Farewell to Richard Lugner: This is how the funeral ceremony in Vienna went

Many people said goodbye to the well-known entrepreneur and society star Richard Lugner (1932-2024) in Vienna this Saturday (31 August). There was a public memorial service for the deceased in St. Stephen’s Cathedral this morning.

According to “krone.at”, the family received the red coffin, on which Lugner’s legendary opera ball top hat lay, at the giant gate before it was carried to the cathedral to lie in state. According to the report, the coffin was attended by daughter Jacqueline Lugner (30) with her husband Leo Lugner and her mother Christina Lugner (59), one of the businessman’s ex-wives. Widow Simone Lugner (42) is said to have arrived after them. According to the Austrian media, former partners such as Anastasia Sokol and Nina Bruckner also paid their last respects to Richard Lugner, along with other celebrities, at the emotional funeral in Vienna.

Burial for Richard Lugner in a small circle

Richard “Mörtel” Lugner died on August 12th in his villa in Vienna-Döbling at the age of 91. In a funeral notice published on Instagram, it was said that he had “passed away peacefully”. The actual burial of Richard Lugner, who married six times, most recently in June 2024, will take place after the public funeral service “in the closest circle of family and friends”. After another private funeral service in the Kaasgraben church, he will find his final resting place in a crypt at the Grinzinger cemetery in Vienna-Döbling.

Richard Lugner was known for decades for his appearances at the Vienna Opera Ball. Year after year, the building contractor appeared there in his usual costume – tailcoat and top hat – and his famous smile. He always had a famous woman on his arm, whom he invited to his opera ball box. Stars such as Joan Collins, Sophia Loren, Ivana Trump, Faye Dunaway, Claudia Cardinale and Pamela Anderson were there.