Friedhof Baumschulenweg, Cemetery with crematorium in Treptow-Köpenick district, Berlin, Germany.
Friedhof Baumschulenweg is a municipal cemetery in Berlin's Treptow-Köpenick district, split by Kiefholzstraße into an older western part (1911) with the crematorium and a newer eastern part (1936). The 1913 neoclassical domed crematorium was replaced in 1950–1952 by a flat-roofed rectangular building, and again in 1996–1999 by a new crematorium designed by Axel Schultes and Charlotte Frank. The grounds cover about 322,000 m² and border the Königsheide forest to the north.
The cemetery opened in 1911 on former sewage-farm land, designed by architects Erich Bientz and Mathias Bardenheuer with garden director Ernst Harrich. A neoclassical domed crematorium followed, inaugurated on 20 June 1913 as Berlin's second after Wedding. Damaged in the Second World War, it was rebuilt in 1950–1952 as a flat-roofed rectangular building; Axel Schultes and Charlotte Frank designed the current crematorium in 1996–1999.
Since 1963 only urn burials have taken place here, following a shift in East German burial culture toward cremation. The cemetery holds the graves of figures such as Clara Schuch, a former SPD Reichstag deputy whose 1936 funeral drew 5,000 mourners. A memorial plaque since August 2016 commemorates victims of the GDR border regime cremated here.
The cemetery lies on both sides of Kiefholzstraße: the old section with the crematorium is at number 211, the new section at number 222. The main entrance of the new section is flanked by two identical gatehouses. The grounds border the Königsheide forest to the north.
The crematorium building is a solid concrete block that extends both above and below ground level. Inside, split stone boxes open toward glass panels, creating an unexpected quality of light within the interior spaces.
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