(; ) is a

cemetery A cemetery, burial ground, gravesite, graveyard, or a green space called a memorial park or memorial garden, is a place where the remains of many death, dead people are burial, buried or otherwise entombed. The word ''cemetery'' (from Greek ...

located in the

Gamla Enskede Gamla Enskede (Swedish: "Old Enskede") is a district of Enskede-Årsta-Vantör borough, South Stockholm, Sweden. In addition to housing areas, the district includes the Skogskyrkogården woodland cemetery and the smaller Sandsborgskyrkogården c ...

district south of central

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

. It was inaugurated in 1920 and was inscribed on the

UNESCO World Heritage List World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural heritag ...

in 1994. Its design, by

Gunnar Asplund Erik Gunnar Asplund (22 September 1885 – 20 October 1940) was a Swedish architect, mostly known as a key representative of Nordic Classicism of the 1920s during the last decade of his life. At this time, he was a major proponent of the mode ...

and

Sigurd Lewerentz Sigurd Lewerentz (29 July 1885 – 29 December 1975) was a Swedish architect. Biography Lewerentz was born at Sandö in the parish of Bjärtrå in Västernorrland County, Sweden. He was the son of Gustaf Adolf Lewerentz and Hedvig Mathil ...

, reflects the development of

architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and construction, constructi ...

from

Nordic Classicism Nordic Classicism was a Architectural style, style of architecture that briefly blossomed in the Nordic countries (Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Finland) between 1910 and 1930. The style was also known as Swedish Grace architecture in Sweden. Until ...

to mature functionalism.

History

Skogskyrkogården came about following an international competition in 1915 for the design of a new cemetery in Enskede in the southern part of

. The entry called "Tallum" by the young architects Gunnar Asplund and Sigurd Lewerentz was selected. After changes made to the design on the recommendations of the competition jury, work began in 1917 on land that had been old gravel quarries that were overgrown with

pine A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. ''World Flora Online'' accepts 134 species-rank taxa (119 species and 15 nothospecies) of pines as cu ...

trees, and the first phase was completed three years later. The architects' use of the natural landscape created an extraordinary environment of tranquil beauty that had a profound influence on cemetery design throughout the world. Essential models for the design of the cemetery were the German forest cemeteries of

Friedhof Ohlsdorf Ohlsdorf Cemetery ( or (former) ) in the Ohlsdorf quarter of the city of Hamburg, Germany, is the biggest rural cemetery in the world and the fourth-largest cemetery in the world. Most of the people buried at the cemetery are civilians, but ther ...

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

and Waldfriedhof in

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

but also the neoclassical paintings of

Caspar David Friedrich Caspar David Friedrich (; 5 September 1774 – 7 May 1840) was a German Romanticism, German Romantic Landscape painting, landscape painter, generally considered the most important German artist of his generation, whose often symbolic, and anti ...

. The basis for the route through the cemetery is a long route leading from the ornamental colonnaded entrance that then splits, one way leading through a pastoral landscape, complete with a large pond and a tree-lined meditation hill, and the other up to a large detached granite cross and the abstract portico of the crematorium and the chapels of the Holy Cross, Faith, and Hope. The paths then rejoin and pass along a dead-straight path through a dense grove of tall pine trees, the so-called Way of Seven Wells, leading to the "Uppståndelsekapellet" or Resurrection Chapel. The giant dark granite cross at the focus of the vista from the main entrance has also been described as having been based on a painting by

, titled "Cross on the Baltic Sea" (1815), signifying hope in an abandoned world; yet Asplund and Lewerentz insisted that the cross was open to non-Christian interpretations, even quoting Friedrich: "To those who see it as such, a consolation, to those who do not, simply a cross." The architects designed the entire complex, from the landscape to the smallest lamp, though there are also integrated sculptures by

Carl Milles Carl Milles (; 23 June 1875 – 19 September 1955) was a Swedes, Swedish sculpture, sculptor. He was married to artist Olga Milles (née Granner) and brother to Ruth Milles and half-brother to the architect Evert Milles. Carl Milles sculpted the ...

. Lewerentz's contribution mainly concerned the landscape but also the main entrance and the classical "Uppståndelsekapellet" or Resurrection Chapel, which was built in 1925. Asplund devoted himself mainly to the buildings, and the small Woodland Crematorium – built in 1935–40 – has been regarded as a central work in his oeuvre as well as the

style of that period. The small chapel, set on a Tuscan peristyle and featuring a gold statue on the roof by Carl Milles, was in fact derived from a "primitive hut" that Asplund had happened to see in a garden at Liselund. The crematorium, with its Faith, Hope, and Holy Cross Chapels, was Asplund's final work of architecture, designed in a rational modernist style typical for his later work, opened shortly before his death in 1940. In 1994, Skogskyrkogården was named a

UNESCO World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

and although it does not have the number of famous interments as the

Norra begravningsplatsen Norra begravningsplatsen, literally "The Northern Burial Place" in Swedish, is a major cemetery of the Stockholm urban area, located in Solna Municipality. Inaugurated on 9 June 1827, it is the burial site for a number of Swedish notables. Th ...

, its much older counterpart in northern Stockholm, it is a major tourist attraction. At the Tallum Pavilion (a building designed originally by Asplund as staff facilities), visitors can see an exhibition about the cemetery and the story of its origins and the two architects whose vision created it. With its 100,000 graves, the cemetery is the largest in the country, in terms of the number of graves, and the second largest (after Kviberg's cemetery) in terms of area. Skogskyrkogården is connected to a

metro station A metro station or subway station is a train station for a rapid transit system, which as a whole is usually called a "metro" or "subway". A station provides a means for passengers to purchase tickets, board trains, and evacuate the syste ...

by the same name (see

Skogskyrkogården metro station (; ) is a cemetery located in the Gamla Enskede district south of central Stockholm, Sweden. It was inaugurated in 1920 and was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1994. Its design, by Gunnar Asplund and Sigurd Lewerentz, reflects the ...

Notable internments

Emmy Albiin Emmy Axelina Svensson (9 June 1873 – 24 May 1959), known as Emmy Albiin, was a Swedish stage and film actress.Wright p.65 A character actress, she appeared in around sixty Swedish films. Selected filmography * '' A Lover in Pawn'' (1920) * ' ...

, (1873–1959), actress *

(1885–1940), architect
location
*

Tim Bergling Tim Bergling (8 September 1989 – 20 April 2018), known professionally as Avicii, was a Swedish DJ, remixer, and record producer. At age 16, he began posting his remixes on electronic music forums, which led to his first record deal. He rose ...

(1989–2018), musician and DJ, known professionally as

Avicii Tim Bergling (8 September 1989 – 20 April 2018), known professionally as Avicii, was a Swedish DJ, remixer, and record producer. At age 16, he began posting his remixes on electronic music forums, which led to his first record deal. He rose ...

(funeral here, remains buried at Hedvig Eleonora Churchyard) Stoppapressarna.se
(in Swedish) *

Brasse Brännström Brasse Brännström (real name Lars Erik Brännström; 27 February 1945 – 29 August 2014) was a Swedish actor and comedian. Brännström attended Adolf Fredrik's Music School in Stockholm. In 1970, he gained fame alongside Magnus Härenstam ...

(1945–2014), actor *

Ulla Bergryd Ulla Bergryd (25 July 1942 – 31 May 2015) was a Swedish actress and lecturer. Career Bergryd was 23 years old and a modeling and anthropology student living in Gothenburg, Sweden when she was discovered by a talent scout, who photographed her ...

(1942–2015), actress and

Stockholm University Stockholm University (SU) () is a public university, public research university in Stockholm, Sweden, founded as a college in 1878, with university status since 1960. With over 33,000 students at four different faculties: law, humanities, social ...

's lecturer * Arthur Fischer (1897–1991), actor *

Siegfried Fischer Fritz Adolf Ferdinand Siegfried Fischer (14 July 1894 – 8 April 1976) was a Swedish actor, theatre manager, playwright, screenwriter and writer. He was born in Stockholm, the son of conductor Franz Fischer. At seventeen years old he was h ...

(1894–1976), actor * Gustav Fonandern (1880–1960), architect, singer
location
*

Greta Garbo Greta Garbo (born Greta Lovisa Gustafsson; 18 September 1905 – 15 April 1990) was a Swedish-American actress and a premier star during Hollywood's Silent film, silent and early Classical Hollywood cinema, golden eras. Regarded as one of the g ...

(1905–1990), actress
location
* Alma Johansson (1880–1974), missionary
location
*

Pelle Lindbergh Göran Per-Eric "Pelle" Lindbergh (; 24 May 1959 – 11 November 1985) was a Swedish professional ice hockey goaltender who played five seasons with the Philadelphia Flyers in the National Hockey League (NHL). He was the first European-born goalt ...

(1959–1985), hockey goaltender with Team Sweden and the

Philadelphia Flyers The Philadelphia Flyers are a professional ice hockey team based in Philadelphia. The Flyers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The team play ...

of the

NHL The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

Ivar Lo-Johansson Ivar Lo-Johansson (23 February 1901 – 11 April 1990) was a Swedish writer of the Proletarian literature, proletarian school. His autobiographical 1978 memoir, ''Pubertet'' (''Puberty''), won the Nordic Council's Literature Prize in 1979. Biogr ...

(1901–1990), writer
location
* Oscar A.C. Lund (1885–1963), silent film actor, director
location
* Helmi Mäelo (1898–1978), Estonian writer and social activist *

Arvo Mägi Arvo Mägi (pseudonym Juhan Timmukuru; June 13, 1913 – November 27, 2004) was an Estonians, Estonian writer and journalist. Early life and education Arvo Mägi was born in the village of Koosa, Estonia, the son of Juhan Mägi (1870–1942) a ...

(1913–2004), Estonian writer and journalist *

Molla Mallory Anna Margrethe "Molla" Bjurstedt Mallory ( Bjurstedt; 6 March 1884 – 22 November 1959) was a former Norwegian-American world no 2 ranked tennis player. She won a record eight singles titles at the U.S. National Championships. She was the first ...

(1884–1959), tennis champion, winner of a record 8 singles titles at the U.S. National Championships
location
*

Anton Nilson Anton Nilson (11 November 1887 – 16 August 1989) was a Swedish terrorist and militant socialist who was convicted of murder for a fatal bombing in 1908. Nilson was born and grew up in a peasant region in Skåne, the southernmost province of ...

(1887–1989), revolutionary communist
location
* Lennart "Nacka" Skoglund (1929–1975), football star
location
* Valborg Svensson (1903–1983), Swedish politician and journalist *

Lars-Göran Petrov Lars-Göran Petrov (17 February 1972 – 7 March 2021), often abbreviated as L-G or LG Petrov, was a Swedish vocalist, best known for his work with death metal band Entombed (band), Entombed. Career Petrov's musical career began with his playin ...

(1972–2021), vocalist of Swedish death metal pioneers Entombed, famously photographed in front of the granite cross, in turn making it a site of pilgrimage for death metal fans even before the time of his death
location

Gallery

Skogskyrk 2006y.jpg, Graves at the garden Skogskyrkogården_(1094629088).jpg, Woodland Cemetery 1a,_Skogskyrkogården_skylt.jpg, Information board at the main entrance to the Woodland Cemetery in Stockholm Skogskyrkogarden_PathOfTheSevenWells2.jpg, Path of the Seven Wells Skogskyrkogården_088.JPG, Memory site Skogskyrkogården_1930.jpg, Skogskyrkogården in 1930 Trough_Skogskyrkogården_2012.jpg, Trough at Skogskyrkogården

References

External links

Official website

UNESCO description

Skogskyrkogården on Flickr
{{DEFAULTSORT:Skogskyrkogarden Cemeteries in Sweden Buildings and structures in Stockholm World Heritage Sites in Sweden Tourist attractions in Stockholm 1920 establishments in Sweden 1920s establishments in Stockholm