Südfriedhof is the German name for the South Cemetery in

Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. With an area of over 61 hectares, it is the largest cemetery in Cologne. Südfriedhof also has sections for 2,596 Commonwealth war graves from prisoners of war mainly from the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. There are also over 1,900 Italian prisoners of war buried here. More dramatically, but less acknowledged, the cemetery contains the remains of around 40,000 civilian victims of the bombing of Cologne in the Second World War.

History

Conceived in 1899 and opened in 1901 the cemetery was laid out as a parkland, and was heavily planted to enhance its woodland ambience, to a design by the landscape architect

Adolf Kowallek Adolf (also spelt Adolph or Adolphe, Adolfo, and when Latinised Adolphus) is a given name with German origins. The name is a compound derived from the Old High German ''Athalwolf'' (or ''Hadulf''), a composition of ''athal'', or ''adal'', mean ...

. Kowallek died the year after the cemetery opened and is buried near its entrance. The cemetery has been extended several times, notably in 1915, during the First World War, to accommodate dead prisoners of war, plus later extension in the 1930s and lastly in 1963.

Commonwealth War Graves Cemetery

Cologne Southern Cemetery was used for burying British Commonwealth prisoners of war who died in captivity within the area during the First World War, and for those who died while serving in the British army of occupation garrison in the area between 1918 and 1926. From 1922, it also received reburials of British Commonwealth personnel from graveyards in the regions of

Hanover Hanover ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Lower Saxony. Its population of 535,932 (2021) makes it the List of cities in Germany by population, 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-l ...

, Hessen,

Rhineland The Rhineland ( ; ; ; ) is a loosely defined area of Western Germany along the Rhine, chiefly Middle Rhine, its middle section. It is the main industrial heartland of Germany because of its many factories, and it has historic ties to the Holy ...

and

Westphalia Westphalia (; ; ) is a region of northwestern Germany and one of the three historic parts of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It has an area of and 7.9 million inhabitants. The territory of the region is almost identical with the h ...

who became concentrated within what became the present Commonwealth cemetery. In addition, over 130 Commonwealth personnel from the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

were buried here, mostly personnel of the allied occupation force. 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 mil ...

also maintain 676 non-war graves and 30 graves of service personnel of other nationalities. In the shelter building at the entrance of the Commonwealth War Graves Cemetery is the Cologne Memorial, consisting of four plaques listing 25 British personnel who died within Germany but whose graves were not located or who drowned without their bodies being recovered.

Notable burials

* Karl Berbuer composer *

Dominik Bohm Dominic, Dominik or Dominick is a male given name common among Roman Catholics and other Latin-Romans. Originally from the late Roman-Italic name "Dominicus", its translation means "Lordly", "Belonging to God" or "of the Master". The most promi ...

architect * Otto Bongartz architect *

Werner Koj Werner may refer to: People * Werner (name), origin of the name and people with this name as surname and given name Fictional characters * Werner (comics), a German comic book character * Werner Von Croy, a fictional character in the ''Tomb Rai ...

author * Peter Muller boxer * Adolf Nocker architect *

Max Scheler Max Ferdinand Scheler (; 22 August 1874 – 19 May 1928) was a German philosopher known for his work in phenomenology, ethics, and philosophical anthropology. Considered in his lifetime one of the most prominent German philosophers,Davis, Zacha ...

philosopher * Wolfgang Wollner sculptor

References

External links

* * – Italian graves * – British and Irish graves * – British graves {{DEFAULTSORT:Sudfriedhof (Cologne) Cemeteries in Cologne