Economy coffin

Surviving example in the Funeral Museum Vienna
An example showing the bottom part opened

The economy coffin, hinged coffin or Josephinian coffin (German: Sparsarg, Klappsärge, or Josephinischer Sarg)[1][2] was a type of reusable coffin introduced by Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor in the late 18th century. The body was carried in the coffin to the gravesite where it would be dropped into the grave through folding doors on the base. The coffin would then be reused.

  1. ^ Austria today. Austria Today Limited. 1990. p. 28.
  2. ^ Parsons, Nicholas (9 December 2008). Vienna: A Cultural History. Oxford University Press. p. 88. ISBN 978-0-19-988848-1.