Modernists have no shame. Vienna Central Cemetery Church to hold silent disco.

 Silent Disco at the Central Cemetery turns Church into dance hall

Cemetery Church becomes a meeting place on April 17 - Rector Soroka: "Faith knows not only silence and contemplation, but also lightness and joy of life"

The Vienna Central Cemetery is full of surprises: The Cemetery Church of Saint Charles Borromeo will be transformed into a "Silent Disco" on April 17. Singer-songwriter Wolfgang Ambros made the cemetery a pop-cultural symbol of the morbid Viennese soul in 1975 with his Austropop anthem "Long Live the Central Cemetery." More than 50 years later, house, electronic, hip-hop, and pop music, as well as musical treats related to the Central Cemetery or cemetery culture, will resonate in Simmering.

For church rector Jan Soroka, the event is a sign that the church is a place of encounter. "Even a silent disco can show in its own way that faith knows not only silence and contemplation, but also lightness and joy of life," says Soroka. "Where people laugh, dance, and are there for one another, the church becomes tangible," the pastor is quoted as saying in a press release from Vienna Cemeteries Ltd. Life in the cemetery transcends all boundaries and "shows us that life continues after death, that we are called to eternal life," the cemetery chaplain adds.

At the "Silent Disco," participants put on headphones. The room therefore remains almost silent, which is intended to preserve the church's character as a space for reflection, it was explained. "Silent" stands for "a special kind of celebration where consideration and vibrancy can coexist."

"Breaking down anxieties"

"Without compromising the respect and devotion shown to mourners, we want to create special event formats that foster exchange and community," said Renate Niklas, Managing Director of Friedhöfe Wien GmbH (Vienna Cemeteries Ltd.). For several years, the cemetery has been developed as a cultural and social space, featuring urban gardening, exercise areas for yogis, cyclists, and runners, a coffee house, and live music. The Silent Disco aims to invite people to "rediscover the place, overcome anxieties, and become more aware of the historical surroundings."

The Art Nouveau church of Saint Charles Borromeo, built between 1908 and 1911 according to plans by Max Hegele, is considered one of the architectural highlights of the Central Cemetery. On April 17, two DJs will perform simultaneously on two different channels between 8 p.m. and 2 a.m. The audience can switch between channels spontaneously using their headphones, thus choosing which music they want to dance to, according to the announcement.

Source

The morbid lyrics of "Long live the Central Cemetery"

Long live the Central Cemetery, and all its dead.

Entry is strictly forbidden for the living today,

because Death is throwing a party all night long,

and none of the guests need an entrance ticket.

When night falls over Simmering, life comes to the dead,

and over by the crematorium they're roasting bone marrow.

Back there by the marble tomb, two skeletons stand,

clinking two urns and drinking in a contest.

The atmosphere at the Central Cemetery is like it's never been before,

because all the dead are celebrating its first hundred years today.

Long live the Central Cemetery, and its jubilarians.

They've been lying and rotting there for over a hundred years. It's cold outside and warm down below, just a little damp sometimes.

When you're lying down there like this, you're glad when the grave lantern shines.

Long live the Central Cemetery, the scene seems macabre.

The foremen dance with the whores, and Jews with Arabs.

Today everyone's merry again, today everything comes alive,

in the mausoleum a band is playing, they've got a real blast.

At the Central Cemetery there's an atmosphere like it's never been before,

because all the dead are celebrating its first hundred years today.

Long live the Central Cemetery, all of a sudden there's a sniveling sound,

Moser sings the Fiakerlied, and the Schrammeln band plays a waltz.

Suddenly the music stops, and all eyes shine,

because over there stands the Bone Man, waving his scythe.

At the Central Cemetery the atmosphere is like nothing he's ever experienced,

because all the dead are celebrating his first hundred years today.