Ohlsdorf Cemetery (german: Ohlsdorfer Friedhof or (former) ) in the Ohlsdorf quarter of the city of

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

, Germany, is the biggest

rural cemetery A rural cemetery or garden cemetery is a style of cemetery that became popular in the United States and Europe in the mid-nineteenth century due to the overcrowding and health concerns of urban cemeteries. They were typically built one to five ...

in the world and the fourth-largest cemetery in the world. Most of the people buried at the cemetery are civilians, but there is also a large number of victims of war from various nations. The cemetery notably includes the Old Hamburg Memorial Cemetery (''Althamburgischer Gedächtnisfriedhof'', formerly ''Ehrenfriedhof'') with the graves of many notable Hamburg citizens.

History and description

In 1877 the Ohlsdorf Cemetery was established as a non-denominational and multi-regional burial site outside of Hamburg. The cemetery has an area of with 12 chapels, over 1.5 million burials in more than 280,000 burial sites and streets with a length of . There are 4 entrances for vehicles and public transport is provided with 25 bus stops of two bus lines of the

Hamburger Verkehrsverbund The Hamburger Verkehrsverbund (HVV) ( en, "Hamburg Transport Association") is a transport association coordinating public transport in and around Hamburg, Germany. Its main objectives are to provide a unified fare system, requiring only a single ...

. The cemetery is not only used as a burial ground, but also as a recreational area and

tourist attraction A tourist attraction is a place of interest that tourists visit, typically for its inherent or an exhibited natural or cultural value, historical significance, natural or built beauty, offering leisure and amusement. Types Places of natural ...

. With its impressive mausoleums, rhododendron bushes, its ponds and birds, sculptures and funerary museum, about two million people from all over the world visit the cemetery every year. About 40% of all burials in Hamburg take place in Ohlsdorf Cemetery; in 2002 there were 1600 interments and 4300 urn burials. Two hundred thirty gardeners take care of graves and all facilities.

Hamburg Commonwealth War Graves Commission Cemetery

One of four permanent Commonwealth cemeteries in Germany, the

Hamburg Commonwealth War Graves Commission Cemetery Hamburg Commonwealth War Graves Commission Cemetery is a war cemetery which was built and is looked after by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC). The war graves of 676 Commonwealth service personnel from World War I and 1,889 from World W ...

is located near chapel 12 (Kapelle 12) of the Ohlsdorf Cemetery. During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

over 400 Allied prisoners-of-war who died in German captivity were buried here, as well as sailors whose bodies had been washed ashore on the

Frisian Islands The Frisian Islands, also known as the Wadden Islands or the Wadden Sea Islands, form an archipelago at the eastern edge of the North Sea in northwestern Europe, stretching from the northwest of the Netherlands through Germany to the west of Denma ...

. In 1923 the remains of British Commonwealth servicemen from 120 burial grounds in north-western Germany were brought to Hamburg. Further deceased Commonwealth soldiers of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

and of the post-war period were buried here too.

Memorials for the victims of Nazism

There are six memorial sites for the victims of the Nazi era, the "Monument for the Victims of Nazi Persecution" (); the monument, "Passage over the

River Styx In Greek mythology, Styx (; grc, Στύξ ) is a river that forms the boundary between Earth (Gaia) and the Underworld. The rivers Acheron, Cocytus, Lethe, Phlegethon, and Styx all converge at the centre of the underworld on a great marsh, whi ...

" () for the victims of the Hamburg firestorm; the "Memorial Grove for the Hamburg Resistance Fighters", which includes a memorial erected on the initiative of the

Sophie Scholl Sophia Magdalena Scholl (9 May 1921 – 22 February 1943) was a German student and anti-Nazi political activist, active within the White Rose non-violent resistance group in Nazi Germany. She was convicted of high treason after having bee ...

Foundation, the "Ehrenfeld Hamburg Resistance Fighters"; the "Cemetery for Foreign Victims", erected in 1977 to honor the victims of

Nazi concentration camps From 1933 to 1945, Nazi Germany operated more than a thousand concentration camps, (officially) or (more commonly). The Nazi concentration camps are distinguished from other types of Nazi camps such as forced-labor camps, as well as con ...

and

forced labor Forced labour, or unfree labour, is any work relation, especially in modern or early modern history, in which people are employed against their will with the threat of destitution, detention, violence including death, or other forms of ex ...

; and the ("memory spiral") erected in 2001 in the "Garden of Women", as a memorial for the female victims and opponents of the Nazi regime. An additional memorial site was erected in 1951 at the nearby Jewish cemetery, Ilandkoppel, the "Monument for the Murdered Hamburg Jews".

Memorial for the victims of Nazi persecution

The "Monument for the Victims of Nazi Persecution" lies across from the "new crematorium". Erected in 1949, it has a stele with a marble slab lying in front, engraved with the names of 25 concentration camps. The adjacent graveyard has 105 above-ground urns and 29 buried ones containing the ashes of victims and German concentration camp soil. This memorial evolved from what was established there during a week-long remembrance in November 1945.

Monument for the victims of the Hamburg firestorm

The remains of some 38,000 victims of

Operation Gomorrha The Allied bombing of Hamburg during World War II included numerous attacks on civilians and civic infrastructure. As a large city and industrial centre, Hamburg's shipyards, U-boat pens, and the Hamburg-Harburg area oil refineries were attack ...

, the bombing campaign that took place from July 24 to August 3, 1943, lie in a cross-shaped, landscaped mass grave. In 1952, a monument by

Gerhard Marcks Gerhard Marcks (18 February 1889 – 13 November 1981) was a German artist, known primarily as a sculptor, but who is also known for his drawings, woodcuts, lithographs and ceramics. Early life Marcks was born in Berlin, where, at the age of 18, ...

called "Passage over the River Styx" was erected in the middle of the site.

Memorial grove for the Hamburg Resistance fighters

To the right of the main entrance on Bergstraße, is the memorial grove for the Resistance fighters from Hamburg, 1933–1945. Located here since September 8, 1946, this memorial is the burial site for 55 anti-fascists who were either executed by the Nazis or died in custody. A bronze sculpture, created in 1953 by Hamburg sculptor Richard Steffen (1903–1964), stands at the entrance to the grove. A stone wall borders the grove, on which are the words of the Czech Resistance fighter and journalist, Julius Fučík, executed in 1943, "Mankind, we loved you — be vigilant".

Cemetery museum

Individuals with a strong interest in preserving the Ohlsdorf cemetery formed the (Society for the Promotion of the Ohlsdorf Cemetery), and opened the (Museum of the Ohlsdorf Cemetery). The museum is dedicated to raising public interest for the Ohlsdorf cemetery, and for promoting historical and contemporary funeral culture. The collection in the museum, on display since 1996, focuses mainly on the history of Hamburg's cemetery culture. Since the Ohlsdorfer cemetery was opened in 1877 as the first American-style park cemetery in Germany, it is of significant importance to the European cemetery culture. The museum has old maps and tools, as well as urns and some of the cemetery's oldest tombstones.

Notable burial sites

Part of the cemetery are three plots of the

Commonwealth War Graves Commission The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) is an intergovernmental organisation of six independent member states whose principal function is to mark, record and maintain the graves and places of commemoration of Commonwealth of Nations m ...

(CWGC), which were used as burial sites for British Commonwealth and Allied servicemen of both World Wars. There are more than 2473 identified casualties commemorated by the CWGC.

Notable burials

Notable people buried at Ohlsdorf include the following: * Anny Ahlers (1907–1933), opera singerOhlsdorfer Friedhof: Famous names
at Find a Grave * Hans Albers (1891–1960), actor * Wilhelm Amsinck (1752–1831), mayor of Hamburg *

Albert Ballin Albert Ballin (15 August 1857 – 9 November 1918) was a German shipping magnate. He was the general director of the Hamburg-Amerikanische Packetfahrt-Actien-Gesellschaft (HAPAG) or Hamburg-America Line, which for a time was the world's largest s ...

(1857-1918), German shipping magnate * Monica Bleibtreu (1944–2009), Austrian born actress *

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(1848-1930), German shipbuilder * Hertha Borchert (1895–1985), actress *

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(1830–1894), conductor, pianist and composer * C. W. Ceram (1915–1972), journalist and author *

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(1876–1933), German chancellor *

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(1900–1989), actress * Neville Elliott-Cooper (1889–1918), World War I recipient of the

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(1936–1966), actress *

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(1899–1963), actor * Carl Hagenbeck (1844–1913), merchant of wild animals and inventor of the modern zoo *

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(1857–1894), physicist * Michael Jary (1906–1988), composer *

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(1924–1985), actor * Christian Graf von Krockow (1927–2002), writer and political scientist *

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recipient *

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References

External links

Hamburger Friedhöfe

{{Authority control Cemeteries in Hamburg Commonwealth War Graves Commission cemeteries in Germany Geography of Hamburg World War I cemeteries in Germany World War II memorials in Germany World War II cemeteries in Germany Museums in Hamburg Tourist attractions in Hamburg Burial sites of the House of Cirksena Rural cemeteries