Vienna cemetery marks 150 years with graveyard concerts

Hundreds of revellers flocked to Vienna's Central Cemetery on Friday to attend a graveyard concert commemorating the famous site's 150th birthday, doing justice to the local expression "Death must be a Viennese".

The vast cemetery on the outskirts of the Austrian capital is Europe's second largest, comprising around 330,000 graves spread out over 2.5 square kilometres (620 acres).

Tens of thousands of tourists as well as locals visit the Central Cemetery each month to stroll along the tree-lined avenues and tombs of many famous figures.

But as night fell Friday, Nino Mandl, a local singer-songwriter known as "Nino from Vienna", performed the last of three "cemetery sessions" to celebrate the anniversary.

Marianne Kaufmann, a 69-year-old retiree, was among the 750 concert-goers who attended.

The Viennese have a "special relationship" with death, she told AFP, as mourning was not necessarily considered "sad" but could include "laughing and singing" at funerals, since "life must go on".

Conny Maehlich, 53, said she was excited about experiencing the unique atmosphere, while admitting that it felt "a little bit spooky" to attend a concert in a cemetery.

"Every month, around 30,000 people enter through our main gate alone -- and exit it again," said Renate Niklas, managing director of the Vienna cemeteries.

"They don't just come to visit their graves, to attend a funeral, but to go for a walk, a run, ride a bike or simply relax," Niklas said.

The events to mark the 150th anniversary, which included yoga sessions and concerts, were an effort at "bringing life to the cemetery, to honour our deceased once again", she said.