Viennese funerals: summer collection for morbid enjoyment!

Viennese funerals: summer collection for morbid enjoyment!

Vienna, the city of artistic melancholy and morbid charm, is once again surprising with an extraordinary initiative: Funeral Vienna is releasing its own collection for the summer of 2025 that deals with the themes of death and heat. Like that Report in the Rhine Palatinate shows, this collection includes products such as mosquito spray, swimming rings and bath towels, all in chic black. A sensual companion for hot days that invites you to think about the finiteness of life.

“Death is its own culture of life,” says Bernhard Salzer, spokesman for Funeral Vienna. The Viennese approach to life and death is ultimately characterized by a very pragmatic and at the same time sarcastic approach. The cliché of Vienna as a “metropolis of the morbid” is enthusiastically maintained by the locals themselves - for example, tram line 71 is often affectionately referred to as the “Widow Express”, which cleverly connects the city center with the central cemetery.

Unique products in the collection

The collection is intended not only to make you smile, but also to open a thoughtful dialogue about the inevitable chapter of life. Managing director Jürgen Sild explains the extraordinary composition of the products: In addition to the already mentioned mosquito spray, you will find hammam towels with the ironic saying "You're right with us", a fan with the message "Heat death? Doesn't have to be...", and a swimming pad with the tongue-in-cheek saying "A real Wiena doesn't work!".

In addition, an anti-itch spray is offered under the motto “Say farewell quietly…”, as well as an anti-itch spray with the promising slogan “Then you never itch!” The products are available at the funeral museum, which is located in the basement of funeral hall 2.

The funeral museum and its offerings

Vienna has a lot to offer as a burial city. The central cemetery, where over three million people have found their final resting place and which houses over a million more dead than the city's population, is a popular place for walks and sporting activities. In addition, the impressive Capuchin Crypt, where the Austrian imperial family is buried, and the funeral museum are also popular points of contact for tourists and locals.

The museum itself is a place of reflection in which the history of the funeral industry in Vienna comes to life. A particularly historical piece is the “Saving Coffin” of Emperor Joseph II, who is known for introducing comprehensive burial reforms in 1784. Those interested have the opportunity to take part in the “test lying” in a coffin twice a year – an experience that is offered at the “Long Night of the Museums” and at Halloween and is sure to give some people something to talk about.

A look into the history of the funeral industry

To understand the cultural significance of the funeral system in Vienna, it is worth taking a look at history. Its origins go back to the earliest periods of cultural history, when burials were first carried out in the community and later by religious institutions. The first written mention of brotherhoods for burying corpses dates back to 1410. The possibilities for burial have developed greatly over the centuries - from burial within the city walls in the past to the establishment of the Central Cemetery in 1874, the largest cemetery in Vienna, of which there are more than 300,000 graves to this day.

In Vienna, death is seen as part of life and viewed in supernaturally complex ways. One could even say that the Viennese face the inevitable end with a smile on their faces. In a city where the dark topics of life are dealt with so openly and humorously, there is no room for banter. Here life is celebrated to the fullest, right up to the end, in a way that can only exist in this unique metropolis.