Main cemetery (Frankfurt am Main)
The main cemetery of Frankfurt am Main was opened. 1828 It is located on Eckenheimer Landstrasse and, together with the two directly adjacent Jewish cemeteries, forms one of the largest cemetery complexes in Germany . Its monumental portal buildings and its garden architecture, grave monuments from over 180 years as well as graves of numerous important personalities make it an accumulation of historical, artistic and human traces in Frankfurt am Main.
history
Since the beginning of the 16th century, most of the city's dead were buried in the Peterskirchhof in the new town . After the introduction of the Reformation, the Peterskirchhof was reserved for the Protestant dead in the old town and the new town; in Sachsenhausen had its own cemetery. The old Jewish cemetery belonged to the area of Judengasse , the Jewish ghetto , while the few Catholic dead were buried in the churchyard belonging to the cathedral .
The Peterskirchhof was used for over 300 years and expanded several times during this time. Nevertheless, the space within the narrow walls of Frankfurt was no longer sufficient in the 18th century. The cemetery was so overcrowded that graves often had to be filled again after 10 to 15 years. The situation worsened when, from 1812, the Catholic dead were also buried in the Peterskirchhof. The number of Catholics had meanwhile increased so much that the tiny cathedral cemetery had to be closed.
The city therefore decided to create a new, spacious cemetery in front of the city gates. However, the plans met with popular opposition. In particular, the still influential patrician families did not want to do without their generous family graves in the Peterskirchhof. In the planned new cemetery, on the other hand, all the dead, regardless of their status, were to be buried in row graves.
The advocates of the new cemetery received support from the city's doctors, who warned urgently of the unsustainable hygienic conditions in the old Peterskirchhof. In 1821 an area was finally determined for the new main cemetery and in 1825 a church and cemetery commission was set up under the direction of the Senator and Hessian Privy Councilor Johann Adam Beil , who later became the director of the Taunus Railway . In order to overcome the resistance of the urban upper class, the intention to treat all dead equally was abandoned and generous space was reserved along the enclosing walls for family burials and epitaphs . The architect Friedrich Rumpf (1795 to 1867) and the city gardener Sebastian Rinz (1782 to 1861) were commissioned to plan the main cemetery . Rinz laid out the cemetery in the style of an English landscape park on a rectangular area of about six hectares, about three times the area of the Peterskirchhof. The east-west extension was approx. 340 meters, in north-south direction approx. 200 meters. To the east of the main cemetery, bounded by a wall, was the Jewish cemetery , which was built at the same time (today the Old Jewish Cemetery ). To the west of the main cemetery, Rumpf built a classical portal with two wings. The old portal was built over the foundation walls of a Roman estate. The morgue was originally housed in the northern part. In addition to a room for the coroner, there was also a resuscitation room. In the southern part, in addition to a funeral room, there were offices for the administration of the cemetery.
On June 25th, the city announced the imminent opening of the new cemetery and announced that “there is no doubt that the laudable citizens would benefit from the manifold advantages offered by the death house, in particular as complete security as possible from the danger of being buried alive make diligent use of the same. "
The last burial took place in the old Peterskirchhof on June 30, 1828 and one day later, on July 1 , Maria Catherine Alewyn from Amsterdam was the first to be buried in the new main cemetery. She died at the age of 52 in the Hotel zum Schwan im Steinweg. Her grave site (Gewann D - An der Mauer 192) no longer exists today, but there is a memorial stone at this point.
Historical events in the main cemetery
In the 1870s and 1880s there were a number of riots in Frankfurt, especially after the adoption of Bismarck's Socialist Law . The so-called cemetery riot especially aroused people's minds at the time. On July 22, 1883, the social democrat Hugo Hiller was buried in the main cemetery. A crowd of over 200 people, including women and children, gave him final escort . The mourning congregation was monitored by a unit of the protection police. Although the authorities had banned speeches and the wearing of red paints, one of the mourners began to speak. The police commissioner then immediately had his team move against the crowd with sabers drawn and disperse them. There were over twenty injured. Due to the public outrage the incident sparked, the uncontrolled police superintendent was suspended from duty.
The development of the main cemetery
| Size (2003) | |
|---|---|
| Surface: | approx. 70.1 ha |
| North South expansion: | 1.4 km |
| East-west expansion: | 0.9 km |
| Number of election graves: | approx. 40,000 |
| Number of row graves: | approx. 20,000 |
| Number of war graves: | approx. 17,000 |
| Asphalt roads: | approx. 24 km |
| Unpaved roads: | approx. 40 km |
The main cemetery is located in the Frankfurt districts of Nordend and Eckenheim between Eckenheimer Landstrasse in the west, Marbachweg in the north, Friedberger Landstrasse and Gießener Strasse in the east and Rat-Beil-Strasse in the south. Today it covers an area of over 70 hectares, which is more than ten times the size of the oldest part from 1828. The cemetery was expanded in several sections in line with the growth of the city in the 19th and 20th centuries.
Frankfurt am Main had around 45,000 inhabitants in 1828. The first phase of construction, the so-called general burial ground , was initially not divided. Around 1840 it was divided into the four tubs A, B, C and D. Between 1845 and 1891, troughs E to K were laid one after the other north of troughs A to D on an area of approx. 250 by 600 meters. The cemetery was expanded to around 18 hectares. During this time the population had risen to around 180,000.
In the following 15 years until 1905 the population increased to 400,000. As a result, the cemetery had to be enlarged: First, the tubs M to N were laid out along Friedberger Landstrasse, followed by tubs I to XV from 1907 to 1912. The main cemetery now extended over an area of 47 hectares between Eckenheimer Landstrasse, Rat-Beil-Strasse, Friedberger Landstrasse and Gießener Strasse.
On July 4, 1912, north of the old portal on Eckenheimer Landstrasse, the new portal building with the mourning hall and the crematorium was opened, a monumental building complex in neoclassical forms with interior decoration in Art Nouveau style based on an award-winning competition design by Berlin architects Heinrich Reinhardt and Georg Süßenguth . The interior decoration was created by the artists Rudolf and Otto Linnemann from Frankfurt. During the Second World War , the death hall, crypt hall and old portal were destroyed.
In 1927/1928 the tubs XVI - XX were laid out along Gießener Straße to Marbachweg. The cemetery area increased to 57 hectares. The new areas were designed in a deliberately simple and functional way, in deliberate contrast to the older Gewannen , based on the drafts of the municipal settlement office under the direction of city councilor Ernst May and city horticultural director Max Bromme .
The last expansion took place from 1952 to 1957 with the Gewannen XXI - XXXI between Marbachweg and the New Jewish Cemetery, which was laid out in 1928/1929 . Today the main cemetery covers an area of 70.1 hectares. The extension is approx. 1.4 kilometers in north-south direction and 0.9 kilometers in east-west direction.
Neighboring Jewish cemeteries
Right next to the main cemetery are the Old Jewish Cemetery at Rat-Beil-Strasse and the New Jewish Cemetery on Eckenheimer Landstrasse with separate entrances and their own administration. The 165-meter-long wall of the main cemetery along Eckenheimer Landstrasse, between the New Portal and the New Jewish Cemetery, was built in 1939 from the rubble of two synagogues that were destroyed during the so-called Reichskristallnacht on November 9, 1938 , the main synagogue and the Börneplatz synagogue . A memorial plaque reminds of this today.
layout
In creating the cemetery in 1828, principles similar to those used in the design of contemporary landscaped gardens were followed. The paths along the edge of the cemetery are curved as if following a natural guide through the area. The existing vegetation was included in the new system. One example is the tree shown opposite, a beech tree that is over 200 years old in Gewann C. Originally a small pond was also to be created, but the area was unsuitable for it.
Most of the cemetery was initially completely unstructured. The hygienic ideas of the time and the experiences of the old Peterskirchhof made it seem imperative to use the available space as intensively as possible and not to obstruct the air circulation. Only later was the area divided into differently designed tubs.
While the paths in the oldest area of the main cemetery were still relatively narrow, that changed in the later trenches. There are veritable avenues and spacious squares here. The numerous hedges are also an important design element. From around the middle of the 19th century, numerous tall trees were planted, including beeches , oaks , plane trees , chestnuts and elms , some of which survived the Dutch elm disease in the 20th century.
The tubs XVI to XXXI, created after 1927, are designed in a minimalist manner in accordance with the formal language of the New Frankfurt . Since the terrain rises slightly in the direction of Eckenheim, tubs XVI to XX were stepped like a terrace.
Since 2007, the Green Space Office has offered a free transport service to the cemetery. An electric vehicle that is financially supported by the cooperative of cemetery gardeners can transport up to three poorly walking visitors . Similar transport services have already proven themselves in Kassel, Karlsruhe and the Bergfriedhof (Heidelberg) . The cemetery taxi at the main cemetery in Frankfurt runs daily in November and December, in the other months only from Monday to Friday.
Old portal
From 1826 to 1828 this massive entrance portal, built in the classical style, was built according to a plan by the architect Friedrich Rumpf . Two angel heads by the sculptor Johann Nepomuk Zwerger have been on the gable of the portal since 1829 . On the sides of the building, which was erected on Doric columns , there were administration rooms , a funeral room , a small morgue and a resuscitation room typical of the time - the fear of apparent death was still very great. The old portal was rebuilt after its destruction in the Second World War during the air raids on Frankfurt am Main and was last renovated in 1977 and 2007.
Crypt hall
On what was then the eastern edge of the cemetery, along the border to the neighboring Jewish cemetery, Friedrich Rumpf created the classicist crypt hall in 1828 in the form of a gallery of 55 arcades supported by pillars with pilasters facing outwards . The crypt hall is bounded by a pavilion in the north and south , so that a total of 57 crypts were created. The interior of the arcades are separated from one another by round arches . Each arcade has an arched wall niche that accommodates the respective tomb or grave plaque. The underground crypts are provided with a barrel vault and are closed at the top by a three-part cover. The entire crypt hall is plastered in white, only the two-tier plinth is made of red Main sandstone .
The crypt hall was badly damaged in the air raids on Frankfurt during World War II, and part of the arcades were destroyed. Rebuilt after the war, the facility, which had recently become very unsightly and was damaged several times by vandalism, was completely renovated in summer 2014.
New portal
82 years after the old entrance gate was built, the rooms were no longer sufficient for the rapidly growing city. A new portal with a mourning hall, chapel , crematorium and mortuary was built in 1908 according to plans by the Berlin architects Heinrich Reinhardt (1868 to 1947) and Georg Süßenguth (1862 to 1947). The structure bears a certain resemblance to Theodoric the Great's tomb in Ravenna .
More than half of the burials in the cemetery are cremations . Most of the burnings now take place in private crematoria in the region. The municipal crematorium with four incinerators was closed in December 2013 after the capacity utilization of the facility, which was designed for a capacity of 8,000 incinerations per year, continued to decline. Since then, Frankfurt has been the only major city in Germany without its own crematorium.
Other entrances and exits besides the old and new portal are located at the following points:
- Eckenheimer Landstrasse, pension office
- Marbachweg, social center
- Marbachweg / Gießener Strasse
- Friedberger Landstrasse
- Rat-Beil-Straße / Gruftenweg
Reichenbach-Lessonitz mausoleum
The Reichenbach-Lessonitz mausoleum is located on a hill in Gewann F. The entire building in the Byzantine style is made of red Main sandstone . An octagonal dome rises above the memorial room with a square floor plan, which is adjoined on three sides by narrow, closed niches for the sarcophagi. On the fourth side is the vestibule, which is only illuminated through the round windows above the entrance door. The mausoleum was built from 1845 to 1847 by the architect Friedrich Hessemer on behalf of the Elector Wilhelm II of Hesse (1777–1847) in memory of his second wife, Countess Emilie von Reichenbach-Lessonitz, née. Ortlepp (1791-1843); however, she was not reburied here until 1896. Her second son, Carl-Gustav Graf von Reichenbach-Lessonitz (1818–1861), was the first to be buried in the mausoleum in 1861. The crucifix inside comes from the sculptor Johann Nepomuk Zwerger , the marble sarcophagus of the Countess from the sculptor Eduard Schmidt von der Launitz . The mausoleum is only accessible to the public as part of special tours.
Mausoleum goose
The Gans mausoleum stands on a large open space at the end of Lindenweg in Gewann IV. It is the largest grave in the main cemetery and was built in 1909 by the industrialist Friedrich Ludwig von Gans (1833–1920). The design comes from the sculptor Friedrich Christoph Hausmann (1860–1936) based on the Tempietto des Bramante on the site of the Church of S. Pietro in Montorio in Rome . In 1932 the mausoleum was by the Frankfurt association for cremation adopted. It is still used for the burial of urns and is open to the public during the opening hours of the cemetery.
Further memorials in the main cemetery
A memorial in Gewann E commemorates those who died in the September unrest of September 18, 1848.
A larger than life bronze figure by the Berlin sculptor Georg Kolbe has been standing on the green area opposite the New Portal since 1997 . The statue of Adam is on permanent loan from the Städel , in whose possession it has been since 1921. Originally the figure was designed for a mausoleum of the Dresden manufacturer Karl August Lingner.
In Gewann VII there is the memorial for the dead of the First and Second World Wars . 1,625 German soldiers and 41 Russian and Serbian prisoners of war who died in the city's hospitals found their final resting place here. In the back of the vault there are 3,109 sandstone crosses in memory of the German soldiers and civilian bombing victims of World War II buried here. In Gewann I, to the south, there is a memorial for victims of National Socialism .
In the northwest of the cemetery (Gewann XV), a community grave site was built for seven crew members who died in the fire of the airship LZ 129 Hindenburg on May 6, 1937 in Lakehurst . Among them was Ernst A. Lehmann , a well-known pioneer of airship travel, military and civilian airship captain, who was on board as an observer of the management of the Deutsche Zeppelin-Reederei (DZR) during the accident .
A cenotaph commemorates the infantry general Carl-Heinrich von Stülpnagel , murdered resistance fighter on July 20, 1944 . The cenotaph is part of the grave complex for his father, the Prussian Lieutenant General a. D. and former city commandant of Frankfurt am Main Hermann von Stülpnagel .
North of the Eckenheimer wall in Won G was a monument to the victims of a plane crash the Birgenair built. It bears the inscription “On February 6, 1996, on the flight to Germany, an airplane crashed into the sea off the coast of the Dominican Republic . There were no survivors in this disaster and only 73 victims could be rescued. The sea became the final resting place for 116 people. "
On June 6, 2002, the memorial “A touch of life” was consecrated at the Eckenheim Wall in Gewann E. Since 1999, over 250 stillborn children have been anonymously buried on a previously neglected grave .
In 2008 AIDS-Hilfe Frankfurt e. V. erected a grave site in 1929, which can be found on a hill in the old part of the main cemetery, in order to gradually use it as a community urn grave for up to 100 deceased HIV- infected and AIDS patients .
Personalities who found their final resting place here
Many well-known names can be found in the older parts of the cemetery in particular:
Numerous Frankfurt celebrities such as the poet Friedrich Stoltze and the popular actress Liesel Christ rest here , but also writers such as Dorothea Schlegel and Ricarda Huch , Goethe's “Suleika” Marianne von Willemer , the philosophers Arthur Schopenhauer and Theodor W. Adorno and the literary critic Marcel Reich-Ranicki .
One of the most visited graves is that of Pauline Schmidt. She was the model for the character of "Paulinchen" in the "very sad story with the matches" from the children's book Der Struwwelpeter by Dr. Heinrich Hoffmann . His final resting place, the Hoffmann-Donner family grave, is located on the old cemetery wall.
Over 900 graves are under monument protection . They are all in the old part of the cemetery in tubs A to IX and are retained even if there is no longer any usage right, which usually expires after 20 years and can be extended to a maximum of 40 years. There are sponsorships for over 70 of these graves, so that the care of the listed graves is in the hands of the citizens. The godfather undertakes to restore the historical tomb and, if necessary, to repair it; In return, he receives a right of use for the grave site in question.
When the city of Frankfurt awards a grave site the status of an honorary grave , it assumes responsibility for the construction and maintenance of the grave. At the beginning of December 2006, some historical graves, including those of the Bethmann , Grunelius and Jeanrenaud families, were devastated by unknown persons.
Marking the graves
There are different labels to mark the graves:
- The red labels are graves of honor
- the blue signs are listed
- the gray labels are personality graves
Location of the graves
Tomb of Franz Adickes , Gewann II GG 24
Grave of Alois Alzheimer , Gewann J, 447a
Grave of Johannes Janssen , Gewann E 562
Grave of the Launitz family, Gewann E 398a. Eduard Schmidt von der Launitz created numerous tombs in the main cemetery
Cécile Charlotte Sophie Mendelssohn Bartholdy b. Jeanrenaud is buried in her family's grave, Won E 172
Grave of the Metzler family, won C
Tomb of the former Mayor Johannes von Miquel , Gewann D 297
Grave of Arthur Schopenhauer , Won A 24
Listed tomb of the Seitz family, Won A 427 in the main cemetery
Memorial for the fallen of September 18, 1848, won by E.
“Job” on the burial ground of the Nazi victims
See also
literature
- Victor von Brauchitsch, Helga von Brauchitsch: In memory - tombs in Frankfurt am Main . Kramer, Frankfurt am Main 1988, ISBN 3-7829-0354-4 .
- Peter Braunholz , Britta Boerdner, Christian Setzepfandt : The Frankfurt main cemetery . Societäts-Verlag, Frankfurt am Main 2009, ISBN 978-3-7973-1147-4 (illustrated book).
- Ebba D. Drolshagen : The melancholy garden: a stroll through the Frankfurt main cemetery . Heinrich and Hahn, Frankfurt am Main 2006, ISBN 3-86597-003-6 .
- Ebba D. Drolshagen: The melancholy garden: the Frankfurt main cemetery and its grave monuments in the 19th century . Fricke, Frankfurt am Main 1987, ISBN 3-88184-095-8 .
- Bettina Erche: The Frankfurt main cemetery. Supplementary volume on the monument topography of the city of Frankfurt am Main. Henrich, Frankfurt am Main 1999, ISBN 3-921606-35-7 .
- Cemetery Administration of the City of Frankfurt am Main - Green Space Office - Department of Cemetery Affairs: The cemetery guide - information, references, locations, history, addresses, advertisements . Ed .: Mammut-Verlag (= this side and the other side ). 1st edition. Mammut-Verlag, Leipzig March 2012.
Web links
- Main cemetery Frankfurt (side of the city of Frankfurt)
- Main cemetery Frankfurt (site by Harald Fester)
- Detailed site plan (PDF; 546 kB)
- Guide to graves of well-known personalities in Frankfurt cemeteries (PDF; 15.6 MB)
- In memory - graves and monuments in Frankfurt am Main (PDF; 515 kB)
- The Peterskirchhof
Individual evidence
Catalog of works of the glass painting workshop Linnemann from 1914.
- ^ Klaus Meier-Ude / Valentin Senger: The Jewish cemeteries in Frankfurt .
- ↑ Municipal cemetery taxi
- ↑ The funeral tourism is increasing. In: faz.net. January 20, 2014, accessed March 12, 2018 .
- ^ Hindenburg airship disaster - Frankfurt main cemetery. Retrieved November 11, 2019 .
- ^ Patrick Russell: Faces of the Hindenburg. Biographic information on each of the 97 persons who were aboard the passenger airship Hindenburg when burned at Lakehurst, NJ on the evening of May 6, 1937. In: Blogger.com . 2014, accessed on November 11, 2019 .
- ↑ Frankfurter Rundschau from December 5, 2006. All information about the devastated graves here .
Coordinates: 50 ° 8 ′ 9.9 ″ N , 8 ° 41 ′ 5.5 ″ E