Nordfriedhof (Düsseldorf)

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The North Cemetery in Düsseldorf is the largest and best-known cemetery in the North Rhine-Westphalian state capital. The almost 70 hectare area of ​​the north cemetery, where numerous prominent figures from politics, culture and business have found their final resting place, is located in the northwest of Derendorf in the immediate vicinity of the districts of Golzheim and Unterrath and is served by Ulmenstraße, the Hugo-Viehoff -Straße, Danziger Straße and Thewissenweg.

Cemetery chapel
The high cross on the "Million Hill" (2019)

General

Plan Nordfriedhof Düsseldorf

The municipal cemetery, founded in 1884, now houses around 50,000 grave sites in which a total of over 200,000 people are buried. The Nordfriedhof has been accessible around the clock since 2003. There are a total of six entrances, the main entrance is at the intersection of Danziger Strasse and Johannstrasse. In the area of ​​the main entrance there is also the approximately 21 hectare old part of the cemetery from the early days of the cemetery. In 1987 it was placed under monument protection together with the cemetery chapel due to a large number of graves worth preserving . The center of the listed area is the so-called Million Hill, at the same time the highest elevation of the cemetery area and the location of a particularly large number of architecturally elaborate tombs. Increasing metal theft , and not only in the north cemetery, leads to the loss of important historical cultural monuments.

In the area of ​​the Nordfriedhof, near the entrance to Ulmenstrasse 236, there is the “new Jewish cemetery ” (in use since 1923), which is not officially part of the Nordfriedhof. Also, unlike the rest of the north cemetery, it is not administered by the city of Düsseldorf, but by the local Jewish community. The current cemetery hall and memorial of the Jewish community was built in 1986. The cemetery is closed on the Sabbath , on Jewish holidays and at night. The old Jewish cemetery is to the east of Ulmenstrasse. It is no longer occupied and is locked.

Beehives have stood in various areas of the cemetery for some time.

history

The city began planning a new cemetery in the north of Düsseldorf in 1882, when the burial grounds were available at the old Golzheim cemetery , which was also the first municipal cemetery in Düsseldorf - not least because of the extreme population growth in Düsseldorf at the end of the 19th century - became increasingly scarce. The choice of location fell on a site in the so-called Golzheimer Heide between the country roads to Duisburg and Kalkum . The location outside the city allowed the creation of a large burial site with potential for expansion, and the predominantly sandy soil was also well suited for use as a cemetery. In connection with its location at the time, the future cemetery was initially named "Cemetery behind the pine forest".

View of the "Millions Hill"

On July 7, 1882, an ideas competition for the design of the planned new cemetery was announced. Of the projects participating in the competition, which were submitted by numerous garden architects from both Germany and abroad, the design by Eduard Hoppe from Berlin took first place. His plan was to build a park-like cemetery. Its entrance area shows French garden style elements, other parts of the cemetery were designed according to the scheme of the English landscape garden . The center of the new burial site was formed by a central north-south axis leading from the main entrance, on which the chapel , the morgue and the high cross are located. Large lawns with flower beds were laid out between the entrance and the chapel, while the main paths were designed as avenues with generous stocks of different tree species. The end of the central axis was formed by a natural elevation on a sand dune , on the highest point of which, at the same time the highest point of the cemetery, the high cross was located. As this elevation was particularly suitable for representative hereditary burial sites due to its exposed location, it quickly became known under the name "Millions Hill", which is still used today. Overall, Hoppe's concept of a large city cemetery dominated by landscape was based on park cemeteries such as the Hamburg cemetery Ohlsdorf - a largely new type of cemetery design at the time, but which had quickly established itself in major German cities.

The Jewish cemetery

The new cemetery was opened on May 1, 1884. In the same year the Golzheim cemetery was closed for new burials, and burials could still be carried out there in existing family graves until 1897. The new cemetery buildings could only be completed in 1887; these were the chapel and morgue built in the neo-Gothic style, both designed by the city architect Eberhard Westhofen . Inside the chapel is decorated with wall paintings by Eduard von Gebhardt . The fresco “Ascension of Christ” was executed by the painter Johannes Osten . The main entrance was also originally designed in the neo-Gothic style, but later rebuilt several times until it was finally given its current form in 1936 - a wrought-iron grille bordered by an administration building and a foyer decorated with reliefs . The already mentioned Hochkreuz only found its place in 1905 in the north cemetery; it was moved there from its old location in the Golzheim cemetery. From there, numerous deceased (including well-known personalities such as Norbert Burgmüller or Theodor Mintrop ) were reburied in the north cemetery , as the Golzheim cemetery had to be cut into two parts when a road was built in 1905 and thus partially leveled.

Hoeltgen burial site

The importance of the new cemetery increased especially after the Golzheim cemetery was finally closed. In 1904, after Düsseldorf received another large municipal cemetery - the southern cemetery in Bilk - the “cemetery behind the pine grove” was given its current name “northern cemetery”. As early as 1908, the cemetery grounds were expanded for the first time, deviating from the original Hoppe landscape design for the first time and instead using a strictly geometric division of the site - a procedure that was also practiced in the later expansions. In 1922, the Jewish cemetery was built on an expansion site in the eastern part of the cemetery near Ulmenstrasse, which the Jewish community had built after its old burial site on Ulmenstrasse was full. The north cemetery was last expanded between 1955 and 1960. Even if the expansion potential has now been finally exhausted, there is still no lack of space at the Nordfriedhof, which - as elsewhere in Germany - is related to the stagnating or falling population, the shortening of rest periods for graves and the increasing proportion of space-saving urn burials . Recently , a sponsorship system has also been established here - similar to Cologne cemeteries such as the Melaten - which gives everyone the opportunity to restore and maintain an old, listed tomb that would otherwise be threatened with decay, and in return a right of use to get for it.

Some monuments worth seeing

Temple construction of the Hilden-Eyckeler family. Entrance to the crypt cellar with mosaic by Wilhelm Döringer . the tomb was taken over by Robert Gustav Zapp (1928–1999).

As already mentioned, the 21 hectare old part of the cemetery, designed by Eduard Hoppe at the time, is home to a particularly large number of splendid and unusual tombs. A large number of representative graves are located in fields 61 to 64 on the aforementioned millionaire hill and around the chapel near the main entrance. The high number of graves of industrial families is particularly striking, which underlines the outstanding importance of Düsseldorf as an economic metropolis in the early days . Many of the industrialists buried here, along with other well-known personalities, are listed below in the section “ Graves of well-known and prominent persons ”. In addition, the section “ Well-known designers of the tombs in the north cemetery ” contains a list of the most famous artists who were involved in the design of one or more grave structures in the north cemetery. In the following, only a selection of the particularly striking monuments in the cemetery will be addressed.

Immediately to the left of the chapel and in the immediate vicinity of the main entrance is probably the oldest grave of the north cemetery - the Hoeltgen family grave, which was reburied here from the Golzheim cemetery right after the north cemetery opened. The focal point here is the bronze sculpture of a male figure who stands invitingly in front of the gate of a temple-like complex, the suggested entrance into eternity. Not far from here, also on the left in front of the chapel, is the monument to the industrialist Piedbœuf . The towering base with a cross at the top was created by the sculptor Gustav Rutz , who also used baroque style elements.

Robert Zapp gravesite (2006)
Gravesite Robert Zapp (2019)

In the neighboring field 6 is the grave of the Breininger and Preuss families, which attracts attention with a grieving female figure in flowing robes. Further north in field 15 there is another grave with a grieving female figure, that is the grave of a Josef Ranker. The peculiarity of this tomb is that the said female sculpture was damaged during an artillery bombardment during World War II , which can still be seen today from some bullet holes in the sculpture.

One of the most elaborate graves in the north cemetery is the family grave of the industrialist Robert Zapp , which stands on the mound of millions and which not only combines several architectural style elements at the same time, but also Christian symbols with ancient mythology. The gable-shaped monument, formerly surrounded by a heavy chain, has a column-supported archway in the middle, in which a bronze urn stood on a laurel wreath; There you also saw a stylized snake biting its tail, which is a sign of the infinite return of life. At the top of the gable is a cross with a halo and a bunch of poppy seed capsules at the foot. The latter is based on the ancient representation known as the symbol of eternal sleep. A stylized stone sarcophagus is placed in front of the monument . The architect Ernst Roeting designed the tomb .

Poetter's grave

In the immediate vicinity, the grave of the industrialist family Haniel and the related artist family Oeder is striking. It is an obelisk made of polished granite and probably the highest tomb on the mound of millions, created by the architect Gottfried Wehling . At the other end of the hill, in field 72, is the grave of the industrialist Reinhold Lupp , a wall grave made of black polished granite with a niche in the middle that contains a figure of Christ . The graves of the famous entrepreneurs Rudolf von Bennigsen-Foerder , Ferdinand Heye and Heinrich Lueg , which can also be found on the mound of millions , are of course kept relatively simple for their representative location. The grave of the industrial family Henkel , in which no other family members have been buried for decades, is not found on the million hill, but a little further away, in field 75, which is completely atypical for the north cemetery. This is a visually outstanding grave consisting of a temple-like open structure with a glass dome and a seated female figure made of white marble inside. The temple was built by the architect Walter Furthmann , the female figure is a late work by the sculptor Karl Janssen , Hugo Henkel's father-in-law .

Gravesite Prize (2006)

At the northern foot of the million-dollar hill, on an avenue in field 73, you can see two tomb sculptures almost side by side, which stand out for their antique nudity . On the one hand , there is the erotic -looking grave site Poetter, created by the sculptor August Bauer , with a sitting, naked female figure on top of the plinth, and on the other hand, the bronze youth with a walking stick, a work by the French Paul Landowski , which characterizes the grave of the Preis family .

Former Gahlen's tomb (1904)
Former Tomb of Gahlen (2006)

Also in the wider area of ​​the million hill you can find some interesting buildings. One of them is the “miner with a lantern”, which is visible in field 85 at a crossroads. This is a bronze sculpture made in 1902 after an original by the Italian sculptor Enrico Butti , which was created in 1888 and has won several awards . The sculpture was intended to express the strong ties between Düsseldorf and the Ruhr area and its mining industry. It shows a half-lying miner with a pick at his feet, holding a lantern in his right hand. This sculpture was originally part of the tomb of the von Gahlen family, later it adorned one of the graves of the industrial family Grillo. After the usage rights for this grave expired at the beginning of the 1960s and were no longer renewed, the architect Wilhelm Dommel set up the sculpture in the " Minidomm " leisure park he designed . After this park was dissolved in the early 1990s, the Derendorfer Jonges local history association campaigned for the sculpture to be re-erected in the north cemetery, whereupon it was finally moved to its current location in 1994.

A remarkable episode from the history of Düsseldorf and the north cemetery tells in field 72 the grave of the diplomat Ernst Eduard vom Rath , who was assassinated by Herschel Grynszpan on November 9, 1938 . His death provided the National Socialist rulers with a welcome opportunity for the Reichspogromnacht that followed immediately . The Rath's funeral on November 12, 1938, to which Hitler also came to Düsseldorf, began with a celebratory funeral procession staged by Nazi propaganda from the main train station through the city center to the north cemetery Used the parade area.

As in many other cemeteries in major German cities, numerous war victims found their final resting place in Düsseldorf's North Cemetery. Near the Hochkreuz on the Million Hill there is a memorial for 157 Düsseldorfers who died in the Franco-German War of 1870/1871, as well as a memorial to the French soldiers who died in this war. These originally stood in the Golzheim cemetery and were transferred, together with the Hochkreuz, to the north cemetery in 1905. In field 118 there is a communal grave for 1179 fallen and civilian victims of the First World War with the urban war memorial by architect Hermann Goerke and sculptor Hermann Nolte , while the communal grave for over 4000 victims of the Second World War , supplemented by a memorial by the sculptor Jupp Rübsam from the Year 1958, in the northwestern part of the cemetery, in fields 111 and 112. The memorial stone erected in field 70 in April 1995 for Aloys Odenthal and ten other resistance fighters, five of whom were shot dead on the night before the US troops marched into Düsseldorf, on April 17, 1945, was made by his son Peter Rübsam . Four resistance fighters (Franz Jürgens, Karl Kleppe, Joseph Knab and Hermann Weill) were buried in this grave, which is designated as an honorary grave.

Graves of well-known and prominent people

North Cemetery A – G

Family grave Henkel
Grave of Ferdinand Heye

North Cemetery HO

Reinhold Lupp's grave (2006)
Rudolph Jordan burial site
Grave of William Thomas Mulvany

North Cemetery P – Z

Gravesite Poensgen (2006)
Detlev Rohwedder's grave
Peter Rübsam: honor grave for the resistance fighters

Jewish Cemetery

Well-known designer of the tombs in the north cemetery

The Drei Norn memorial , on the site of the Schlageter national monument demolished in 1946 , designed and built from 1954 to 1958 for the victims of the field, the homeland and the political terror by Jupp Rübsam, Ulrich Wolf and Willy Tapp

See also

literature

Individual evidence

  1. OpenStreetMap / Relation / Derendorf (91063) . Retrieved August 2, 2009.
  2. ^ Synagogue community: "In the summer of 1923, the newly acquired cemetery, next to the North Cemetery, was taken into use." , In the administrative report of the state capital Düsseldorf, special section. A. Care for Spiritual Life, April 1, 1922 to March 31, 1925, p. 112
  3. ^ Gartenamt Düsseldorf - Friedhöfe: Die Geschichte des Nordfriedhofs , on duesseldorf.de, accessed on June 10, 2016
  4. ^ Dietrich Bieber, Ekkehard Mai: Gebhardt and Janssen - Religious and monumental painting in the late 19th century . In: Wend von Kalnein (ed.): Die Düsseldorfer Malerschule , Verlag Philipp von Zabern, Mainz 1979, ISBN 3-8053-0409-9 , p. 167.

Web links

Commons : Nordfriedhof  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Coordinates: 51 ° 15 ′ 28.8 ″  N , 6 ° 46 ′ 19.2 ″  E

This version was added to the list of articles worth reading on November 8, 2006 .