Old cemetery (Freiburg im Breisgau)

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Graves of the Kuenzer family
East side of the cemetery

The old cemetery in Neuburg , a district of Freiburg im Breisgau , is a 2.65 hectare disused cemetery with a park-like character and one of the oldest cemeteries in Germany that have been preserved in their entirety. It is located near the Ludwigskirche , but is usually wrongly assigned to Herdern . There are around 1200 tombs, about half of which are worth preserving. A support association takes care of the maintenance and care. The cemetery is classified as a cultural and natural monument by the protection of monuments and a testimony to the cult of the dead, city history and stylistic epochs of the 17th and 18th centuries.

Here you will not only find individual and artistic graves of the bourgeoisie, but also get an insight into the religious consciousness of this time, starting in the baroque up to neoclassicism .

history

Copper engraving by Franz Hegi , the cemetery chapel on the left, the Bruderhaus and the cemetery wall on the right

The old cemetery was established in 1683 as a replacement for the cemetery at the former St. Nikolauskirche that was destroyed by Vauban's fortress . This in turn had replaced the cemetery around the Freiburg Minster since 1515 , which had been closed at the suggestion of Emperor Maximilian due to the risk of epidemics . Nevertheless, until 1784 it was possible to buy a grave at the cathedral for a fee "for the benefit of the cathedral building". Because of the fortifications, the cemetery was laid out relatively far outside the fortified city. In 1683 the cemetery was blessed; Freiburg citizens were buried here from that time until 1872. The last burial took place on All Saints' Day in 1872. Afterwards, burials took place in the current main cemetery and other municipal cemeteries.

In 1711 the old cemetery was expanded for the first time, and in 1725 the Michael's chapel was consecrated as a cemetery chapel. In 1745 the fortress walls were razed by the French troops.

Michaelskapelle with stone cross
The skull with a nail and a toad at the foot of the sandstone cross

The large cemetery cross made of red sandstone originally stood on the church square of the cathedral and was moved here in January 1786 in front of the Michael's chapel . This cross has a peculiarity: instead of the skull of "Old Adam", as found at the foot of many crosses, a skull with an empty eye socket, sparse hair on the head and a nail from the left cheekbone to the mouth is attached Maxillary sinus looks at a stone toad.

The story of the skull is the story of an alleged murder that is said to have occurred in Freiburg. An old blacksmith once lived near the Christoffeltor, the city exit to the north , for example at today's Victory Monument , whose young wife and the blacksmith's journeyman she loved murdered the master by hammering a nail in his head; they hid the murder weapon under the victim's hair. Soon after, they married unmolested. A few years later, due to lack of space, the body was exhumed and one of the gravedigger found the nail in his head after being noticed by a toad. He reported this to the city council and the two murderers were convicted.

In 1828 and 1859 the cemetery was expanded again. In 1944 the cemetery was badly damaged by bombing during the Second World War , as was the Freiburg Dance of Death in the vestibule of the Michael's Chapel. On October 28, 1955, it was designated as an extensive natural monument with the protected area number 83110000019. It was reconstructed in 1963 and restored in 2012.

On December 26, 1999, hurricane Lothar felled a plane tree , which is now still green when lying down. A plaque indicates, among other things. a. with the quote: "Because there is still hope for the tree, if it is felled, it will sprout again, its offspring will not remain" ( Job 14.7  EU ).

The plane tree felled by storm Lothar in 1999

In 2016, 40 gravestones were temporarily removed due to insufficient stability and placed on new bases again at the end of the year. However, some sandstones have to be restored in the workshop beforehand.

At the beginning of 2019, 35 trees were felled that were either too dense or damaged.

Buried personalities

The grave of Caroline Christine Walter
Grave of Christian Wenzinger
Georg Staravasnig's grave with relief “Doctor treating the sick” by Franz Xaver Hauser (1738–1819), probably based on a design by Johann Christian Wentzinger

The fact that the cemetery still exists in this form is thanks to Johann Christian Wentzinger , who only bequeathed his fortune to the Freiburg foundation fund on the condition that his grave was secured for ever in the old cemetery .

Copies of some of the tombstones are in the old cemetery, the originals are exhibited in the crypt of St. Ursula . The tombstone of Johann Christian Wentzinger is in the Wentzingerhaus , the museum for city history in Freiburg .

The grave of Caroline Christine Walter from Opfingen by Anton Burghart is also known . This young woman died in 1867 at the age of 17; since then it has been adorned with fresh flowers almost every day. There are many legends in Freiburg about the mysterious donors of flowers.

In addition to this work by Burghart, other gravestones testify to the work of some sculptors and stonemasons from Freiburg. In addition to Alois Knittel and Wilhelm Walliser , this includes several members of the Hauser family , Johann Georg Riescher and Karl Andelfinger .

The other personalities of Freiburg who are buried in the old cemetery include:

On his tombstone, which is now under the roof of the consecration hall of the cemetery in Staufen , is the inscription he wrote:
He certainly has a lot mathematically with numbers and letters.
But the hour of death remains unknown than x.

Support association

The Association of Friends and Patrons of the Old Cemetery in Freiburg i. Br. E. V. has about 300 members. One of the initiators was Alexander Bürkle, who initiated the establishment of the association for the 100th anniversary of the Alexander Bürkle Group in 2000. Thanks to the work of the association, more than 150 gravestones have already been restored. In 2009 the association “exemplary private initiative in the preservation of monuments” was recognized by the State Monument Foundation. According to the articles of association, the following purposes are pursued:

  • Restoration and maintenance of the tombs and chapel
  • Maintenance of the parks and trees
  • Scientific research of the Sepulchral Culture
  • Family research in Freiburg regarding the old cemetery
  • Creation of an information system for the old cemetery

Others

  • The old cemetery was used in 2007 as the location for the feature film production Anthropos - Im Banne Baron Samedis by the aka Film Club Freiburg .

literature

  • Adolf Poinsignon : The old cemeteries of the city of Freiburg i. Br. In: Address book of the city of Freiburg 1890 , pp. 1–23
  • Hanns Reich: How the ancients formed death. Funerary art in the old cemetery in Freiburg im Breisgau. Freiburg 1948
  • Julius Dorneich: The old cemetery in Freiburg im Breisgau . Freiburg 1967
  • Ingeborg Inhoffen: About deeper sleep. Images and thoughts about an old cemetery. Freiburg 1978, ISBN 3-921340-30-6
  • Ingrid Kühbacher: You lived in Freiburg. Memories while walking through the old cemetery. Freiburg 1987, ISBN 3-89155-057-X
  • Adolf J. Schmid : "The hour of death remains unknown than x". A walk through the old cemetery in Freiburg. In: Badische Heimat 75 (1995), pp. 517-528.
  • Michael Klant: In a different world. The old cemetery. In: Sculpture in Freiburg. 19th century art in public spaces. Edited by Michael Klant, Freiburg 2000, ISBN 3-922675-77-8 , pp. 92-102
  • Anita Halter: Ivy wreath and lily cup. Symbols of hope and mourning in the old cemetery in Freiburg im Breisgau. Kandern 2003, ISBN 3-934163-04-1
  • "Der Alte Friedhof der Stadt Freiburg", 2019, Society of Friends and Patrons of the Old Cemetery in Freiburg, Rombach, ISBN 978-3-7930-5184-8

To the Michaelskapelle:

  • Friedrich Kempf: The St. Michaels Chapel in the old cemetery . In: Freiburg im Breisgau. The city and its buildings . Freiburg 1898, pp. 382-385 ( digitized version ).
  • Josef Dotter: The paintings in the chapel in the old cemetery in Freiburg i. Br. In: Schau-ins-Land 64 (1937), pp. 3–36.
  • Joachim Faller: For the exterior painting of the St. Michael's Chapel in the Freiburg “Old Cemetery”. In: Schau-ins-Land 127 (2008), pp. 47–59, digitized

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b In the fight against decay and rust , Hans Sigmund, Badische Zeitung, April 7, 2010
  2. ↑ Profile of the extensive natural monument in the LUBW's list of protected areas
  3. ↑ a b The old cemetery ( Memento of the original from December 12, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF; 131 kB), Nicole Kemper, Chilli, Freiburger Stadtgeschichten part 30, December January 2007/2008 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.chilli-freiburg.de
  4. ↑ It is not to be confused with the old Michaelskapelle, which stood roughly on the site of today's victory monument (Hans-Georg Wehrens: Freiburg i. Br. Woodcuts and copper engravings 1504–1803 , Freiburg 2004, p. 76) and which was the first in 1318 Times was mentioned ( Freiburg und sei buildings , Badischer Architecten- und Ingenieur Verein, Freiburg 1898, pp. 407-414 ).
  5. ↑ Freiburg und seine Bauten , Badischer Architecten- und Ingenieur Verein, Freiburg 1898, 407-414 and chronicle sheets of the city of Freiburg , supplement to the address book (1897), p. 19.
  6. ↑ Old cemetery, rips
  7. ↑ Usere tote Wurzle chunnt e neue Baum , Freiburg-Schwarzwald.de, accessed on December 2, 2012
  8. ↑ bz: Freiburg North: Heavy work on the old cemetery in Herdern. Badische Zeitung, December 22, 2016, accessed December 26, 2016 .
  9. ↑ Editor: 35 trees are felled in the old cemetery. Badische Zeitung, January 21, 2019, accessed on January 22, 2019 .
  10. ↑ Michael Klant: Forgotten sculptors. In: Sculpture in Freiburg. 19th century art in public spaces , Freiburg 2000, ISBN 3-922675-77-8 , p. 167.
  11. ↑ Commitment ( Memento from March 13, 2009 in the Internet Archive )
  12. ↑ Guided tours of the old cemetery in Herdern , Hasi, Badische Zeitung, October 28, 2010
  13. ↑ Verena Amer, Swetje Bolduan, Irene Plein, Katrin Ruf. Preservation of monuments in Baden-Wuerttemberg, newsletter of the state preservation of monuments, 38th volume 4/2009, p. 202, 203 online
  14. ↑ Anthropos. Trailer, film stills and making of. Retrieved July 12, 2018 .
  15. ^ New book about the old cemetery , editorial staff, Badische Zeitung, October 5, 2019

Web links

Commons : Alter Friedhof  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Coordinates: 48 ° 0 '2.7 "  N , 7 ° 51" 25.1 "  E