Meissen Crematorium
The Meißen crematorium is a cremation facility with a sacred building on the left side of the city of Meißen . It was built according to a design by master builder Carl Vogel from Meißen.
location
The crematorium is located in the cemetery of the Frauenkirchgemeinde Meißen on Nossener Straße. Since 1994 a new version of the heritable building right contract (leasehold) with the Frauenkirchgemeinde has been in effect for 99 years. There is a common entrance at Nossener Straße 36. Since 1994 there has also been a separate driveway for vehicles. With the funeral and the actual crematorium there are two parts of the business. The Funeral Services division also operates a branch in Nossen and Weinböhla as well as the three agencies in Großenhain , Riesa and Radebeul .
history
Before 1945
With the establishment of a cremation association in Meißen in 1911, as the “Association for cremation in Meißen V. V. a. G. ”, who became a member of the Saxony State Association of Cremation Associations in 1912 , the construction of a crematorium was also considered. However, two building designs from 1914 failed due to funding. The numerous drafts for the First World War then almost let the club life die in 1915.
On November 30, 1920, the Saxon Cremation Act came into force. To finance the construction of a crematorium - at that time the association did not yet have any property - a fundraising campaign with porcelain medals was launched in 1921. The medals for 20 marks were designed by Emil Paul Börner . The action brought no money and the correct billing remained in the dark. From 1923 the members of the association were guaranteed a free funeral . As a result of inflation , the club's financial assets were devalued and it had to organize. He bought a cremation furnace for 16 billion inflation marks from the company JA Topf & Sons in Erfurt and renamed himself “Feuerbestattungsverein Meißen und Umgebung e. V. “at.
A lottery held in 1924 to raise funds for the purchase of a piece of land and the construction of the crematorium again brought in hardly any money. Finally, the city council of Meissen took the decision to take the construction and financing into their own hands. In 1925, the association made the city's existing cremation furnace available. In 1930 the design by builder Vogel was chosen for the construction. A shell and leasehold contract was concluded with the Frauenkirche . The foundation stone for the building of the crematorium and the celebration hall was laid on November 1, 1930. It was financed by a savings bank mortgage of 100,000 Reichsmarks , 40,000 Reichsmarks in association reserves and 30,000 Reichsmarks in share certificates. The board members vouched for a further 35,000 Reichsmarks. Emil Paul Börner took over the artistic design of the parentation hall and on October 8, 1931 the crematorium was inaugurated after several interruptions during construction. Emil Paul Börner built a bell with four porcelain bells into the choir room; it was later extended to a porcelain carillon with six bells. The game mechanics were supplied by the Leipzig watch factory Bernhard Zachariä . In 1934, the Reich Fire Burial Act in the Meissen crematorium introduced a second post- mortem inspection to rule out any unnatural causes of death. At the same time, cremations were given into the hands of the state to guarantee that no illegal cremations were carried out. In 1936 the final design of the celebration hall was completed with an Italian mosaic by Max Helas based on a design by Emil Paul Börner. A second furnace was purchased in 1937, but it was not yet possible to operate both furnaces at the same time. The Second World War delayed the erection of urn walls in the cemetery. After the air raids on Dresden in February 1945, many victims were also cremated in the Meißen crematorium. Shortly before the end of the Second World War, 16 prisoner-of-war prisoners from France, Italy, Poland and Russia were shot on behalf of the National Socialist state on a wall on the site of the crematorium in March and April 1945. The crematorium was guarded by SS troops during the war . During this time 19 prisoners of war and opponents of war from the Waldheim concentration camp were also executed . On May 10, 1945, the crematorium was confiscated by the Meissen city administration, but operations continued on May 11, 1945 and the crematorium was transferred to the city of Meissen at almost the same time. The cremation association was practically dissolved. On November 15, 1945, all insurance companies in Saxony were liquidated.
After 1945
On January 29, 1947, the 10,000 cremations took place. The final transfer of the company to the city of Meissen followed. The first repair of the main roof with copper was carried out in 1951. Three years later, some pieces of land that were owned by the crematorium were handed over to the Meissen Housing Administration for the construction of homes. In 1962 both ovens were converted in order to reduce the gas consumption during cremations. The first expansion of the crematorium with the installation of social rooms for the cremators took place in 1966. Five years later, a general repair of the celebration hall roof was carried out. Although there were already two cremation ovens, a newly built chimney in 1973 and an extension with new flue gas ducts enabled the two-oven operation to begin. With the transition to the VEB service enterprise of the city of Meißen, department crematorium, the crematorium lost its independence as an independent enterprise in 1979. Extensive renovation began in 1985. According to the plans at the time, the crematorium should be completely renovated and equipped with a flue gas cleaning system by the 1990s .
In 1991 the VEB Stadtwirtschaft was finally dissolved and now assigned to the Office for Stadtwirtschaft Meißen. From 1991 to 1993 some funeral home branches were opened. From 1993 the deceased were recorded with computer technology, and the company was gradually restructured. Only in 1994 did the era end with the employment of its own musicians. Sometimes five musicians and vocal interpreters were employed. In the years 1995 to 2000, there were further extensive renovations and modifications to ovens, cooling systems and filter technology. The renovation of the celebration hall and the temple porch was realized in 2001. In the same year the 200,000 took place. Cremation. All cremations from 1931 onwards were precisely recorded and can still be traced today. All books were saved on electronic media. This year the city council also decided to build the ovens three and four that had been planned for some time. The renovation of furnaces one and two took place according to plan in 2002. Further renovation work and renovations to the morgue as well as to the cooling and filter systems were carried out in the years 2003 to 2011. In 2012, the company was converted into a GmbH. Since 2013, the cooling systems have been shut down automatically in the colder months of the year and when outside temperatures are appropriate, and kept at the specified temperature with cold outside air. For better acoustics in the celebration hall, sound-absorbing carpets were hung in 2015, which also give the spatial character a special visual identity. In 2016, the entire furnace control system was renewed as planned.
architecture
The crematorium building in Meissen is an example of the architecture of the early 1930s. It thus corresponds to the architecture of simple objectivity. The main building has a cubic shape. A clear striving for monumentality is particularly evident in the vestibule. The building is roughly plastered, clearly structured and has a flat roof. There are low side wings on both sides. The high celebration hall dominates with its five accentuated high windows on each side. The portico was made of red porphyry unadorned. A large medallion with a rising phoenix above the entrance clearly indicates the cremation. Above the portico is the larger than life sculpture, which can also be called a Pietà . Originally there were columbaria in the side wings on both sides , each of which was accessed through three entrances. Today there are living rooms and offices here. At the back there is a large round window that indirectly illuminates the organ loft. In the colored mosaic of the parentation hall there is a low gate at the bottom so that the coffin can be pushed from the laying out room to the catafalque square. The incinerators, which are in direct connection with the immersion system, are housed in the basement. A morgue, built in 1906, adjoins to the northeast in the rear area of the celebration hall. It was later connected to the parenting hall. The two-winged door to the former delivery, which is no longer visible from the outside due to the extension to the morgue, shows two urn shells in the ornamental grille, from which smoke rises. The chimney is in the rear area to the left of the party hall. The two urn walls in front of the building fit harmoniously into the existing building concept. Two large brown lidded vases from Börner with a stylized mourning shroud close this urn system.
Artistic equipment
The manufacturer Emil Paul Börner was heavily involved in the artistic design of the celebration hall. When designing the crematorium, the artist showed his versatility in dealing with a wide variety of materials. A painting of the celebration hall that is no longer preserved today was created by the Dresden church painter Max Helas based on Börner's designs . Börner was often on site and worked on the paintings himself. There was originally a painting by Börner above the catafalk niche. Two angels with outstretched arms pointed from above to the laying out place. This painting has not survived either. Max Helas designed a preserved Italian stone mosaic in the Parentation Hall in 1936 based on designs by Börner.
Börner was even more committed to the decoration of the celebration hall and designed the colored representations of the ten narrow, vertically accentuated glass windows, which are accentuated by numerous cross struts. A large decorative grille made of wood is attached to the gallery of the choir room behind. The cross strut pattern can also be found in the paneling of the radiators and the two door knobs at the entrance to the celebration hall and in the glass lamps in front of the hall. The large dark red clay vases that Börner had made in the Teichert factory adorn the entrance area. The storage room is completely lined with brown-red ceramic tiles. Individual tiles are provided with sayings about death, resurrection and devotion. The chosen font and symbols are reminiscent of the many inscriptions on coins and medals that Börner created. Outside, a sculpture by Börner is attached to the portico of the hall - again a work that was produced in the Teichert factory. The group of figures represents the separation of the immortal soul from the mortal body shell. Originally there was a smaller version of the group of figures by Börner in bisque porcelain, which was located on a wall in the room for survivors of the crematorium. This work disappeared between 1944 and 1954. The appeal about the whereabouts of the Pietà in 2016 in various magazines has so far (status: 2017) without result. Another work by Börner is located above the two-part coffered entrance door. A large medallion with a phoenix is attached here. The glass lamps also installed there date from 1931.
technology
The Meissen crematorium has two cremation ovens that were modified in 1950, 1968 and 1993. The two deck ovens are characterized by a very short cremation time, so a run-in cycle of 35 to 45 minutes is possible. The ovens work with very little gas, the consumption is less than 5 cubic meters per cremation. The flue gases are cooled in the cooling system using the three types of heat transfer radiation, convection and heat conduction. The basic principle is air – air cooler and air – water cooler. The flue gases are then physically cleaned in a metal cartridge filter and the chemical pollutants are separated in a regenerable multi-layer fixed bed and converted through catalytic processes. The carbon monoxide is removed with a further catalytic low-temperature process and the composition of the flue gases is continuously monitored at the same time. The maximum cremation capacity is currently 84 deceased per day. The entire system is controlled by computer as standard, but it can also be operated manually at any time. All parking spaces in the morgue are cooled. There are no freezer cells.
Sculpture at the Meissen crematorium
Lidded vase in the outer area of the Meißen crematorium
Plaque of the memorial at the Meißen crematorium
Parentation hall of the Meißen crematorium
Mortuary in the Meißen crematorium
Cremation in the Meißen crematorium
memorial
Not far from the parentation hall there has been a memorial plaque on the cemetery wall on the site of the crematorium since 2014, on which the 16 murdered prisoner-of-war forced laborers from France, Italy, Poland and Russia are named. In front of it there is an area decorated with flowers and plants. In the period from March 29 to April 11, 1945, people died at this point, without having received a judicial judgment, the execution deaths. The executions by a shot in the back of the head were ordered by the city council at the time.
Ethics and religion classes, guided tours and lectures
On the subject of "life and death", free guided tours are regularly held in the crematorium for everyone, the course of which can also be adapted to a particular form of training and the respective task. In 2017 there were around 70 lectures and factory tours with around 1300 visitors. A total of around 19,000 visitors have already taken part in such a tour. The tours are aimed specifically at schoolchildren and classes, as well as vocational schoolchildren and students who come from the entire Free State of Saxony , Brandenburg and other federal states. Employees of social and medical institutions and any interested citizen can join the tours. All operating rooms are explained during the tour. The students receive an introduction to the problem of grief and how to cope with grief. Furthermore, a celebration in the parentation hall will be recreated and the individual types of burial, the cemetery system and the burial history will be discussed in more detail. The different burial cultures in Germany and around the world are also an important focus of every tour. This is followed by a voluntary tour through the cremation facilities, where the real operational sequence is shown up to the closure of the urn capsule and a look into the cremation furnace is also possible. The technical process of cremation and the important topic of environmental protection are also explained. Visiting the morgue is also voluntary. The topic of storage (times, temperatures), the behavior in the event of a death, the significance of the 1st and 2nd post-mortem examination and the mortality statistics are discussed and presented individually. This is followed by a discussion round in which life risks such as nicotine, alcohol, drugs, suicide, road traffic and anorexia are discussed and further questions can be asked.
In addition, for trainees and students in medical or nursing professions, appropriate briefings on first aid, preparation, washing, dressing and cosmetic work on the deceased are carried out in the appropriate work rooms. Dealing with the dying and the bereaved, but also grief psychology and coping with the individual phases of grief, are important issues. For non-medical forms of training, topics such as environmental protection, cooling, process management, combustion management, chemical and physical cleaning processes and methods, as well as business administration and accounting in public companies are presented in more detail, which is also free of charge.
Since 2018 there have been biographical and cultural lectures in the parentation hall of the crematorium, the contents of which mostly deal with well-known personalities from the city of Meissen or regionally related topics. These events usually take place on a Sunday and admission is free.
A medal from the Meissen cremation association from 1921
Porcelain carillon from 1932 on the organ loft
Cremation in the Meißen crematorium
Ethics class in the Meißen crematorium
View into a cremation furnace in the Meißen crematorium
Subject of ash processing in ethics class at the Meißen crematorium
A 20-mark coin from the Meissen cremation association
Porcelain carillon
In 1932 Emil Paul Börner installed a porcelain bells with initially four bells made of Meissen porcelain. The bells were later expanded to six, thus converting the former peal into a carillon. During the expansion, some bells and their former position in the game were replaced. The oldest bells can still be recognized by the ornate "sound holes" in the upper part. The glockenspiel as well as the old drive mechanism and the stop technology are still in operation today (as of 2020). The bells are tuned F, G, E, G sharp, C and C '. The originally preserved game mechanics come from the Bernhard Zachariä watch factory in Leipzig. The carillon is located in the choir above the funeral hall and is therefore not directly visible. It is played for about thirty seconds at the beginning of each funeral service or for about one minute during the ceremonial transfer to the funeral hall. A characteristic melody sounds, which not only accompanies the solemn ceremony, but also has a signal function at the same time. According to current research, the game from the Meißen crematorium contains the two largest tuned porcelain bells in the world made from Meißner porcelain, which are not showpieces but are regularly played.
Coins and medals
The donation coins that the Meißen cremation association had commissioned from the Meißen porcelain factory are available with and without an indication of the value. There are officially pieces made of brown porcelain stoneware and white bisque porcelain. There are also samples of varying colors with decorations. The designs come from Emil Paul Börner. First of all, the value of "20 M" (for marks) should appear at the bottom of the front, indicating the planned sales price. It was later dispensed with and the motif on the front was changed, while the back with the rising phoenix remained unchanged. The pieces were made in a plaster mold and with metal stamps. There are numerous material and color variants. All pieces do not have a year of issue, but were made in 1921.
- Description of the obverse: In the rhombus-shaped hexagon formed by curved double lines, which is also interpreted as a coffin, the upper and lower corners are decorated inwards. In the hexagon there is an urn with a blazing flame, left and right a cross with two diagonal beams each and the upright swords. Inscription: FEUERBESTATTUNGSVEREIN MEISSEN and under it 20 M, also occurring without a value.
- Description on the back: A phoenix rising from the flame with its head to the left. Eight five-pointed stars, some of which are radial, and eight small urns with flames alternate around the motif.
In 1925, on March 28 and 29, 1925, an association day of the Saxon cremation associations took place in Meissen. A stoneware medal was issued on this occasion. It was also based on a design by Emil Paul Börner. These medals were stamped with a steel stamp.
- Description of front: In the rhombus-shaped hexagon formed by curved double lines, which is also interpreted as a coffin, there is an urn with a blazing flame, an eight-pointed star on the left and right. Inscription: VERBANDSTAG SAXON. FUNERAL ASSOCIATIONS IN MEISSEN ON 28th and 29th III. 1925.
- Description of reverse side: The two west towers of the Meissen Cathedral . Left and right an eight-pointed star and the course swords of the so-called "Pfeiffer period" , with the point between the blade tips. Inscription above: 1925. Inscription below: MEISSEN.
Others
- A small part of the ashes from the first cremation in Germany in 1874, in what was then the Siemens glass factory in Dresden, is still kept in the Meißen crematorium today.
- The original seating for the celebration hall and the funeral room, with a total of 126 oak chairs with leather upholstery, was acquired in 1931 and was renovated in 1993.
- Magazine: The magazine “Die Urne”, published since 1928 as a news paper for the former cremation association in Meißen and the surrounding area, was published monthly until the Second World War. It served to promote cremation in Saxony. The association and editorial team described themselves as politically and ecclesiastically neutral. After they were discontinued, a number of this magazine was not published again until 2006 under the now changed name "Die Meißner Urne". It now appears annually. The publisher is the Städtische Bestattungswesen Meißen GmbH Krematorium. The magazine contains thematic reports on burial methods and customs from around the world, black humor and riddles, information on the crematorium, current price structures and information on the formalities of cremation in the crematorium.
- An oak drive-in car acquired in 1931 is still reliably in service today.
- The Meißen municipal funeral service - Meißen crematorium, together with the Volksbund Deutsche Kriegsgräberfürsorge and other organizations, is committed to the war graves of the city of Meißen and regularly ensures that they are in a decent condition.
literature
- 25 years of cremation association. Festschrift. Meissen 1936.
- Karl Scheuch: Donation medals made of porcelain and clay. Publishing house B. Strothotte, Gütersloh 1966.
- Karl Scheuch: Medals made of porcelain. Publishing house B. Strothotte, Gütersloh 1970.
- Helmut Dämmig: Meissen porcelain carillon. Meißen – Information, Meißen 1987.
- Günter Naumann, Sieglinde Naumann: Art Nouveau in Meißen. Meißen Information, Meißen 1990.
- Caren Marusch – Krohn: Meissen Porcelain 1918–1933. The Pfeiffer time. Edition Leipzig, Leipzig 1993.
- Annelene Raasch: Glockenspiel made from Meissen porcelain. Hauschild publishing house, Bremen 1994.
- Gerhard Steinecke: Our Meißen 1929-2004. Meißner Tageblatt Verlag, Meißen 2004.
- Günter Naumann: City Lexicon Meißen. Sax Publishing House, Beucha 2009.
- Reiner Graff: Emil Paul Börner (1888–1970). A white gold artist, master of design, medalist and painter. A person who let the china ring. Self-published , 2017.
- numiscontrol: The coins and medals from the "Association for Cremation in Meissen". In: moneytrend. Vienna, Austria, issue 1/2018, pp. 154–156.
- Reiner Graff: Emil Paul Börner a versatile Meissen artist with a sounding mission , writing and a lecture at the commemoration of the artist's 130th birthday on March 18, 2018 in the parenting hall of the Meißen crematorium, self-published, 2018.
such as:
- Feuerbestattungsverein Meißen und Umgebung eV (Hrsg.): The urn. (Magazine, various issues)
- Städtisches Bestattungswesen Meißen GmbH Crematorium (Ed.): The Meißner Urne. (Magazine, various issues)
Web links
- Crematorium Meißen Homepage Städtisches Bestattungswesen Meißen GmbH , last accessed on August 4, 2020.
Individual evidence
- ^ Günter Naumann: City Lexicon Meißen. P. 187.
- ↑ According to information from the Meißen Municipal Funeral Services GmbH crematorium.
- ↑ All information was provided by the Städtische Bestattungswesen Meißen GmbH Krematorium. As of July 2017.
- ↑ Gerhard Steinecke: Our Meißen - 1929-2004. P. 108.
- ^ Information was provided by the Meißen City Funeral Services Crematorium GmbH.
- ↑ Information from the Meißen crematorium, according to extensive research and research by the journalist Reiner Graff
- ↑ numiscontrol: The coins and medals from the "Association for Cremation in Meißen". In: moneytrend. Issue 1/2018, pp. 154–156.