Burial officials in Austria are opening up unused graves in cemeteries where gardeners can grow organic veg alongside the dearly departed.
The bizarre plan means anyone with a burial plot reserved in Vienna can claim a veg plot at the same graveyard where the composer Beethoven is buried.
Vienna Cemeteries – which manages the city’s graveyards – says applicants will be offered an empty plot at the massive Viennese Zentralfriedhof.
Famous residents include composers Beethoven, Brahms and Schubert, pop singer Falco, artist Gustav Klimt and Hollywood icon Heddy Lamar.
In the statement obtained by Newsflash the graveyard managers said: “Cemeteries are more than just burial grounds.
“The invitation to allow people to have a vegetable garden in cemeteries is just another way we are allowing them to have the chance to use these valuable green spaces, and thus make a contribution to biodiversity and the urban climate.”
They assured the families of people buried in the 330,000-plot Zentralfriedhof that no one will be planting veg on their loved ones’ tombs.
Viennese Zentralfriedhof manager Renate Niklas, said they were working in partnership with organic food experts Ackerhelden, or Field Heroes.
Growers will have to pay a EUR 139 (GBP 123) annual fee but can keep everything they grow on their plot.
She said: “Our partner in this project has extensive experience in looking after organic plots of land and working with hobby gardeners.
“With their support, we are able to offer an exceptional service exclusively for our customers.”
It is understood that similar plots are also being offered at the South West Cemetery in Vienna’s Meidling district.
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Story By: Michael Leidig, Sub-Editor: Marija Stojkoska, Agency: Newsflash
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