The original cemetery, Hundsturmer Friedhof, was established in 1783, as a result of Emperor
Joseph II's reforms in response to the
Enlightenment. Joseph II had decided that Vienna's cemeteries should no longer be within the city walls, and therefore five new cemeteries were built. Hundsturmer Friedhof, with an area of roughly 31,000 m2, was the smallest of the five, the others being
Sankt Marxer Friedhof, Matzleinsdorfer Friedhof, Währinger Friedhof, and Schmelzer Friedhof. The cemetery was named after the suburb in which it was founded,
Hundsturm. As a result of re-zoning in the early 20th century, the park now lies within the district of
Meidling rather than its namesake. In 1848, the cemetery became a center in the battles of the
Vienna Uprising because of its strategic location on Vienna's defensive line at
Gürtel. In 1926, a large new residential building,
Reumannhof, was erected and the old cemetery was converted into a recreational park. A children's pool was also constructed at the time, which no longer exists. == Famous memorials ==