Grave cross
For centuries, the sepulchral culture has been exposed or subject to changes in human coexistence, social conditions and individual standards. As a result, different forms of burial and burial are firstly ground and cremation , burial places on the other hand in the form of stone hills earth graves or Columbaria to lead. Religious or personal motives have led to the design of burial sites with grave crosses, tombs , tombs or mausoleums from ancient times until today . Rules or norms about the manner of design can at best be recognized in generalia, such as the Christian cross, the Celtic forms or Jewish symbols e.g. B. a multi-armed chandelier or the Star of David .
The grave cross , also known as the cross of the dead , is a memorial sign for grave sites , mostly in a Christian design, where it symbolizes the connection of the crucified and risen Christ with the hope of the resurrection of the dead.
The tradition of the cross as a grave mark arose in the early modern period. When the burial of the dead in the ground without a permanent burial site in the churchyard around the local church was abolished for primarily hygienic reasons, cemeteries with individual graves were created. The grave crosses were also made in this context. Obviously, wood or hewn field stone was used for a cross.
Depending on the religion and the further developed sepulchral culture, in addition to the artistic and representational design of upright gravestones or lying stone slabs in the most varied of dimensions, there are differences in the grave crosses: the simple Latin cross with a crossbar arranged at right angles, the Spanish cross with a double crossbar, the Russian Orthodox cross with an additional sloping beam, the Celtic cross , the Byzantine cross , the Coptic cross and an elevated cross shape as a messianic combination of a cross with a Star of David . The ornamentation - such as roofing or illustration - of a grave cross is probably entirely in the individual imagination of the client.
In the antiquated classicism , the custom of the grave cross receded until it was again widespread with the piety movement in the age of romanticism and sensitivity . The grave crucifix was also made during this time.
With the spread of mechanical processing in handicrafts in the 16th and 17th centuries, the design options for grave crosses expanded in many ways. Field stone processing was replaced by the use of selected types of natural stone . The first imported timbers complemented the resilient local grave cross timbers. During this time, the steel forged grave cross was rapidly spreading. There are many cemeteries in the Alpine regions where grave crosses made of wrought iron are in the majority or were even mandatory at the time. With industrialization in the 18th and 19th centuries, there was also the commercial production of cast-iron grave crosses at the expense of craftsmanship and with a reduction in artistic design. The Sayner Hütte for iron art casting and in particular for cast iron grave crosses as well as the Württembergische Metallwarenfabrik in Geislingen, which additionally acquired the Munich Galvanoplastische Kunstanstalt in 1890, are named as manufacturers of such cast crosses, representing all others .
In view of the loss of artistic diversity and originality through industrial commerce, the Prussian authorities forbade the galvanoplastic production of industrial "inferior material" in 1898. This prohibition could also have affected the production of cast iron grave crosses according to templates, which led to industrial resistance to the order and finally to the lifting of the ban in 1902.
Due to social and class issues, the decorative tombstone prevailed over the grave cross in the 20th century. In the 21st century, the wooden grave cross is mainly used for temporary grave markings or for the purpose of officially ordered grave maintenance in individual cases.
See also
- Cross (christianity)
- Mountain cemetery
- Grave crosses at the Petersfriedhof Salzburg
- Tomb
literature
- HD Betz u. a. (Ed.): Religion in the past and present. Concise dictionary for theology and religious studies. Mohr-Siebeck, Tübingen 1998-2005 (4th edition). Art .: "Grave", ISBN 3-16-146941-0
