Emperor Joseph II introduced many reforms including a decree of 1784 about the conduct of funerals. One of these was that each parish should retain a supply of reusable coffins to be used for simple funerals not accompanied by mourners to one of the five suburban cemeteries depending on which quarter of the City the deceased had lived in. Corpses were to be buried in sacks to speed up decomposition, but this form of burial proved unpopular and went into decline, especially after the Emperor's death in 1790.
