Nordheim cemetery

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Portal to the Nordheim cemetery

The Nordheim cemetery is the third largest cemetery in the city of Zurich and is located on the border between Affoltern and Unterstrass . The Nordheim crematorium , which is the largest crematorium in Switzerland , has been located on its territory since 1967 .

history

The Nordheim cemetery was planned in 1895 to provide enough burial facilities for the areas of Wipkingen, Ober- and Unterstrass. The cemetery was inaugurated in 1899 and initially had an area of ​​21 075 m². In 1912 the cemetery was expanded for the first time and a funeral hall with office and workshop buildings was added. In 1922 the cemetery was enlarged to 20,435 m² in a third stage. In 1940 the existing shelter hall was converted into a cemetery chapel, and in 1941 the cemetery was expanded again, with the new entrance being built on Wehntalerstrasse. In 1962 the most recent expansion of the cemetery took place, so that it now covers 123,992 m². In 1967 the crematorium was built on the west side of Käferbergstrasse at the edge of the forest. This crematorium is the only one in the city of Zurich that is still in operation.

Area and buildings

The historic main portal is on the corner of Nordstrasse and Käferholzstrasse. The main path runs from there as a diagonal to the rectangular grid of the original cemetery section and ends at the cemetery chapel. The second prominent main portal is located on Wehntalerstrasse and opens up the north-western third of the area. After a curve around the pond, the paths divide, one of which climbs the slope of the stream to the Nordheim crematorium, while the other leads in a wide arc through the northern part of the cemetery.

  • Family graves

  • Cemetery chapel from 1940

  • Extension from 1912

The different stages of expansion mean that the Nordheim cemetery has a different character depending on the area. The oldest, southern part of the cemetery still gives an idea of ​​its generous conception. After it was redesigned in 1952, only individual sections of the path and groups of trees from the original design of the first two stages are recognizable. In contrast to this, essential structural and valuable features are still present from the 3rd stage (realized in 1929) with its strictly geometric shapes. At the beginning of the nineties it was finally restored according to the original plans. The further the visitor goes out of town, the more the traditional cemetery planting recedes. The 4th stage (realized in 1941), planned by Konrad Hippenmeier and the Mertens brothers, takes their motifs less from the well-tended garden than from the forest edge. It is characterized by elements of the landscape such as the course of a stream and ponds, which can still be seen today. In the last expansion, realized 1959–1960 under P. Zbinden, the design language, routing and field arrangement are continued. It has hardly changed since then.

Cemetery chapel

Cemetery chapel
Kuhn organ from 1941

In 1940 an existing shelter was converted into the cemetery chapel . It is a simple, longitudinally rectangular building that is entered on the southern long side. The wooden benches are aligned with the lectern, behind which the Bible verse is attached to the wall: "Christ took power from death and brought life and immortal beings out of light." On the left side of the front wall is the organ , which was built by Orgelbau Kuhn in 1941. The pneumatic instrument has 7 registers on two manuals including a pedal.

I Hauptwerk C – g 3
Reed flute 8th'
Principal 4 ′
II Swell C – g 3
Covered 8th'
recorder 4 ′
Nasat 2 2 / 3 '
Principal 2 ′
Pedal C – f 1
Sub bass 16 ′
  • Normal coupling : II / I, I / P, II / P
  • Playing aid : a fixed combination (tutti)

particularities

  • The only crematorium in Zurich that is still in operation belongs to the Nordheim cemetery .
  • The anatomy grave is a special feature. The ashes of those who previously made their bodies available to science are buried here.
  • The grave site for the very young is unique in Zurich's cemeteries. This is where stillbirths or children who die immediately after birth find their final resting place.
  • For historical reasons, soldiers' graves are a rarity on the Zurich square. The Yugoslav grave is located at the level of the crematorium in the Nordheim cemetery behind the central entrance to the cemetery from Käferholzstrasse . It commemorates the Yugoslavs who died while interned in Switzerland .
  • The All Saints Church , built in 1964 by Anton Higi and Karl Higi , bears its name because of its immediate vicinity to the Nordheim cemetery. All Saints' Day refers to the honoring of the deceased on November 1st in the Catholic Church .

  • Yugoslav grave

  • Grave for the very little ones

  • crematorium

  • Anatomy grave

  • Access to the crematorium

Appreciation

The Nordheim cemetery is of cultural and historical value and, with its 125,992 m², is one of the major facilities in the city of Zurich. He also has a large tree population of old native species that z. Some of them are older than the cemetery itself and other ornamental trees. In 1996, the Nordheim cemetery started a pilot project for near-natural maintenance and is exemplary in this regard. Since 2004, the Nordheim cemetery as a whole, including walls, fences and gates and 40 special graves, has been under the protection of the garden monument preservation of the city of Zurich.

Graves of important personalities

The Nordheim cemetery is the final resting place of:

See also

Web links

Commons : Nordheim Cemetery  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

literature

  • Norbert Loacker , Christoph Hänsli: Where Zurich comes to rest. The cemeteries of the city of Zurich. Orell Füssli, Zurich 1998, ISBN 3-280-02809-4 .
  • Daniel Foppa: Famous and forgotten dead in Zurich's cemeteries. 2nd, supplemented and updated edition. Limmat, Zurich 2003, ISBN 3-85791-446-7 .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Norbert Loacker, Christoph Hänsli: Where Zurich comes to rest. 1998, p. 99.
  2. ↑ Norbert Loacker, Christoph Hänsli: Where Zurich comes to rest. 1998, pp. 99-101.
  3. ↑ a b c City of Zurich: Nordheim Cemetery. Retrieved July 17, 2015 .
  4. ^ Organ directory Switzerland and Liechtenstein, section Cemetery Nordheim Abdankungshalle. Retrieved August 13, 2015.
  5. ↑ Norbert Loacker, Christoph Hänsli: Where Zurich comes to rest. 1998, p. 93.

Coordinates: 47 ° 24 '16.9 "  N , 8 ° 31' 54.8"  E ; CH1903:  682 520  /  251005