Same Game; New Chapter: Visiting Beethoven

I took a trip all the way across Vienna today to the end of the Orange U Bahn line 3 (the Simmering Station). After catching the 71 tram for about 4 stops, I exited at the Zentralfriedhof.

This is Vienna's oldest, largest, and most famous cemetery. The burial places of Beethoven, Brams, the Strausses, presidents, government officials, doctors, professors, and a lot more are found there. This city seems to be preoccupied with death so this is the penultimate location for their final earthly destination and memorial

Of course, as usual, I started off at the wrong entrance, walked the entire length of the huge expanse of amazing gravestones, then across to the west, then back the entire breadth eastward. I was searching for the graves of the famous composers. (I DID avoid paying the two twenty euro being charged at the front gate though. whoops.) I saw literally miles of crypts, mausoleums, graves, sculptures, and memorials. But no Beethoven. Finally, I broke down and broke "man law" and asked a group of English speaking students for directions.

"Down that path and to the left", the teen said. It was about 10 yards from where I stood. The memorials to the great composers containing their earthly remains have put them together in a close earthly proximity. I wonder of Chuck Berry was buried close by someday, if he would sing "Roll over, Beethoven"?

So after about an hour of walking through this quiet, reverent, resting place, I found what I was looking for. But not after some cool sights. I took pictures of what I call "The Angels of Vienna". A collection of angels on the tombs I encountered. I took random pics of the sheer number of gigantic memorials. Then I found the REALLY big ones. I was overwhelmed by the "one-upsmanship" exhibited; even in death. There were Greek columns, covered castles, billboard sized graves, sculptures, lining every of the over 50 separate sections. I took pictures of things that interested me and and one that won the prize for the weirdest. Below are the pictures of my walk in the Zentralfriedhof. The Central Cemetery

No Austrian Memorial tour can start without a huge obelisk commemorating the beloved Emperor Franz Joseph.

Beethoven, Ludwig von

Full view of Beethoven's Final memorial.

Brams (not the dairy guy; the lullaby guy).

Franz Schubert.

One of the Johann Strausses (the father, I think).

There is also a memorial to Mozart in the Zentralfriedhof, but Mozart's remains are not actually there. No one really knows exactly where he was buried as it was in a communal grave, as was the custom in those times. A city that now thrives on the memory of Mozart, didn't see fit to mark his final resting place, now it is a mystery.