Thursday, November 1, 2012

Ziua Tuturor Sfintilor - remember Cimitirul Central din Viena / All Saints Day - a Remember of the Central Cemetery in Vienna

Today, November,1 the Catholics are celebrating All Saints’Day and tomorrow, All Souls’Day. It is a celebration almost similar in significance as the Day of the Dead for the Romanian Orthodox, which we celebrate on the Tomi Sunday, the first Sunday after the Easter. In Banat (the county where I live) and Transylvannia, the Romanians adopted since long the All Saints’Day. In this day we go to the cemeteries, with flowers and candles, to celebrate our dear relatives or friends who are no longer with us.


Some years ago, I was in Vienna, in Spring, and I went to the Central Cemetery. If my fellows Romanians know the Bellu Cemetery in Bucharest, which is kind of a Pantheon for our national culture, the same value is attributed to the Viennesse cemetery.

On the central alley, leading to the Boromaus Church (1908-1911) – one of the most beautiful Secession (Art Nouveau) church in the world – there are buried the great citizens of Austria, or at least remembered by a memorial.

The cemetery was founded in 1874. It has a surface of 2.5 square kilometers and 2.5 million people are buried here.

The funeral monuments of the great artists are so wonderful that you forget where you are, and walk on the alleys like in an open air museum.

Let’s lit a candle tonight for the souls of the dear ones!

Azi, 1 noiembrie, catolicii sarbatoresc Ziua Tuturor Sfintilor, iar maine este Ziua Tuturor Sufletelor. O sarbatoare asemanatoare ca semnificatie cu Ziua Mortilor, pe care romanii ortodocsi o serbeaza in Dumineca Tomi, prima dumineca dupa Paste. In Banat si Transilvania, sub influenta locuitorilor catolici, romanii au adoptat demult ziua de 1 Noiembrie ca zi a mortilor, cand toata lumea se duce la cimitir pentru a-i vizita pe cei dragi, plecati dintre noi, a duce flori si a aprinde o lumanare.

Acum cativa ani am vizitat, intr-o primavara, Cimitirul Central din Viena (Zentralfriedhof) si ma intrebam cum as putea prezenta cateva dintre fotografiile facute atunci. Daca multi cunosc Cimitirul Bellu din Bucuresti ca pe un Pantheon al culturii romanesti, Cimitirul Central din Viena reprezinta acelasi lucru pentru cultura austriaca dar este mult mai mare.

Pe aleea centrala, care duce spre splendida Biserica Boromaus (1908-1911), una dintre cele mai frumoase din lume in stil Secession (Art Nouveau), se afla careul in care sunt inmormantate sau macar amintite printr-un monument (ca si in cazul lui Mozart, inmormantat de fapt intr-o groapa comuna), marile personalitati ale tarii. Voi scrie alta data si mai ales va voi arata interiorul superb al acestei biserici.
 Biserica Boromaus (1908-1911)
de pe treptele Bisericii Boromaus; in dreapta este celebrul careu 32C, unde sunt "mormintele de onoare" (Ehregraber)
Cimitirul a fost infiintat in 1874 si doar doua date statistice va pot sugera ce reprezinta el: are o suprafata de 2.5 kilometri patrati si in el isi dorm somnul de veci peste 2.5 milioane de oameni.

Dintre multele fotografii pe care le-am facut atunci, va prezint aleatoriu cateva. Frumusetea deosebita a monumentelor te face sa uiti deseori unde te afli si sa ratacesti pe aleile minunat ingrijite ca si cand ai fi intr-un muzeu in aer liber.
 Hasenaver (1819-1895), compozitor de operete
 Brahms
 Johann Strauss si sotia
 Franz Schubert
 Bethoven
 Franz Suppe, compzitor de operete si dirijor
 Mozart
 Johann Ritter von Herbeck (1831-1877), compozitor si dirijor
 Carl Millocker (1842-1899), compozitor de operete si dirijor
 Ludwig Anzengruber (1839-1889), poet, dramaturg si romancier
 Hans Makart (1840-1884), pictor academic, decorator, designer
 Rudolf Eitelberger (1817-1885), istoric de arta
Amerling (1803-1887), pictor la curtea lui Franz Josef
In apropiere am observat si cateva monumente funerare moderne mai deosebite.
 monument Secession (Art Nouveau); si caracterele intrebuintate apartin aceluiasi stil artistic
 In aceasta seara, sa aprindem o lumanare pentru sufletul celor care nu mai sunt printre noi!
in interiorul Bisericii Boromaus; mozaicurile executate de Leopold Forstner (1878-1936)


21 comments:

Joop Zand said...

Excellent pictures again

you are travelling a lot my friend, thanks for all these lovely places.

Greetings, Joop

From now on i have a second blog
http://joopzandfotografie.blogspot.nl

Traveling Hawk said...

Thank you, Joop! I'll visit your other blog too!

Ioana Muresan said...

A inceput, de la o vreme, sa-mi placa si mie sa vizitez cimitire. Il trec pe lista, pentru o viitoare vizita in Viena!

Anita said...

wow!!all those composers monuments!!I have to google all of them..many i never heard the music of...i love the mozart!!(i thought he had no grave to visit..i mean real grave)mozart.wow!!but soo many more!!thanx you for inspiration _hawk!!

Great happiness to you from norway!!xxx

Anita said...

psst..well done!!!!

Traveling Hawk said...

Thanks, Randy!

Traveling Hawk said...

Multumesc, Ioana. Am trecut repede peste blogul tau dar am sa revin, sa vad mai pe indelete. M-ai readus pentru cateva momente in atmosfera vibranta a Barcelonei si Venetiei:)

Traveling Hawk said...

Yes, Anita. Mozart is buried in a common grave, that is only a memorial. Thanks for the comment!

VP said...

A wonderful surprise: there are so many interesting graves and sculpture!

Traveling Hawk said...

Thanks, VP! There are amny more, I only selected some.

Helma said...

Today is indeed all souls, and I think gets it nice that you host attention. I really have my eyes looked at the graves of the artists. What mausoleums. And how many people are buried there!
Really very nice post Traveling Hawk.

Traveling Hawk said...

Thanks a lot, Helma!

黄清华 Wong Ching Wah said...

Rather interesting place you visited recently !

Traveling Hawk said...

I was to the grave of a relative there, Wong.

cartim said...

Sunt adevarate monumente de arta aceste morminte...

Pentru toti aceia pe care i-am pierdut am aprins o lumanare, nu am mai scris despre aceasta zi pentru ca imi este putin greu sa o fac ....
Cand voi trece prin Viena voi face tot posibilul sa ajung si in accest loc.

Multumesc pentru imaginile deosebite....

Traveling Hawk said...

Multumesc, cartim! E un loc care merita vizitat. Biserica e si ea splendida si e atata liniste in interior! Voi scrie despre ea mai tarziu. Am enorm de multe lucruri de scris si aratat, dar nu le-a venit inca randul...

Rama Ananth said...

Seeing and knowing about all these things was possible only because of you, Thank you.

Traveling Hawk said...

You are welcome, rama! I am happy!

Doug Hickok said...

Wow, spectacular setting and collection of decorative monuments. A fantastic commemoration TH!

Traveling Hawk said...

Thanks a lot, Doug! It is an impressive place, indeed.

Kumiko said...

These cemeteries are very impressive to me.Every cemetery is designed elaborately,they are artistic.These cemeteries are really different from ours in Japan.
Our cemetery needs more elegant design like western one.