Kiel War Cemetery

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Kiel War Cemetery, view to the southeast

The Kiel War Cemetery is a war cemetery that was built by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission on the western part of the Kiel North Cemetery .

history

In 1952 this military cemetery was integrated into the North Cemetery and designed by the architect Philip Dalton Hepworth according to the building regulations of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) . These graves of soldiers of various ranks and the plaques for high naval officers indicate the military and historical importance of Kiel with its naval base .

Occupancy

Most of the soldiers buried here were members of the air force who fell in air raids and bombing missions over northern Germany. In addition to the 983 soldiers from the Commonwealth , 96 of whom could not be identified , 9 Polish soldiers have also found their final resting place here. After nationalities of the Commonwealth broken down is 766 British, 148 Canadians, 36 Australians and 33 New Zealanders.

layout

The design regulations and drafts of the military cemeteries by the CWGC provide that every soldier should be given the same honor regardless of origin or rank group . This resulted in evenly arranged components in Kiel (see the article on the Commonwealth War Graves Commission ). The entire facility is in an extremely well-kept condition.

Line of sight

The hall of honor is located in the background in the line of sight ; a war diary and the death register are kept in it. In front of it stands the altar stone with the inscription "Their Name Liveth For Evermore" ("Stone of Remembrance"), and finally in front of this is the high cross with the crusader sword ("Cross of Sacrifice").

Tombstones

Kiel War Cemetery, elaborately designed gravestones

Each grave has a single-storey headstone made of English sandstone on which the name, rank , age, religious affiliation and date of death are carved. The emblem of the unit to which the fallen man belonged is also engraved, and a motto chosen by the relatives can be found on the lower part of some stones.

planting

The entire area of ​​the cemetery is a continuous lawn , which is only interrupted by the small beds around the tombstones. On the gravestone beds are ground cover such. B. planted rose bushes . The tree population is kept low and characterizes the tree growth in Schleswig-Holstein. The enclosure partly consists of a 1 meter high masonry and rows of bushes cut at the same height.

Web links

Commons : Kiel War Cemetery  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. Information board in the cemetery

Coordinates: 54 ° 20 ′ 45 ″  N , 10 ° 7 ′ 37.3 ″  E