{"id":1117,"date":"2016-01-08T07:30:28","date_gmt":"2016-01-08T06:30:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/?p=1117"},"modified":"2026-01-06T13:19:38","modified_gmt":"2026-01-06T12:19:38","slug":"mozarts-grave","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/footsteps\/mozarts-grave\/","title":{"rendered":"Mozart&#8217;s grave"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/mozartgrabsmall.jpg\" alt=\"Cemetery plaque\" class=\"wp-image-16867\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/mozartgrabsmall.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/mozartgrabsmall-100x100.jpg 100w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>Contrary to popular belief, the location of Mozart&#8217;s grave in Vienna is not such a mystery after all. Sort of.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Mozart was buried in the St. Marx cemetery (now a public park)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>A memorial gravestone marks the grave&#8217;s most likely site<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Easily found once inside the park<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The composer is almost certainly no longer in it<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Book a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tiqets.com\/en\/concerts-opera-vienna-tickets-l206741\/?partner=visitingvienna&amp;tq_campaign=LG_Mozart\" rel=\"sponsored\">Mozart concert<\/a>* for Vienna<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>See also:\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/footsteps\/mozart\/\">Mozart location guide<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/famous-people\/\" data-type=\"page\" data-id=\"1666\">Composer location guides<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"where-was-mozart-buried\">Where was Mozart buried?<\/h2>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"332\" height=\"450\" src=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/mozart_grave.jpg\" alt=\"Mozart's grave and memorial\" class=\"wp-image-16866\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/mozart_grave.jpg 332w, https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/mozart_grave-221x300.jpg 221w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 332px) 100vw, 332px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-small-font-size\">(City councillor, Mr Mailath-Pokorny, at the newly-restored Mozart grave in St. Marx. Photo \u00a9 PID \/ Georg Oberweger)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Mozart died on December 5th, 1791. As one newspaper of the time described it (my translation):<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>All of Vienna, and along with this imperial city all of the musical world, mourns the untimely loss of this immortal man.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>They buried the great composer in a standard, unmarked plot in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/st-marx-cemetery\/\">St.Marx cemetery<\/a> in Vienna&#8217;s third district. This was relatively normal practice at the time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Note we&#8217;re not talking about a mass pauper&#8217;s grave, as often represented in popular media, but simply an unmarked one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In fact, the idea of Mozart as some poor musician scraping by on handouts largely belongs to the realms of myth. He earned decent amounts of money (though he spent a fair deal, too, it must be said).<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" src=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/mozartmemorial.jpg\" alt=\"The Mozart Memorial at the Zentralfriedhof\" class=\"wp-image-45207\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/mozartmemorial.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/mozartmemorial-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-small-font-size\">(The original Gasser memorial that used to mark the alleged site of Mozart&#8217;s grave, but which later moved to its current location in the Zentralfriedhof)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Anyway, the problem is the word &#8220;unmarked&#8221;; not so much as a stray piece of sheet music identified the last resting place of one of history&#8217;s greatest composers. Equally, very few people apparently attended the actual burial: not even his wife.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This state of affairs later led to confusion as to the grave&#8217;s exact location.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Efforts were made, however, in the mid-1800s to identify the most likely site, and instructions given to cemetery staff to ensure that this location remained in good order. A proper memorial stone designed by Hanns Gasser went up there in 1859.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Gasser has another Mozart connection. He also worked on the main altar in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/footsteps\/waisenhauskirche\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"5875\">Waisenhauskirche<\/a>; Mozart conducted the mass at the church&#8217;s consecration back in 1768.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So far so good, but we&#8217;re not at the end of the story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div align=\"center\"><em>Ad:<\/em><br><div data-tiqets-widget=\"discovery\" data-product-ids=\"974714,974360\" data-language=\"en\" data-currency=\"EUR\" data-partner=\"visitingvienna\" data-cards-layout=\"horizontal\"><\/div><script defer=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/widgets.tiqets.com\/loader.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:25px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>To celebrate the centenary of Mozart&#8217;s death, Gasser&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/footsteps\/the-mozart-memorial\/\">memorial<\/a> moved to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/zentralfriedhof\/\">central cemetery<\/a> (Zentralfriedhof) to join a cluster of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/zentralfriedhoffamousgraves\/\">musician&#8217;s graves<\/a> featuring the likes of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/footsteps\/beethovens-grave\/\">Beethoven<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/footsteps\/schuberts-grave\/\">Schubert<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Which means if you see something looking like Mozart&#8217;s grave in the Zentralfriedhof, it&#8217;s just a monument and NOT the actual grave.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Meanwhile, back in St.Marx, a large stone slab eventually marked the grave&#8217;s location. Subsequent years saw the addition of further adornments that included a stone angel and column.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The current display results from restoration efforts in 1950, which repaired damage caused by WWII bombing (a not uncommon problem for Vienna&#8217;s historical sites), and further restoration in 2016.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" src=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/mozartgraveold.jpg\" alt=\"Mozart's grave around 1905\" class=\"wp-image-55412\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/mozartgraveold.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/mozartgraveold-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-small-font-size\">(Mozart&#8217;s grave as pictured on a  postcard from around 1905; produced by Verlag Reinhold Entzmann &amp; Sohn; Wien Museum Inv.-Nr. 189939; excerpt reproduced with permission under the terms of the CC0 licence)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Burials at St. Marx ended in the 1870s, but the cemetery remains in good condition and serves as a rather wonderful public park.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The combination of nature and old gravestones has created a remarkably peaceful and unique look and atmosphere, which makes the park worth a visit in its own right&#8230;even ignoring its famous resident.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"but-there-s-more\">And there&#8217;s more&#8230;<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Our story is still not over, though.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>First, we&#8217;ll likely never know if the marked location truly is the actual plot where they laid Mozart to rest. We just have to trust that the 19th-century Viennese got it right.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If we look at life from the other direction, we do at least know where Mozart was born: Getreidegasse 9 in Salzburg, now a museum and a relatively easy <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/mapsgeography\/salzburg\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"12693\">day trip from Vienna<\/a> if you&#8217;re interested in visiting.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"321\" height=\"450\" src=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/mozartgrave1943.jpg\" alt=\"Oskar Laske's 1943 painting of Mozart's grave\" class=\"wp-image-62328\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/mozartgrave1943.jpg 321w, https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/mozartgrave1943-214x300.jpg 214w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 321px) 100vw, 321px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-small-font-size\">(Mozart&#8217;s grave in the St. Marx cemetery, as painted in 1943 by Oskar Laske; Wien Museum Inv.-Nr. 93882; excerpt reproduced under the terms of the <a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/\">CC BY 4.0 license<\/a>; photo by Birgit and Peter Kainz, Wien Museum)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Second, this kind of grave was not permanent back in the late 18th century. Which means they typically dug up the bones after ten years and reused the site for a new burial. So, even if we assume it&#8217;s the correct grave, Mozart is almost certainly no longer in it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If the composer&#8217;s remains had been there, I suspect they would have moved them to the Zentralfriedhof along with Gasser&#8217;s 1859 memorial.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Nobody seems to know what happened to Mozart&#8217;s actual skeleton once they reused his burial plot. A skull in the hands of the Mozarteum Foundation in Salzburg is alleged to be Mozart&#8217;s, but nobody is sure: <a href=\"http:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2006\/jan\/09\/arts.music\">scientific tests<\/a> proved inconclusive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"how-to-find-mozart-s-grave\">How to find Mozart&#8217;s grave<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Unfortunately, the cemetery is not in the most convenient location in Vienna, sandwiched behind a bend of the A23 Autobahn.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Take trams 18 or 71 (which leaves from the central stops along parts of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/ring\/\" data-type=\"page\" data-id=\"1546\">Ringstrassen<\/a>) to the St.Marx stop, then walk for a few minutes following the &#8220;St. Marx Friedhof&#8221; signs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You can find the grave easily enough once inside the cemetery \/ park. Go through the main entrance and walk down the aisle of trees until it forks and just look left. A sign helpfully points to the &#8220;Mozartgrab&#8221; (plot 179).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you&#8217;re in St.Marx cemetery, check the grave at plot 207 (Anna Gottlieb), too. The soprano played Pamina at the premiere of Mozart&#8217;s <em>The Magic Flute<\/em> in 1791 (just before his death).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Address: Sankt Marx Cemetery, Leberstra\u00dfe 6-8, 1030 Vienna<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div align=\"center\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/maps\/d\/u\/0\/embed?mid=1u09oD8jdof-NPPOr-4e7ZWFBf-tLXzpW\" width=\"400\" height=\"300\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Contrary to popular belief, the location of Mozart&#8217;s grave in Vienna is not such a mystery after all. Sort of. Where was Mozart buried? (City councillor, Mr Mailath-Pokorny, at the newly-restored Mozart grave in St. Marx. Photo \u00a9 PID \/ Georg Oberweger) Mozart died on December 5th, 1791. As one newspaper of the time described [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":16867,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-1117","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-footsteps","8":"entry"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1117","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1117"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1117\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":87926,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1117\/revisions\/87926"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16867"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1117"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1117"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1117"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}