The article brings to mind the Spreuer Bridge and Kapellbrücke (Chapel Bridge) in Luzern, Switzerland.
(The latter was severely damaged by fire in 1993 but since restored).
On the Kapellbrücke there is a panel featuring Death, which says (in Latin): "What you are now, I once was; What I am now, you will be".
You only have to consider the Black Death to understand the obsession with death in the Mediaeval Period.