Berlin's most beautiful cemeteries
London, Paris, Vienna all have world-famous cemeteries. Berlin, too. There's no large central cemetery here, but there are more than 200 small ones. Here are ten particularly interesting cemeteries with prominent graves.
Dorotheenstadt Cemetery
Visiting cemeteries may sound strange, but they are often park-like and are impressive because of their magnificent tombs. Many are historically significant, such as the Dorotheenstadt Cemetery in Berlin's Mitte district. Many celebrities are buried here, including the Prussian architect Karl Friedrich Schinkel (pictured front). Behind it is the mausoleum of the Hitzig family.
Invalids' Cemetery
The Invalids' Cemetery is one of the oldest in Berlin and served as the last resting place for high military officers of the 1813/15 liberation wars against Napoleon. From 1961 it was located in the death strip of the Berlin Wall, which destroyed most of the graves. In the meantime, some cemetery avenues were replanted and important graves were restored. Today about 200 graves can still be seen.
Alter St.-Matthäus-Kirchhof Cemetery
In the listed Alter St.-Matthäus-Kirchhof in Schöneberg, wall graves and mausoleums bear witness to Berlin's glorious history of the Wilhelminian period. Important artists, scientists and entrepreneurs are buried here. Also the family of the famous Grimm storytellers (picture).
Waldfriedhof Zehlendorf (Zehlendorf forest cemetery)
The forest cemetery Zehlendorf is relatively new. It was first built in 1945 in a pine forest and is known as a graveyard for celebrities. Here you can find the graves of the former chancellor Willy Brandt (picture), the architect Hans Scharoun and the actress Hildegard Knef. An honorary cemetery commemorates Italian soldiers who died in Berlin during the Second World War.
Municipal cemetery in Stubenrauchstraße
Many artists are buried in the park-like cemetery on Stubenrauchstraße, including actress Marlene Dietrich. In addition, many gravestones have been designed by artists. For example, in 1925 the Berlin sculptor Georg Kolbe created this grave monument with a bronze sculpture for the composer Ferruccio Busoni.
Cemetery Schönhauser Allee
The Jewish cemetery on Schönhauser Allee was built in 1827. A total of about 22,800 people were buried here, including important personalities such as the painter Max Liebermann. During the Second World War, the funeral hall and the mortuary near the entrance were destroyed. Today this site houses a memorial to the victims of the Nazi regime.
Weissensee Jewish Cemetery
The Weissensee Jewish Cemetery was built in 1880 as an extension to the cemetery on Schönhauser Allee. With over 115,000 graves it is Europe's largest Jewish cemetery. An array of buildings at the main entrance in the style of the Italian Neo-Renaissance welcomes visitors. Here, too, a memorial stone commemorates the Holocaust.
Cemetery Wannsee in Lindenstraße
The cemetery Wannsee is open to all religions. A symbol on the cemetery wall indicates this: a Christian cross connected to a Star of David. Here, too, there are elaborately designed graves such as those of the Richter family (picture). In vernacular this cemetery is also called millionaire's cemetery because many mansion owners were buried here.
Friedrichsfelde Central Cemetery
Until 1911 poor people found their last resting place in Friedrichsfelde, whose funeral costs were paid by the city. Since the cemetery is laid out like a park, it was later also used by rich Berliners. Today it is regarded as a socialist cemetery because numerous social democratic and communist politicians are buried here, who are honored with a memorial.
Cemeteries at the Hallesches Tor
The six cemeteries in Kreuzberg between Mehringdamm and Zossener Straße were originally built outside the city wall in the 18th century. Many important personalities such as the composer Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (picture) are buried here. If you are looking for some peace and quiet in Berlin, you can take a stroll here, perhaps even this Sunday, which is a day of remembrance for the deceased.