Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...

No search results found for
“”

Make sure words are spelled correctly.

Try searching for a travel destination.

Places near me Random place

Popular Destinations

  • Paris
  • London
  • New York
  • Berlin
  • Rome
  • Los Angeles
Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Sign In Join
Places near me Random place
All Austria Salzburg St. Sebastian’s Cemetery

St. Sebastian’s Cemetery

Terrifically morbid cemetary and site of famous Paracelsus' grave.

Salzburg, Austria

Email
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list
CAPTION
  Allie_Caulfield / CC BY-SA 2.0
  Allie_Caulfield / CC BY-SA 2.0
Paracelsus   fallenangel / Atlas Obscura User
Jesus in a Cage   fallenangel / Atlas Obscura User
  breaingram / Atlas Obscura User
  breeannpoland / Atlas Obscura User
  shaw95 / Atlas Obscura User
  shaw95 / Atlas Obscura User
  shaw95 / Atlas Obscura User
  breaingram / Atlas Obscura User
  breaingram / Atlas Obscura User
  breaingram / Atlas Obscura User
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list

About

Death is everywhere at St. Sebastian’s Cemetery in Salzburg, Austria. An unsettling depiction of an emaciated death holding an hourglass evokes the sense of memento mori: Remember that you too will die. It isn’t hard to forget in this cemetery, where skulls abound - including winged skulls, skulls with snakes emerging from their eye sockets, skulls on which angels prop themselves, skulls with hourglasses, skulls with a pick and axe for miner’s graves, and skulls that hold holy water.

The cemetery was built in 1502 and holds the remains of some big Austrian names. Mozart’s wife and father rest there, as well as Archbishop Wolf Dietrich, who helped make Salzburg rich with his salt mines, and who was later arrested and imprisoned over salt-mine rights. Dietrich was denied the archbishop’s honor of being buried in the Salzburg Cathedral crypt, and instead his remains are housed in a massive mausoleum, the centerpiece of the St. Sebastian Cemetery.

Just to the right of the cemetery’s entrance, up a small flight of stairs, is the grave of and a monument to physician, botanist, alchemist, astrologer, occultist, and philosopher Theophrastus Paracelsus (1493-1541), “the father of modern medicine.”

Related Tags

Memento Mori Cemeteries Catacombs And Crypts

Community Contributors

Edited By

shaw95, fallenangel, breaingram, breeannpoland...

  • shaw95
  • fallenangel
  • breaingram
  • breeannpoland
  • Michelle Cassidy

Published

June 10, 2009

Edit this listing

Make an Edit
Add Photos
St. Sebastian’s Cemetery
Sebastianskirche
Linzer Gasse
Salzburg, 5020
Austria
47.80383, 13.047101
Get Directions

Nearby Places

Mozart's Skull

Salzburg, Austria

miles away

Zwerglgarten (Dwarf Garden)

Salzburg, Austria

miles away

Dom Museum's Kunst und Wunderkammer

Salzburg, Austria

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Salzburg

Salzburg

Austria

Places 14

Nearby Places

Mozart's Skull

Salzburg, Austria

miles away

Zwerglgarten (Dwarf Garden)

Salzburg, Austria

miles away

Dom Museum's Kunst und Wunderkammer

Salzburg, Austria

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Salzburg

Salzburg

Austria

Places 14

Related Places

  • Nazca culture mummies and skulls cemetry in Peru

    Nazca, Peru

    Chauchilla Cemetery

    Plundered and left asunder by grave robbers, this ancient necropolis has been painstakingly pieced back together.

  • Putim Ossuary

    Putim, Czechia

    Putim Ossuary

    The mystery of the Putim Ossuary involves a tricorn hat.

  • Brooklyn, New York

    Most Holy Trinity Cemetery

    A burial ground of rusting metal grave markers.

  • Graves of Wild Bill and Calamity Jane

    Deadwood, South Dakota

    Mt. Moriah Cemetery

    A cemetery housing wild west legends in South Dakota.

  • Vienna, Austria

    Cemetery of the Nameless

    The resting place for anonymous victims of the Danube's dark waters.

  • Amiens cemetery, tomb of Jules Verne.

    Amiens, France

    Jules Verne's Tomb

    Science fiction's grandfather has a fittingly marvelous tomb.

  • Cambridge, Massachusetts

    Old Burial Ground

    This cemetery served as the only official burial grounds in Cambridge for nearly 200 years.

  • Trinity Church cementery

    New York, New York

    Trinity Churchyard

    This cemetery has graves dating back to the 17th century, including the city's oldest carved tombstone and an ominous cryptogram.

Aerial image of Vietnam, displaying the picturesque rice terraces, characterized by their layered, verdant fields.
Atlas Obscura Membership

Become an Atlas Obscura Member


Join our community of curious explorers.

Become a Member

Get Our Email Newsletter

Follow Us

Facebook YouTube TikTok Instagram Pinterest RSS Feed

Get the app

Download the App
Download on the Apple App Store Get it on Google Play
  • All Places
  • Latest Places
  • Most Popular
  • Places to Eat
  • Random
  • Nearby
  • Add a Place
  • Stories
  • Food & Drink
  • Itineraries
  • Lists
  • Video
  • Podcast
  • Newsletters
  • All Trips
  • Family Trip
  • Food & Drink
  • History & Culture
  • Wildlife & Nature
  • FAQ
  • Membership
  • Feedback & Ideas
  • Community Guidelines
  • Product Blog
  • Unique Gifts
  • Work With Us
  • About
  • FAQ
  • Advertise With Us
  • Advertising Guidelines
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms of Use
Atlas Obscura

© 2025 Atlas Obscura. All Rights Reserved.