Joseph II likened himself as an enlightened monarch and often tried to enact Enlightenment principles in his decrees. One of these principles was to simplify burials and funerary practices. He wanted to change seemingly wasteful Austrian funeral culture of elaborate coffins and embalming. In doing so, not only would it lessen the fiscal burden of funerals, but also increase hygiene and alleviate shortages of timber. So he issued a decree in 1784 declaring, that save for high nobility, people would be buried in canvas sacks in unmarked mass graves outside of the city limits. There was an immediate pushback from the public about this decree and Joseph II rescinded it, but his decree that there could be no burials within walled cities or within churches stood.