Altenburg Cemetery

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This cemetery here is certainly one of the most beautiful and also the most dignified that you can encounter. Why? It is very generously laid out and in many areas looks more like a wonderful park.

It is a pleasure to walk along the paths in the summer, relaxing under the shade of the large trees: Finally, time to let eternity affect one's life.

The construction of the cemetery dates back to the beginning of the 16th century. At that time the cemetery was located outside the city. The burial places inside the town were closed.

In the middle of the Thirty Years' War (1618-1648), at the southern end of the cemetery, the Church of the Holy Sepulcher was built in the style of the Italian late Renaissance - an amazingly large and impressive building (1).

 

One of the stones processed in the gable shows in the form of a stone carving probably one of the first evidence of the Altenburg card game (3). The church is normally closed today. As with many of the buildings in the cemetery, one feels that time has stood still in its vicinity.

For visitors coming to the cemetery from the interior of the city, the neo-Gothic cemetery chapel with its two outbuildings, which served as storage halls, determines the first impression. Even the construction history of this ensemble is an exciting piece of history. When it was built in 1895-97, one of the most modern burial facilities of its time was created, with ventilated storage halls for washing and laying out the dead, for the wake and for the blessing of the dead.

(1) View still above in the mortuary: The roof can be opened for fresh air supply.

(2) View into the mortuary of the neo-Gothic cemetery building.

(3) One of the burial rooms partitioned with metal walls in one of the mortuaries.

(4) A draft of air is created through the ventilation gap to dissipate odors to the outside.

(5) Door to the opening of one of the interment rooms in one of the mortuaries.

(6) The roof in the mortuaries can be opened to both sides for ventilation purposes.

 

The ensemble was created, among others, according to the plans of the city architect Ebeling. Inside the central chapel, the marble image of the blessing Christ in the choir room captivates one. It was created by Prof. Fritzsche after the original by the sculptor Bertel Thorvaldsen (1770-1844), which is in Copenhagen. 

In the years 1838 to 1841 the prince´s tomb was built. The building is now dilapidated, but for this very reason it exudes something mysterious.

(1) The exterior view of the entrance to the princely crypt.

(2) A drawing of the architect, approximately how it looked before the decay.

(3) This is how the princely crypt looks today.

(4) A drawing of the interior after construction.

(5) The remains of the crypt after the collapse of the roof.

 

The newer part of the cemetery can be reached by going north along Grüntaler Weg. From the entrance gate a spacious avenue leads to the crematorium built of red bricks in 1920s - a round building with a tent roof.

The decoration of the building is created by the stones laid in different patterns. Inside, on the vaulted ceiling, there is a large fresco. Ernst Müller Gräfe created it, and it shows a dance of death: the resurrection of the different ages. If you stand in the crematorium and look into the dome, you will see figures arranged in a circle, 3 meters high: women and men, children and the elderly, forming a round dance with their arms raised.

Original photograph from 1929

Quelle: Stadtarchiv Altenburg

 

In the following interview, Andreas Stabrey from the cemetery administration explains what the "English sweat" has to do with the cemetery and what makes it so special.

Opening Hours The cemetery is open daily from 6:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m. (depending on the time of year, depending on when it gets dark). Guided tours ("Altenburger Friedhofsgeflüster") can be booked through the tourist information office of the Altenburger Land Tourist Association. Opening hours of the tourist information: Monday - Friday Saturday, Sunday & Holidays  9 a.m. - 6 p.m. 10 a.m. - 2 p.m.

Opening Hours Guided tours of the cemetery: With cemetery guide Andreas Stabrey you will not only get a lot of perhaps helpful information, but also the opportunity to visit the otherwise closed rooms of the Gottesackerkirche, as well as the cemetery chapel with the old mortuaries from the inside. The tour lasts about 2 hours and starts at 2 pm each day. Tickets and further information at the Tourist Information Altenburger Land, Markt 10.