Geschlechterfriedhof Lunden, Heritage cemetery in Lunden, Germany

Geschlechterfriedhof Lunden is a cemetery in Lunden, Schleswig-Holstein, holding 67 graves of old Dithmarschen farming families. It contains 13 preserved burial vaults, seven upright steles, and numerous gravestones, mostly of Weser sandstone, with some Belgian granite or blue marble. The graves line the former courses of the Flehder, Lundener, Leher, and Prester stegels.

The cemetery, like St. Laurentius Church, dates from the 12th century, though no graves survive from its founding period. It was closed in 1880, after which burials moved to a new cemetery south of Lunden; only the Pfahler crypt still receives burials, the last in 1945. During the Dithmarschen Farmers' Republic, Lunden families sat on the Council of the Forty-Eight Regents and claimed prominent graves along the former main paths.

The gravestones display family emblems and inscriptions that tell the story of local families. They give visitors insight into the social bonds and family connections that existed across generations in this community.

The burial ground lies with St. Laurentius Church on an old dune, raised as protection against storm floods; a wall of one to two metres surrounds the area. The former main paths that once led to the graves are gone, but their courses still determine how the graves are grouped. The richest family graves line those former routes, and the south side of the church was preferred by the Nannen and Swyne.

The largest vault, the Nannenkeller, measures 5.60 m long, 3.20 m wide and 2.20 m high, with 0.30 m thick walls and a 1.10 m wide stone stair. Four iron rings on its stone cover let mourners lift it to reach the steps; two vents, at the entrance and in the south wall, aired the chamber.