Vienna, 11th District: Simmering - Part II
Such graves are then called "Ehrengrab" despite of being nothing but a trick on tourists. At least Falco was actually buried here in 1998. Note also the many memorial sites on the Central Cemetery, the long alley ways, the Karl-Borromäus Church, a Jugendstil church about as tasteful as a Las Vegas Casino, and the rather charming Jewish section. There are sectors for Soviet soldiers, Muslims, Socialist victims of fascism, conservative victims of socialism, postmodern victims of modernism and god knows what else. The Zentralfriedhof should keep you walking and entertained for at least half a day.
If this was not enough of morbid sightseeing for you, try the "Friedhof der Namenlosen" ("Cemetery of the Nameless") in Albern. "Albern" means "silly" or "funny", which probably makes it the ideal venue for this cemetery dedicated to anonymous victims fetched out of the Danube until 1940. The former village of Albern has a rather large, industrial port and has a strange atmosphere.
It became part of Simmering only in 1955, after it had served as a major logistic centre for the Soviets in their endeavour to get as many natural resources (especially refined oil) out of Austria after WWII. The cemetery was opened in 1840 and actively maintained until 1940. Most parts of the cemetery that were used before 1900 were flooded and are now hard to discern from ordinary woodland.
More Things to See in Simmering
Another attraction of Simmering is the Altsimmeringer Pfarrkirche, the parish church. Here again the pretentiousness of the Viennese becomes obvious: The parish church is celebrated as one of Vienna′s oldest churches; which is only true if you consider the first written record (1267) as the relevant date and as long as you ignore the fact that it was flattened by the Turks in 1683. The current church was built only in 1746. The new parish church of Simmering was opened in 1910 and could house up to 2,800 people. I only doubt that there are still that many Catholics in Vienna.
There are several parks in Simmering, such as the Herderpark - the biggest of the district with more than 40,000 square metres. Another one is the Hyblerpark. Both of them are reasonably attractive, though. The Urnenhain of the Feuerhalle Simmering is a remaining part of the parks that once belonged to Schloss Neugebäude. The most important recreational grounds in Simmering, however, are without doubt the vast lands of the Zentralfriedhof.
Continue with "Simmering Sightseeing - Part I"
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Sightseeing Guides to Vienna's Districts
District Overview - 1st District (Innere Stadt) - 2nd District (Leopoldstadt) - 3rd District (Landstraße) - 4th District (Wieden) - 5th District (Margarethen)- 6th District (Mariahilf) - 7th District (Neubau) - 8th District (Josefstadt) - 9th District (Alsergrund) - 10th District (Favoriten) - 11th District (Simmering) - 12th District (Meidling) - 13th District (Hietzing) - 14th District (Penzing) - 15th District (Fünfhaus) - 16th District (Ottakring) - 17th District (Hernals) - 18th District (Währing) - 19th District (Döbling) - 20th District (Brigittenau) - 21st District (Floridsdorf) - 22nd District (Donaustadt) - 23rd District (Liesing)
Further Reading
The Districts of Vienna: An Introduction
Wikipedia on the First District
City of Vienna: Districts of Vienna - Innere Stadt
