Lauheide forest cemetery

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Mourning hall in the entrance area of ​​the cemetery

The Forest Cemetery Lauheide has more than 35,000 graves of the largest cemetery in the Westphalian city of Münster . It is located directly on the Ems on the eastern city limits of Münster, but already in the area of Telgte in the Warendorf district . Nevertheless, the Office for Green Spaces and Environmental Protection of the City of Münster, which owns it, is responsible for it. In addition to the 1135 international war graves, the so-called English cemetery, the Münster Heath War Cemetery, is also located in the forest cemetery .

The cemetery administration of the city of Münster, a large mourning hall and the depot are located at the Lauheide forest cemetery. In October 2014 it was voted “Germany's most beautiful cemetery”.

history

The history of the Lauheide as a grave site goes back to the time between 2000 and 1500 years before Christ. Three barrows in the north of the site testify to this. In addition to these oldest finds, there are also urn graves that date from 1000 to 500 years before Christ.

It was not until the beginning of the 20th century that the Lauheide could be used as a cemetery in the current sense, when it became apparent that the central cemetery , which only opened in 1887, was already too small. So in 1905 the city of Münster decided to open a new cemetery. Due to the difficult ground conditions, only two sites came into question: one near Gimbte and one near Telgte. In 1929 the city of Münster bought a total of 104 hectares of land in the Verth farming community from the city of Telgte for 250,000 Reichsmarks . The decision to create the Lauheide cemetery was made on September 20, 1929. Another ten years passed before the connecting road and the buildings were built, and it was not until 1938 that an ideas competition for the design of the cemetery was launched. The garden architect Carl Ludwig Schreiber is responsible for planning the cemetery, and he developed his first design ideas as early as 1938. The beginning of the Second World War repeatedly prevented the opening, but in November 1940 the first fallen soldiers were buried there. After more civilian victims were buried in the cemetery due to the increasing air raids on Münster , its official opening took place on October 10, 1943.

In 2014 the cemetery was named the most beautiful cemetery in Germany by a prominent jury.

structure

The "Schlenke", the former river bed of the Ems

The forest cemetery Lauheide covers an area of ​​84  hectares on the southern lower terrace of the Ems . The fossil river bed of the Ems, the so-called "Schlenke", runs through the cemetery . The name is made up of " Lohe " ("Lau" in Low German) and "Heide". Heath, because the area of ​​the cemetery was probably a semi-open heather landscape with an oak- hut forest character until it was afforested , especially with Scots pines .

In the northeast are the graves of fallen soldiers from Poland and the Soviet Union, as well as the "English Cemetery". Further to the west are grouped around the last remnant of the heather landscape graves, Muslim graves, ash strewn fields and the barrows from the time between 2000 and 1500 years before Christ. In the far west of the cemetery there are other landscape graves, deep graves and an anonymous urn field. In the south there are urn election and urn row graves.

Polish and Russian field of honor

A total of 77 Poles and 164 Russians who perished during forced labor in the Münsterland during World War II are buried on the Polish and Russian Fields of Honor . Their names are noted on two memorial stones, provided that they are known.

  • The Polish field of honor

  • The Russian field of honor

  • Memorial stone with the names of the victims on the Russian field of honor

English cemetery

View over the Munster Heath War Cemetery

The English Cemetery, the Munster Heath War Cemetery, is practically a graveyard within a graveyard. Due to its layout, it stands out clearly from the forest cemetery. The Commonwealth War Graves Commission is not responsible for this cemetery either, not the city of Münster . The English cemetery contains 740 graves of English soldiers who lost their lives in the fighting in the Münsterland in early 1945 .

German cemetery of honor

Partial view of the German Cemetery of Honor on Memorial Day

The German Cemetery of Honor houses a total of 894 graves. Not only are German soldiers who died in World War II buried here, but also 40 children and 215 adult citizens of the city who were killed in Allied bombing raids on Münster in October 1943 and September 1944. In addition, victims of the war from eleven other European countries found their final resting place here. Until 1971 some of these were buried in other cemeteries before they were reburied on the Lauheide.

nature

In addition to its function as a cemetery, the Lauheide forest cemetery is a retreat for endangered plants and animals, including over 100 different species of birds, a large number of mammals and numerous rare plants. Numerous rare bat species and protected hornets, amphibians and reptiles also live here.

biodiversity

Well over 100 bird species, including 47 regularly breeding bird species, have been counted in the Lauheide. These include the stock dove , oriole and red kite , which first successfully brooded in 1990. Around 360 nesting boxes make it easier for cave breeders such as the pied flycatcher to raise their offspring.

In addition, the cemetery is home to several species of amphibians and bats, some of which are very rare. Mention should be made of the crested newt and the common toad or brown long-eared bat , noctule bat and fringed bat .

For many years there was also a small population of Siberian Burunduks , which has since been extinct.

The city of Münster, as the operator of the cemetery, regularly offers natural history tours in cooperation with local nature conservation associations.

Celebrities

Among others, the following well-known personalities found their final resting place at the Lauheide forest cemetery:

literature

Web links

Commons : Waldfriedhof Lauheide  - Collection of images

proof

  1. ↑ Award 2014 - All information about the Bestattungen.de Award 2014, viewed on October 29, 2014

Coordinates: 52 ° 0 ′ 15 ″  N , 7 ° 45 ′ 15 ″  E