In the funeral business

Funeral trends: hardly anyone still wants to go into a coffin

The three Jung sisters Barbara, Elisabeth and Claudia(Bild: Tschepp Markus)

Three sisters and their closeness to death: they are the fifth generation to run the Jung funeral home in Salzburg-Maxglan. The trend is clearly moving towards natural burial, they say. More and more young people are already thinking about how they would like to be buried.

It is the shock of mourners that accompanies them in their daily work. This is when families fall into a vacuum and, to a certain extent, travel to themselves, say sisters Claudia Jung, Barbara Perkmann-Jung and Elisabeth Hager-Jung.

Centuries of tradition in the Jung family
They were born into the death business. Their great-great-grandfather founded the funeral home on Innsbrucker Bundesstraße in Salzburg. "When we were growing up, the three of us didn't like talking about it. We always said that we had an inn at home," says Claudia Jung. They didn't even want the saying about the ladies with skeletons in their closets to come up.

 Their work begins as soon as a death occurs. Claudia and Elisabeth manage the indoor and outdoor teams, Barbara the finances. And the nurses also share night duties. A great deal of sensitivity is needed for the bereavement talks. The necessary social skills are also the most important criterion when looking for new employees. All Saints' Day for them? "Awareness is being raised. More and more young people are thinking early on about how they would like their funeral to be," says Claudia Jung.

Urns are designed at home.(Bild: Tschepp Markus)

Wishes in the event of bereavement have also become more individual. More and more people are turning away from the classic grave at the cemetery and looking for alternatives. These now range from burial in the mountains to scattering ashes in the sea. Or: "Many people want to have the urn with their loved one at home with them," says Jung, explaining that special permits are required in this case.

Urn burial is now clearly preferred
86 percent of the deceased and their families opt for an urn burial. "The proportion has risen enormously in recent years," says Claudia Jung. Urns and coffins can be individually designed on request. Everything from golf clubs or cycling outfits as a final greeting for amateur sportsmen and women to urns specially decorated with a postcard view of Salzburg have already been used.

The next generation is ready at Jung. "Two of our six children are interested," say the sisters happily.