Here you will find answers to the most frequently asked questions regarding what to do following a death, and related official procedures.
Contact your usual doctor or the emergency services immediately. The death must be verified by an (emergency) doctor. Then the deceased must be inspected. Please note that prior to this inspection, no changes may be made to the body of the deceased!
Contact us immediately in order to get the next steps underway.
If the death occurs in a public hospital in Vienna, your deceased relation will be taken to the local pathology facility and remain there until collected by your chosen funeral home. We recommend that you decide on a funeral home within five working days and arrange for this collection.
If the deceased is in a care facility, then collection by your chosen funeral home must in most cases occur on the day on which the body is released. In some private hospitals, too, the collection must be arranged very quickly.
Please contact us, and we will be happy to advise you regarding the next steps in the process.
If a person dies in a public location, the immediate family will be informed by the appropriate safety authority. The competent safety authority will also retrieve the body of the deceased from the place of death. We will be glad to explain to you where the deceased person has been taken and when you can expect the body to be released.
The competent certifying doctor will examine the deceased person and check for possible signs of life as well as definite signs of death. Based on the results of this examination, death will be conclusively verified. Those present will normally be asked about the circumstances surrounding the death, the deceased’s medical history and time of passing. Please have all relevant medical documents (reports, prescriptions etc.) available. After examination of the documents and associated information, the certifying doctor will determine the cause of death when he/she is completely certain of the death.If the cause of death cannot be determined of if there is some suspicion of external influence, then the inspection will cease and the deceased person must be examined by the Public Health Office or the City of Vienna Police Department.
As soon as the certifying doctor has determined the cause of death and released the deceased for burial, and after submission of the cadaver transport authorization (in Vienna) or death certificate (in Lower Austria), you may arrange for collection of the deceased by the funeral home of your choice. We are available any day, at any time!
You will require a death certificate in order to organise the burial of your relative and for various de-registrations or transfers of registration. Once the body has been released, the death certificate can be issued by any Austrian registry office, as soon as the death notice has been submitted to the registry office (these days, this is usually done electronically). Please have the following personal documents ready to hand:
- Birth certificate (post-1939) or certificate of birth or certificate of baptism (pre-1939)
- Proof of citizenship or extract from the homeland roll of Austrian citizens, or passport showing foreign citizenship
- Registration form (can be omitted in Vienna)
- Marriage certificate (if married), legal divorce decree (if divorced), death certificate of spouse (if widowed)
- Evidence of academic degrees
Naturally we will be glad to assist you in registering the death, even if only some or none of these documents of the deceased are available.
If your mobility is restricted or, under the circumstances, you feel safest at home, we will be happy to offer you our advice in the peace and familiarity of your usual environment.
A funeral plan helps to reduce the financial burden on your relations and makes matters easier for them during their time of grief. Funerals can be planned down to the smallest detail.
One advantage of funeral insurance is that if the death occurs while abroad, transport costs are also covered. Insurance also includes the option of doubling the sum insured in the event of a fatal accident, so as to better provide for surviving family members.
We will be happy to offer advice relating to funeral insurance and funeral planning.
We are here to help with transport – regardless of whether your relative died within or outside the country, or what the required transport may be. For further information regarding the procedures for international transport, please click here.
We live in a multi-denominational society. Not only are the majority of Viennese cemeteries open to people of all faiths, but we are also familiar with the traditions of the different religious communities and will be happy to advise you with regard to Catholic, Protestant, Orthodox, Jewish, Muslim, Alevi, Buddhist, Hindu and many other funerals. Please contact us at any time with your questions.
Costs will vary according to the type of burial and your individual requirements. The bill will include our own services, services by other parties and transmitted items such as pathology expenses in the hospital or cemetery fees, as well as the fees of religious communities that should be paid in the course of the burial. Our own services encompass the services of the funeral company and materials required, such as the casket, urn, obituary notices, etc.
The burial costs largely depend on your individual requirements and the place of burial. The lowest costs are incurred by cremation followed by keeping the urn at home. We will be happy to advise as to how costs can be kept as low as possible. We would be pleased to prepare a customized offer for you free of charge.
We design offers to suit your individual requirements, wishes and options. Essentially, you can choose between burial and cremation. Cremation encompasses a range of different inhumation alternatives.
Himmelblau Funeral Services offers the following types of funerals:
Our service includes the complete organization of the funeral ceremony. We are available to help you with all the important decisions including the selection of an appropriate coffin or suitable urns, the organization of funeral notices and remembrance pictures, the organization of a religious or civil celebrant and the funeral music of your choice. We provide a tremendous range of options and will be happy to assist you with your decisions. Of course we offer you the option of organizing the funeral service exactly according to your individual requirements.
In case of emergency, you can contact us at any time on 01 361 5000. During office hours, we can be found in the advisory centers of the 1st (by telephone agreement), 10th, 11th, 12th, 13th, 18th, 19th, 21st, 22nd and 23rd Vienna city districts.
The addresses, opening hours and telephone numbers of these can be found here.
