Time stood still at Golzheimer Friedhof. A silent sentinel it guards Dusseldorf’s past. The Golzheimer Friedhof is more than just a cemetery. It’s Dusseldorf’s first communal burial ground. Imagine a time before 1805. Burials occurred at St Lambertus Church. It was overcrowded. Hygiene was a major problem. The church’s graveyard closed. A replacement was created near the Flingertor gate. This proved inconvenient for city planning. Protestant communities needed burial space too. In 1804 Kurfürst Maximilian Joseph commissioned Kaspar Anton Huschberger to find a new site. A suitable spot was found near Golzheim village. It was two kilometers north of the city. The Rhine River’s high sandbank offered flood protection. The soil was perfect for burials.
The Golzheimer Friedhof was divided into Catholic and Protestant sections. Catholics had the larger southern area. The first burial was on May 22 1805. Early days were basic. There were no trees fences or gates. Plans for a wall existed. They were delayed. Money was tight due to war.
Improvements started in 1816. Dusseldorf became the capital of the Grand Duchy of Berg. It was now under Prussian rule. The cemetery expanded threefold. Maximilian Friedrich Weyhe was hired as a gardener. Weyhe designed paths dividing the cemetery into rectangular sections. He planted linden trees along the paths. A hawthorn hedge surrounded the grounds. Weyhe also landscaped the riverside area. It resembled an English park with bushes. The riverfront location made it scenic. People enjoyed walks there. It was popular with landscape painters. Much of Weyhe’s layout remains. But the idyllic setting is gone. Surrounding areas are now built up.
In 1825 a new burial regulation came into effect. It specified grave sizes and fees. People could purchase family plots. These were located near the hedges. Few remain. Many iron gates surrounding graves were melted down during World Wars. The 1825 regulations remained until the cemetery closed. The Golzheimer Friedhof expanded several times. The population grew. In 1816 it reached about 22000 people. Further expansions occurred in 1838 and 1869. A final expansion happened in 1875. It reached its maximum size of 345 acres. Further growth was impossible. Surrounding buildings and the river limited space. Many of these added areas are now built over. A mortuary was built in 1875. An old barn had been converted earlier. But it was inadequate. The new building also served as a chapel. It was destroyed during World War II.
By the 1880s Dusseldorf’s population exceeded 100000. The Golzheimer Friedhof was full. New cemeteries opened. The Stoffeler Friedhof opened in 1879. The Nordfriedhof opened five years later. It’s now the city’s largest necropolis. The Golzheimer Friedhof closed to new burials in 1884. Existing family plots could be used until 1897.
The Golzheimer Friedhof became an obstacle for Klever Strasse. After protests and land acquisitions the Prussian state leveled part of the cemetery. The street now divides the cemetery. Relocation to the Nordfriedhof was offered. Many famous Dusseldorf residents were moved. This included composer Norbert Burgmüller and painter Theodor Mintrop. A large cross from the Golzheimer Friedhof was also moved. It is now on the Nordfriedhof’s Million Hill.
The surrounding area developed rapidly. Buildings like the Oberlandesgericht and the Rheinpark altered the area drastically. The Golzheimer Friedhof suffered severe damage in World War II. The mortuary and many graves were destroyed. Post-war reconstruction included memorial stones for those whose original gravestones were lost. Despite gaining protected status in 1982 the Golzheimer Friedhof remains in poor condition. About 350 old monuments suffer from decay vandalism and neglect. The Golzheimer Friedhof still silently tells Dusseldorf’s history.