Open Grave, Tomb in Gartenfriedhof, Mitte district of Hanover, Germany.
The Open Grave is a burial site in the Gartenfriedhof cemetery in Hanover with a distinctive architectural form: a heavy stone slab has been lifted by natural forces and no longer sits flat on the grave. A visible gap between the base and the cover stone reveals this unusual condition.
The grave belongs to Henriette Juliane Caroline von Rüling, who died in 1782, and bears an inscription stating it should never be opened. It dates from the post-war period when Hanover was reorganizing and developing as a city.
The cemetery holds graves of people who held significance in Hanover's history, including clergy, scholars, and military figures across multiple centuries. These burial sites reflect the importance of such individuals in the city's social fabric.
The burial site sits within the Gartenfriedhof cemetery grounds, accessible through several entrances including one near the Aegidientorplatz square in downtown Hanover. It makes sense to explore the cemetery on foot since graves are spread across the entire property.
A birch tree growing on the grave has lifted the heavy stone slab through its natural growth force, thus opening the tomb. This contradicts the inscription that explicitly demands the grave should never be opened.
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