The Cemetery Library

Amid the tombstones of Jüdischer Friedhof Krems—the Krems Jewish cemetery—are three shelves with books.

The public is welcome to check out any of these books, as well as leave their own. Created in 2004 by artists Michael Clegg and Martin Guttmann, the Open Public Library was designed as a memorial. The Jewish cemetery was almost totally destroyed during the reign of the Third Reich, with a restoration taking until 1995.

The artists see the library as a way to have a community dialogue and interaction with the space. Also in the cemetery is a 140-foot metal sculpture by Hans Kupelwieser with the 129 names of those Jews killed or expelled from Krems under the Nazis.