Uncover a Macabre Resting Place at St. Sebastian’s Cemetery

Graveyards are rarely cheerful places, but St. Sebastian’s Cemetery is darker than most. This place of rest is decorated in countless memento mori symbols (reminders that death is imminent). They’re designed to encourage you to live in the present but come across more like signs warning of danger or threats of evil. At first glance, the cemetery looks just like any other. But take a closer look, and you’ll discover many pieces of art which portray the darker side of death. Here you’ll find metal engravings of snakes wriggling through skulls, stone carvings of skulls and crossbones, and surreal depictions of skulls with bat-like wings.

As well as being home to macabre artwork, St. Sebastian’s Cemetery is also the final resting place of some of the most famous people in Austria. Built in 1502, the graveyard guards the bodies of Mozart’s father and wife. It’s also where Archbishop Wolf Dietrich is buried. Before he was imprisoned over salt-mine rights, he helped Salzburg rise to wealth and fame through its salt mines. Instead of being buried in the crypt at Salzburg Cathedral, his remains were stored in a huge mausoleum, which is the center of St. Sebastian’s Cemetery today.