A man strangled and dismembered his wife, entombed her head in concrete and then used the concrete block as a weight to drown himself in a lake, Austrian authorities say.

Police official Gottfried Mitterlehner said on Tuesday the couple were a 72-year-old man and his 71-year-old wife from Germany but did not identify them further.

Lake Traunsee in front of Traunstein mountain in Gmunden, Austria. Credit:AP

Officials told reporters the head was found in a block of concrete in a bag attached to the man's hand.