Südfriedhof (hall)
The Südfriedhof is a cemetery complex in Halle (Saale) . Together with the Gertraudenfriedhof and the Nordfriedhof, it is one of the largest cemeteries in the city of Halle. The cemetery, which celebrated its 125th anniversary in 2012, has around 300 historically and art-historically significant tombs.
history
The south cemetery came into being after the town churchyard, which had been used since the Middle Ages, and the north cemetery opened in 1851 were no longer sufficient. With industrialization and the rapid urban development of Halle before the turn of the century , the construction of another central cemetery in the south of the city became necessary. As early as 1883, the city of Halle had acquired 83 acres of farmland between Merseburger Strasse and Beesener Strasse to build a cemetery for 300,000 marks . Initially, 47 acres were fenced in for cemetery purposes.
On December 11, 1887, the southern cemetery was inaugurated by Lord Mayor Gustav Staude and in the presence of the local authorities. The plans come from the Halle city planner, Otto Karl Lohausen, while government architect Bucher was responsible for the execution . The stone carving was done by local companies. The construction of the south cemetery, with 26.5 hectares today and 30,000 possible grave sites, cost the city of Halle a total of 216,675 marks and 78 pfennigs . Just two days after the inauguration, the first burial took place in the cemetery on December 13, 1887, and on the same day the first children's burial on the separately laid out children's grave area.
Since the site was outside the city at that time and therefore at a great distance from the parish churches, great importance was attached to a sacred design. The architecture of the simple brick buildings in the entrance area follows forms of the Italian Renaissance . A large gate belongs to the entrance area. The central part of the cemetery is a large cemetery chapel with 200 places, which was built as a dome structure with a total height of 25 meters. The chapel has a cross-shaped floor plan. The dome design and the entrance with round arches convey the character of a mausoleum . The main paths of the cemetery area run towards this central building.
Special graves
The cemetery has numerous special graves. The Congregation of the Sisters of St. Elisabeth set up a separate grave area for the deceased sisters of the Provincial Mother House in Halle. The deceased monks of the Halle-based Franciscan monastery of the Most Holy Trinity congregation also have their own burial ground in the south cemetery. A memorial stone on the former row grave field reminds of the deceased of the Halle Provincial Facility for the Blind.
The almost 500 bomb victims from the air raids on Halle (Saale) , who came to this cemetery, were buried in communal graves. These are to the right of the path from the main entrance to the cemetery church - separated by two rows of individual graves. After the war, the dead were given uniform, individual grave slabs made of limestone. Since these had partially disintegrated, they were replaced in 1995 by weather-resistant, flat natural stones. The names of the victims - including many children - as well as the year of their birth and death are recorded on them. There was also a large memorial stone lying on one side with the inscription "Bomb Victims - World War II".
In 1966 a memorial stone was erected for the three Catholic clergymen Carl Lampert , Friedrich Lorenz and Herbert Simoleit from Stettin , who were executed in the Roter Ochse prison in 1944 .
From 1945 to the 1960s, there were also burials in a special grave field for soldiers and officers of the Red Army and their deceased relatives, including several children. Since some of the members of the army were honored in the fight against the German Wehrmacht - including a holder of the title " Hero of the Soviet Union " - some of their tombstones were designed like monuments, especially in the form of busts. A monument to Alexander Matrossow , which originally stood in Halle's city park, was also erected on this cemetery . It was a gift from Halle's twin town Ufa .
There is also a separate grave site (grave meadow) with a memorial stone for stillborn children who are not required to be buried.
Gravesites and personalities
In the south cemetery there are graves of well-known personalities of the city of Halle, among others (chronologically according to year of birth):
- Wilhelm Fries (* 1845; † 1928), philologist and educator, director of the Francke Foundations
- Adolf Albrecht (* 1855; † 1930), social democratic politician
- Franz Peters (* 1888; † 1933), politician (SPD) and member of the Reichstag
- Karl Meseberg (* 1891; † 1919), member of the workers 'and soldiers' council in Halle
- Werner Lueben (* 1894 - † 1944), general staff judge
- Otto Müller (* 1898; † 1979), painter and graphic artist
- Horst-Tanu Margraf (* 1903; † 1978), conductor and general music director of the State Theater in Halle
- Martha Brautzsch (* 1907; † 1946), KPD functionary
- Walter Dreizner (* 1908; † 1996), photographer
- Heinz Grahneis (* 1915; † 2007), professor of general medicine
- Konrad Onasch (* 1916; † 2007), church historian and professor at Martin Luther University
- Edith Bergner (* 1917; † 1998), children's book author and writer
swell
- Holger Brülls / Thomas Dietzsch: Architectural Guide Halle on the Saale . Dietrich Reimer Verlag, Berlin 2000, ISBN 3-496-01202-1
- Edmund Baron / Walter Müller: 125 years Südfriedhof 1887–2012. Hahn & Paul printing works, Halle 2012
Web links
Coordinates: 51 ° 27 ′ 40 ″ N , 11 ° 58 ′ 34 ″ E