuckerkandl1849–1910Anatomist and anthropologist

Other graves of famous persons

Other famous people buried in Döbling are:

NameDatesProfessionRosy Barsony1909–1977Operetta singer Felix Benedict1860–1917Opera singer Moriz Benedikt1849–1920JournalistJörg Böhler1917–2005Surgeon (son of Lorenz Böhler) Maria Cebotari1910–1949Opera singerRudolf Chrobak1843–1910GynaecologistGustav Diessl1899–1948ActorFriedrich Engel-Jánosi1893–1978HistorianErik Frey1908–1988ActorFriedrich Goldscheider1845–1897Ceramics dealerGertrude Grob-Prandl1917–1995Opera singerReinhold Häussermann1884–1947Actor, father of Ernst HaeussermanErnst Hartmann1844–1911ActorEmil Hertzka1869–1932Director of Universal EditionPeter Herz1895–1987Author, librettist, cabaret artist and lyricistWilhelm Jerusalem1854–1923Pedagogue and philosopherFritz Kachler1887-1975 World champion athlete and engineerMax Kassowitz1842–1913PaediatricianIgnaz von Kuffner1892–1938Entrepreneur, son of Moriz von Kuffner Ignatz Lieben1805–1862Merchant and bankerRobert von Lieben1878–1913Physicist and inventor Franz von Matsch1861–1942Painter and sculptorJosef Mikl1929–2008Painter and graphic artistWilhelm Miklas1872–1956President of Austria (1928–1938)Ludwig Minkus1826–1917Composer Marie-Louise von Motesiczky1906–1996PainterSusi Nicoletti1918–2005ActorJohann Radon1887–1956MathematicianHeinrich Reinhardt1865–1922ComposerHelene Schneeberger1843–1898Actress1849–1913Journalist and authorEmmerich Schrenk1915–1988ActorKarl von Škoda1878–1929Engineer and industrialistRudolf Sommer1852–1913ActorAdolf von Sonnenthal1834–1909ActorAdolph Stöhr1855-1921Philosopher, academicEduard Todesco1814–1887Entrepreneur, banker and philanthropeMoritz Todesco1816–1873Entrepreneur, banker and patron of the arts Rudolf Weys1898–1978Writer of cabaret and authorAlexander Witeschnik1909–1993ComposerJohann Zacherl1814–1888ManufacturerKarl Ziegler1886–1944Chamber singer

References

Further reading Felix Czeike: Historisches Lexikon Wien, Band 2. Verlag Kremayr & Scheriau, Wien 1993, , p. 46f. Werner T. Bauer: Wiener Friedhofsführer. Genaue Beschreibung sämtlicher Begräbnisstätten nebst einer Geschichte des Wiener Bestattungswesens. Falter Verlag, Wien 2004, . Tim Corbett: “Was ich den Juden war, wird eine kommende Zeit besser beurteilen...”. Myth and Memory at Theodor Herzl's Original Gravesite in Vienna, in: S:I.M.O.N. SHOAH: INTERVENTION. METHODS. DOCUMENTATION 3 (2016) 1, 64-88: https://simon-ojs.vwi.ac.at/index.php/simon/issue/view/8

External links

Döblinger Friedhof