Alter Friedhof, Heritage cemetery in Greifswald, Germany
Alter Friedhof is a cemetery in Greifswald that spans about 4.4 hectares between Ryck and Wolgaster Street, featuring a central octagonal chapel and yellow brick walls dating from 1869. Pathways cross through the central grounds and connect different burial sections throughout the property.
The facility was established in 1818 after French occupation forces prohibited burials inside churches and within city walls in 1808. This led to the creation of a new public cemetery located outside the city.
The cemetery holds graves of notable Greifswald residents such as railway pioneer Johann Carl Päpke and scientist Friedrich Loeffler. These burial sites show how the city honored and remembered its important citizens during the 19th century.
The grounds are accessible today for urn burials, and visitors can explore the different sections via a network of pathways. The central chapel and marked paths make it easy to navigate throughout the cemetery.
The grounds were designed by Johann Gottfried Quistorp and drew inspiration from Dessau's New Burial Ground, one of Germany's first municipal cemeteries. This design made it a model for modern cemetery planning of its era.
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