Vestre Cemetery (, meaning "Western Cemetery") is located in a large park setting in the

Kongens Enghave Kongens Enghave ("king's meadow"), commonly known as Sydhavnen ("south harbour") or the postal district of 2450 Copenhagen SV (southwest) is a district in southern Copenhagen. While its core is a largely pre-WWII former working class district, it ...

district of

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

. With its 54

hectare The hectare (; SI symbol: ha) is a non-SI metric unit of area equal to a square with 100-metre sides (1 hm2), that is, square metres (), and is primarily used in the measurement of land. There are 100 hectares in one square kilometre. ...

s it is the largest

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 ...

in Denmark. The cemetery is landscaped and serves as an important open space, in which people take a stroll, and look at the old graves and monuments. It is located southwest of the

city center A city centre, also known as an urban core, is the commercial, cultural and often the historical, political, and geographic heart of a city. The term "city centre" is primarily used in British English, and closely equivalent terms that exist in ...

, between the , , and train stations of Copenhagen's S-train network, and right next to the historic Carlsberg neighbourhood. The cemetery is one of five run by Copenhagen municipality. The other cemeteries are

Assistens Cemetery An Assistens Cemetery () is a cemetery that functions as an expansion of another, older cemetery often in relation to a city church. Already by the end of the 17th century, Danish authorities deemed that the conditions for inner-city cemeteries we ...

, Brønshøj Cemetery, Sundby Cemetery, and

Bispebjerg Cemetery Bispebjerg Cemetery ( Danish: Bispebjerg Kirkegård), established in 1903 on the moderately graded north slope of Bispebjerg Hill, is the newest of five municipal cemeteries in Copenhagen, Denmark. The main entrance to the cemetery is located ne ...

. The cemetery has a

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

section, and next to that is a

Jewish cemetery A Jewish cemetery ( ''beit almin'' or ''beit kvarot'') is a cemetery where Jews are buried in keeping with Halakha, Jewish tradition. Cemeteries are referred to in several different ways in Hebrew, including ''beit kevarot'' (house of s ...

(the Jewish Western Cemetery).

History

Vestre Kirkegård was opened on 2 November 1870 to accommodate an urgent need for adequate burial places for the growing population of Copenhagen. Assistens Cemetery, till then the main cemetery of the city, had long been unable to cope with the increasing number of burials.

Hans Jørgen Holm Hans Jørgen Holm (9 May 1835 – 22 July 1916) was a Danish architect. A pupil of Johan Daniel Herholdt, he became a professor at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts and a leading Danish proponent of the National Romantic style. Biograp ...

, who was the resident architect for the Copenhagen Burial Services, in collaboration with landscape architect Edvard Glæsel (1858–1915) and city engineer Charles Ambt were responsible for the overall planning and landscaping of the new cemetery. Almost all the buildings in the grounds have been designed by Hans Jørgen Holm or Holger Jacobsen, who succeeded him as resident architect for the Copenhagen Burial Services. Holm designed both the North Chapel and South Chapel (1906) as well as an office building the gate at the main entrance. It is unclear who were responsible for the design of the former inspector's house just inside the main entrance. The East Chapel was inaugurated in 1914 to a design by Holger Jacobsen but only remained in use until 1926. First a burial place for the poor, Vestre Kirkegaard became the principal burial place of Copenhagen during the 1990s.

Environment

The cemetery is noted for its scenery, offers a maze of dense groves, open lawns, winding paths, hedges, overgrown

tomb A tomb ( ''tumbos'') or sepulchre () is a repository for the remains of the dead. It is generally any structurally enclosed interment space or burial chamber, of varying sizes. Placing a corpse into a tomb can be called '' immurement'', alth ...

s, monuments, tree-lined avenues, ponds and other

garden feature Garden features are physical elements, both natural and manmade, used in garden design. *Artificial waterfall * Avenue *Aviary *Bog garden *Borrowed scenery * Bosquet * Broderie * Belvedere *Chashitsu (tea house) * Chōzubachi (basin) * Deck * D ...

s. Many graves have distinctive gravestones, sculptures or large

mausoleum A mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the burial chamber of a deceased person or people. A mausoleum without the person's remains is called a cenotaph. A mausoleum may be considered a type o ...

s and are eclectically placed. The cemetery's grounds have a variety of trees with many rare species and is a haven to birds and small mammals.

Monuments and sculptures

Just inside the main entrance is Arne Bang's bronze statue ''En Falden'' (''"A Fallen"''), which was installed in 1942 to commemorate the Danish soldiers that were killed when Denmark was occupied by Nazi Germany on 9 April 1940. In the North Chapel's courtyard garden are two reliefs by the artist Henrik Starcke, ''Death'' and ''Resurrection'', which were installed in 1949. They were a gift from the Albertina Foundation. Nineteen British former prisoners of war released at the end of

World War I 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 ...

, homeward bound, died at Copenhagen around New Year 1919. Among them were a Canadian, an Indian and an Australian from Tasmania. Each has a

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 ...

headstone and a fine memorial, given by the Danes, was unveiled in their honour in 1920. There are also buried three British casualties from

World War II 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 ...

. In the Faroese section is a monument created by the painter

Elof Risebye Elof Christian Risebye (3 April 1892 – 11 July 1961) was a Danish painter. He became known as the "painter of grief" (''sorgens maler'') for his paintings of coffins and corpses in the 1930s. Biography Born in the Frederiksberg district of Co ...

. The monument in the Greenlandic section 19 is from 1963 and was designed by the sculptor Jan Buhl.

The Crossroads Project

The Crossroads Project (Danish: ''Stjernevejsprojektet''), designed b
Schønher Landskab
is a landscape project centred on the remains of the South Chapel, now serving as a

pavilion In architecture, ''pavilion'' has several meanings; * It may be a subsidiary building that is either positioned separately or as an attachment to a main building. Often it is associated with pleasure. In palaces and traditional mansions of Asia ...

for contemplation. It was created in 2003 after Copenhagen Municipality arranged a competition for the regeneration of an area characterized by the abandoned South Chapel of the cemetery and

elm tree Elms are deciduous and semi-deciduous trees comprising the genus ''Ulmus'' in the family Ulmaceae. They are distributed over most of the Northern Hemisphere, inhabiting the temperate and tropical-montane regions of North America and Eurasia, p ...

s dead from Dutch elm disease. The complex is intended to serve a dual purpose both relating to the location's function as a burial place and as an open space and meeting place in the city, for those seeking peace and silence. The complex consists of two intersecting

axes Axes, plural of ''axe'' and of ''axis'', may refer to * ''Axes'' (album), a 2005 rock album by the British band Electrelane * a possibly still empty plot (graphics) See also * Axis (disambiguation) An axis (: axes) may refer to: Mathematics ...

with the former Southern Chapel in its centre. The chapel was partly demolished, leaving only the central part as an open pavilion-like

dome A dome () is an architectural element similar to the hollow upper half of a sphere. There is significant overlap with the term cupola, which may also refer to a dome or a structure on top of a dome. The precise definition of a dome has been a m ...

d structure. The building is partly overgrown by

ivy ''Hedera'', commonly called ivy (plural ivies), is a genus of 12–15 species of evergreen climbing or ground-creeping woody plants in the family Araliaceae, native to Western Europe, Central Europe, Southern Europe, Macaronesia, northwestern ...

. The surrounding garden spaces of the two axes, creating a

Greek cross The Christian cross, with or without a figure of Jesus, Christ included, is the main religious symbol of Christianity. A cross with a figure of Christ affixed to it is termed a crucifix and the figure is often referred to as the ''corpus'' (La ...

, are confined by tall yew hedges and have a grass surface. Embedded in the lawns of the cross arms are narrow, rust coloured paths made of oxidized iron plates, flanked by rows by

cherry tree A cherry is the fruit of many plants of the genus ''Prunus'', and is a fleshy drupe (stone fruit). Commercial cherries are obtained from cultivars of several species, such as the sweet ''Prunus avium'' and the sour ''Prunus cerasus''. The name ...

s. At the end of each cross arm is a 9 metre tall rust coloured iron arch. The design of the project is inspired by

Bramante Donato Bramante (1444 – 11 April 1514), born as Donato di Pascuccio d'Antonio and also known as Bramante Lazzari, was an Italian architect and painter. He introduced Renaissance architecture to Milan and the High Renaissance style to Rom ...

's Tempietto in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

and the

Baroque garden The Baroque garden was a style of garden based upon symmetry and the principle of imposing order on nature. The style originated in the late-16th century in Italy, in the gardens of the Vatican and the Villa Borghese gardens in Rome and in the ...

s of Villa Gori in

Siena Siena ( , ; traditionally spelled Sienna in English; ) is a city in Tuscany, in central Italy, and the capital of the province of Siena. It is the twelfth most populated city in the region by number of inhabitants, with a population of 52,991 ...

. The latter is characterized by the garden being contained in the two axes of the garden, instead of the axes being the connecting feature of the surrounding gardens as is normally the case.

Interments

Among the notables interred at the cemetery are political and business leaders, philosophers, artists, and musicians: * Carl Aller (1845–1926), publisher, founder of

Aller Media Aller Media is a magazine publisher in the Nordic countries, headquartered in Copenhagen, Denmark. It publishes ''Elle'', ''Cafe'', ''Familie Journalen'', ''Femina (Denmark), Femina'', ''Allers'' and ''Se og Hør''. History Aller Media was fo ...

* Laura Aller (1849–1917), pioneering editor and magazine publisher * Hans Niels Andersen (1852–1937), businessman, founder of

East Asiatic Company The EAC Invest A/S, formerly known as the Santa Fe Group and East Asiatic Company ( or ''ØK'') is a multinational holding and investment company, based in Copenhagen, Denmark. Originally founded by Hans Niels Andersen in 1887. It owned 5 subsid ...

Herman Bang Herman Joachim Bang (20 April 1857 – 29 January 1912) was a Danish journalist and author, one of the men of the Modern Breakthrough. Biography Early life and education Bang was born in Asserballe, on the small Danish island of Als, the son o ...

(1857–1912), writer *

Vilhelm Buhl Vilhelm Buhl (16 October 1881 – 18 December 1954) was a Danish politician, who served twice as Prime Minister of Denmark, from May-November 1942 during the Nazi occupation of Denmark, and again after Danish Liberation Day from May-November 194 ...

(1881–1954), political leader,

Social Democrat Social democracy is a Social philosophy, social, Economic ideology, economic, and political philosophy within socialism that supports Democracy, political and economic democracy and a gradualist, reformist, and democratic approach toward achi ...

Prime Minister of Denmark The prime minister of Denmark (, , ) is the head of government in the Kingdom of Denmark comprising the three constituent countries: Denmark, Greenland and the Faroe Islands. Before the creation of the modern office, the kingdom did not init ...

Anne Marie Carl-Nielsen Anne Marie Carl-Nielsen (born Anne Marie Brodersen; 21 June 1863 – 21 February 1945) was a Danish Sculpture, sculptor. Her preferred themes were domestic animals and people, with an intense, naturalistic portrayal of movements and sentime ...

(1863–1945), sculptor * Emmy Drachmann (1854–1928), novelist *

Edvard Eriksen Edvard Eriksen (10 March 1876 – 12 January 1959) was a Danish–Icelandic sculptor. Biography He apprenticed as a wood carver, after which he trained at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts between 1894 and 1899. Eriksen's most famous work ...

(1876–1959), sculptor, most famous for the statue of the

Little Mermaid "The Little Mermaid" (), sometimes translated in English as "The Little Sea Maid", is a fairy tale written by Danish author Hans Christian Andersen. Originally published in 1837 as part of a collection of fairy tales for children, the story foll ...

Jørgen Pedersen Gram Jørgen Pedersen Gram (27 June 1850 – 29 April 1916) was a Danish actuary and mathematician who was born in Nustrup, Duchy of Schleswig, Denmark and died in Copenhagen, Denmark. Important papers of his include ''On series expansions determin ...

(1850–1916), mathematician *

Gustav Adolph Hagemann Gustav Adolph Hagemann (16 May 1842 – 26 April 1916) was a Danish engineer and businessman. He was chief technical officer of the De Danske Sukkerfabrikker, Danish Sugar Factories from 1872 to 1897 and then served as chairman of the board until ...

(1842–1916), engineer and businessman *

Vilhelm Hammershøi Vilhelm Hammershøi (), often anglicised as Vilhelm Hammershoi (15 May 186413 February 1916), was a Danish painter. He is known for his poetic, subdued portraits and interiors. In 1905, Rainer Maria Rilke wrote of the artist, "Hammershøi is no ...

(1864–1916), painter * Hanna Hoffmann (1858–1917), sculptor and silversmith * Karen Hannover (1872–1943), ceramist *

Hans Christian Hansen Hans Christian Svane Hansen (8 November 1906 – 19 February 1960), often known as H. C. Hansen or simply H. C., was a Danish politician who served as Prime Minister of Denmark from 1955 until his death in 1960. A Social Democrat, Hansen served ...

(1906–1960), political leader, Social Democrat Prime Minister * Hans Hedtoft (1903–1955), political leader, Social Democrat Prime Minister *

Per Hækkerup Per Hækkerup (25 December 1915 – 13 March 1979) was a Denmark, Danish Social Democrats (Denmark), Social Democratic politician, who served as Foreign Minister of Denmark from 1962 to 1966. Hækkerup, the son of Hans Kristian Hækkerup, a poli ...

(1915–1979), political leader, Social Democrat *

Arthur Jensen Arthur Robert Jensen (August 24, 1923 – October 22, 2012) was an American psychologist and writer. He was a professor of educational psychology at the University of California, Berkeley. Jensen was known for his work in psychometrics an ...

(1897–1981), actor *

August Jerndorff August Andreas Jerndorff (25 January 1846 – 28 July 1906) was a Danish painter who is best known for his portraits. Biography August Jarndorff was born in Oldenburg in Lower Saxony. His parents were Just Ulrik Jerndorff (1806-1847), painter t ...

(1846–1906), painter *

Thad Jones Thaddeus Joseph Jones (March 28, 1923 – August 20, 1986) was an American jazz trumpeter, composer and bandleader who has been called "one of the all-time greatest jazz trumpet soloists". Early life, family and education Thad Jones was born i ...

(1923–1986), American jazz trumpeter *

Viggo Kampmann Olfert Viggo Fischer Kampmann (; 21 July 1910 – 3 June 1976) was a Danish politician who served as the leader of the Danish Social Democrats and prime minister of Denmark from 1960 to 1962. He formed his first cabinet just prior to the 1960 ...

(1910–1975), political leader, Social Democrat Prime Minister * Julie Marstrand (1882–1943), sculptor *

Asta Nielsen Asta Sofie Amalie Nielsen (11 September 1881 – 24 May 1972) was a Danish silent film actress who was one of the most popular leading ladies of the 1910s and one of the first international movie stars. Seventy of Nielsen's 74 films were ...

(1881–1972), film actress *

Dagmar Olrik Dagmar Olrik (1860–1932) was a Danish painter and tapestry artist. She is remembered for her weaving and tapestry work, in particular for decorating a room in Copenhagen City Hall, Copenhagen's City Hall with tapestries based on cartoons of Nord ...

(1860–1932), artist *

Carl Nielsen Carl August Nielsen (; 9 June 1865 – 3 October 1931) was a Danish composer, conductor, and violinist, widely recognized as his country's most prominent composer. Brought up by poor yet musically talented parents on the island of Funen, he d ...

(1865–1931), composer *

Jens Otto Krag Jens Otto Krag (; 15 September 1914 – 22 June 1978) was a Danish politician, who served as the prime minister of Denmark from 1962 to 1968 and again from 1971 to 1972, and as leader of the Social Democrats from 1962 to 1972. He was president of ...

(1914–1978), political leader, Social Democrat Prime Minister *

Julius Petersen Julius Peter Christian Petersen (16 June 1839 in Sorø, West Zealand – 5 August 1910 in Copenhagen) was a Denmark, Danish mathematician. His contributions to the field of mathematics led to the birth of graph theory. Biography Petersen's in ...

(1839–1910), mathematician * Julie Ramsing (1871–1954), philanthropist *

Knud Rasmussen Knud Johan Victor Rasmussen (; 7 June 1879 – 21 December 1933) was a Greenlandic-Danish polar explorer and anthropologist. He has been called the "father of Eskimology" (now often known as Inuit Studies or Greenlandic and Arctic Studies) ...

(1879–1933), polar explorer and anthropologist * Carl Rohl-Smith (1848–1900), Danish-American sculptor *

Thorvald Stauning Thorvald August Marinus Stauning (; 26 October 1873 in Copenhagen – 3 May 1942) was the first Social Democrats (Denmark), social democratic prime minister of Denmark. He served as Prime Minister from 1924 to 1926 and again from 1929 until his d ...

(1873–1942), political leader, first Social Democrat Prime Minister *

Hermann Baagøe Storck Hermann Baagøe Storck (18 February 1839 – 4 December 1922) was a Denmark, Danish architect and heraldry, heraldist. As an architect, he is mainly known for the restoration of historic buildings. Among his own designs, his building for the ...

(1839–1922), architect and heraldic artist *

Hjalmar Söderberg Hjalmar Emil Fredrik Söderberg (2 July 1869 – 14 October 1941) was a Swedish novelist, short story writer, playwright and journalist. His works often deal with melancholy and lovelorn characters, and offer a rich portrayal of contemporary Stoc ...

(1869–1941), Swedish author *

Ed Thigpen Edmund Leonard Thigpen (December 28, 1930 – January 13, 2010) was an American jazz drummer, best known for his work with the Oscar Peterson trio from 1959 to 1965. Thigpen also performed with the Billy Taylor trio from 1956 to 1959. Biograph ...

(1930–2010), American jazz drummer *

Laurits Tuxen Laurits Regner Tuxen (9 December 1853 – 21 November 1927) was a Danish painter and sculptor specialising in figure painting. He was also associated with the Skagen Painters. He was the first head of Kunstnernes Frie Studieskoler, an art sc ...

(1853–1927), sculptor, painter *

Clara Wæver Clara Marie Wæver (7 April 1855–18 August 1930) was a Danish embroiderer who in 1890 opened a successful business in Copenhagen. Recognized for its high quality, it also provided instruction and training in needlework for young women. In 1903 ...

(1855–1930), embroiderer *

Liva Weel Olivia Marie Olsen (31 December 1897 – 22 May 1952), Liva Weel, was a Danish singer, comedian, and actress. Although she was trained in classical singing, her signature songs and performances were ballads. Upbringing Weel grew up in Vesterb ...

(1897–1952), singer, actress * Carlo Wieth (1885–1943), actor *

Kristian Zahrtmann Peder Henrik Kristian Zahrtmann, known as Kristian Zahrtmann, (31 March 1843 – 22 June 1917) was a Danish painter. He was a part of the Danish artistic generation in the late 19th century, along with Peder Severin Krøyer and Theodor Philipsen, ...

(1843–1917), painter

Cultural references

In ''Nordisk Foraar'' (1911, "''Nordic Spring''"), Johannes V. Jensen refers to Vestre Kirkegård as the fairest park in Copenhagen, "taller, more elegant than the city centre" (”Jeg gaar ud på Vestre Kirkegaard en Formiddag og finder mig til Rette./ Det er den smukkeste Park vi har, her er højere end inde i Byen, friere,/ og de unge Træer staar i Luftningen ude fra Søen og gror, svulmer af Frodighed”).

References

External links

Pamphlet
with map of the cemetery
British Commonwealth War Graves at Vestre Cemetery

CWGC: Copenhagen western cemetery

Source
{{coord, 55, 39, 28, N, 12, 31, 45, E, source:dawiki_region:DK_type:landmark, display=title 1870 establishments in Denmark Cemeteries established in the 1870s Cemeteries in Copenhagen Commonwealth War Graves Commission cemeteries in Denmark Kongens Enghave Lutheran cemeteries in Denmark Parks in Copenhagen Tourist attractions in Copenhagen