Can you imagine the musical genius of Joseph Haydn being plucked from the ground after his death? The grave stone you see in front of you marks the location of Haydn’s first grave. This simple stone is a reminder of a bizarre chapter in the life of one of the most influential composers of all time.
Haydn was buried here in 1809 in the Hundsturm cemetery. However, just a few days later, two men, Joseph Carl Rosenbaum and Johann Nepomuk Peter, conspired to steal Haydn’s skull. They were fascinated by phrenology, a now-discredited field that sought to determine mental traits based on the shape of the skull. They believed that by studying Haydn’s skull, they could unlock the secrets of his musical genius.
The gravedigger, bribed by the two men, excavated Haydn’s grave and removed his head. The skull was examined for hours, then macerated and bleached. It was eventually placed in a custom-made wooden box and became part of Peter’s personal collection.
Ironically, Haydn’s skull was eventually returned to his body, but not until 145 years after his death. It was only in 1954 that the skull was transferred to the Bergkirche in Eisenstadt, Austria, where Haydn’s remains had been reburied in 1820. Haydn’s tomb today holds two skulls: the original skull, which was stolen and returned, and the substitute skull that was used when his remains were moved.
In the end, the story of Haydn’s first grave and the theft of his skull serves as a reminder of the fascination that surrounds great minds and the strange lengths to which people will go to explore the mysteries of genius.