Clara Anton |
Vienna (EFE).- Death has never been so much fun, and even less being in a cemetery: in Vienna is the second largest cemetery in Europe, which has its own museum that treats death with humor and irony.
The museum has its own mascot, which presides over the entrance and welcomes visitors; It is a representation of “Death”, scythe included, with a friendly and somewhat childish aspect that provides a first hint of what will be found in the gloomy visit.
This place, located near the tombs of universal musical geniuses such as Beethoven, Strauss, Brahms and Schubert, exhibits some 250 original objects and images, such as a carriage for transporting corpses from 1900 or a folding coffin from 1784, similar to the that Emperor Joseph II used to recycle coffins.
In addition, among the thirteen videos that are projected on monitors, you can see the funeral of Emperor Franz José, in 1916.
But the museum’s sensory experience goes beyond sight.
Throughout the visit, the most popular songs played at funerals are heard.
This, together with dim lighting, immerses the visitor in an ancient, dark and unknown world that illustrates the funerary tradition from the 18th century until now.
However, this ceremonial atmosphere is in stark contrast to the character of the objects that the museum shop has for sale.
For smokers, a tobacco case that says “smoking (us) secures jobs” or a summer “pack” that includes a coffin-shaped mat, a cloth bag and a towel for just under 100 euros .
“This idea came to us in January of this year. We were sitting at the reception table, eating, and all of a sudden, bang! The idea arose”, explained the designer of the mat, Cornelia Fassl, to EFE.
“The mind is stupid. They are stupid things that come out of our heads”
“The mind is stupid. They are stupid things that come out of our heads”, says the museum employee with a smile.
This very original way of treating death is typical of the Austrian capital and arouses curiosity in other places.
In fact, Fassl says, the museum has already sent some 600 summer packs to Germany, Switzerland, Belgium and America.
“Vienna jokes are always about death,” Fassl said, while admitting that from time to time people are annoyed by this sense of humor.
“Although it is not much, one person in a thousand is offended,” he acknowledged.
“The last car is always a van!” shouts one of the T-shirts that are also on sale, with a hearse drawn in the center, or “I eat candy until the ashes”, says an apron, quoting a tongue-in-cheek rhyme. in german language.
The most expensive item in the store is a LEGO mourning room that costs 499 euros and contains from the room itself up to twelve dolls watching over a body, a coffin, a cross, flowers and candles, but it can only be purchased by pre-order .
You can also buy USB flash drives in the shape of a hearse, a coffin and the famous Death, which cost no more than ten euros, as well as a sleep mask that says “I’m not dead, just asleep” (“Ich bin nicht tot, ich schlafe nur”).
In addition, this museum exhibits unusual historical elements, such as a rescue bell, which comes from a time when people feared being buried alive and whose function was, tied to the wrist of the supposedly dead person, to ring in case was alive and moving.
The funeral museum sums up death with these words: “The beautiful corpse” (Eine schöne Leich’, in Viennese dialect) is not only an elaborate and pompous funeral, it is also an attitude towards life, since death is inevitable, for what needs to be celebrated.”