Jewish Cemetery Alsergrund Seegasse

The Jewish cemetery on Seegasse is the oldest surviving cemetery in Vienna. There are records of burials taking place between 1540 and 1783. Following the desecration of the cemeteries by the Nazis, in 1943 the headstones were taken to the 4th gate of the Central Cemetery by members of the Jewish community, where they were buried and thus safeguarded from certain destruction. At the instigation of the Jewish Community Vienna and with the support of the Cultural Authority of the City of Vienna, in the early 1980s the headstones were returned and re-erected. 108 headstones in the niches of the perimeter wall, 237 stone monuments that have so far been found in the burial ground and around 130 objects and fragments from Vienna's Central Cemetery that belong to the holdings of the Seegasse cemetery have been or are being restored. Worthy of note is the replica of the tomb of Rabbi Samson Wertheimer, commissioned by the City of Vienna in 1995. In spring 2012 the painstakingly restored headstone of Rabbi Sabbatai Scheftel was re-erected. Today, the cemetery is surrounded by the Retirement Home Rossau and is cared for by the Municipal Park Authority.