Nordfriedhof, Cemetery and heritage park in Ravensberg district, Kiel, Germany
Nordfriedhof is a 16-hectare cemetery in the Ravensberg district of Kiel, laid out in 1878 on the site of former shooting ranges. Its entrance is marked by a chapel built of yellow brick, and the grounds contain about 3,000 soldiers' graves, including the Kiel War Cemetery added in 1952.
Established in 1878 as a garrison cemetery, this site served from the beginning as a burial ground for military personnel. The grounds preserve layers of military history through graves spanning different periods and conflicts.
The cemetery holds the graves of about 3,000 soldiers, evidence of Kiel's role as a naval base and former war harbour. At the entrance stands the memorial and burial site for the victims of the training ship Niobe, which sank in 1932; three steles between the Imperial Navy memorial and the high cross honour the crews of the battleships Gneisenau and Scharnhorst and the heavy cruiser Lützow.
The cemetery lies in the Ravensberg district; the entrance with the yellow brick chapel faces the street, and the Kiel War Cemetery adjoins the western part. The grounds were enlarged for the last time in 1992 and cover 16 hectares, so allow time to walk between the memorials. Field 13 holds the graves of 209 Soviet prisoners of war.
The cemetery was laid out in 1878 on the grounds of former shooting ranges in today's Ravensberg district, and the yellow brick chapel at the entrance has stood there since that founding period. About 3,000 soldier graves lie on the grounds, and the Kiel War Cemetery was attached to the north cemetery in 1952.
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