Considering a stroll through the world’s fourth-largest cemetery? Welcome to Museum Friedhof Ohlsdorf. This isn’t just any cemetery. It is a place of tranquility, history, and surprising beauty.
Established in 1877, Ohlsdorf Cemetery spans a massive 966 acres. It was designed as a non-denominational burial site. Imagine streets stretching over 17 kilometers. These paths wind past more than 280,000 burial sites. Over 1.5 million people are interred here.
More than a burial ground, the Ohlsdorf Cemetery serves as a recreational area. Two million visitors come each year from around the world. They come to see impressive mausoleums, colorful rhododendron bushes, serene ponds, diverse birdlife, and thought-provoking sculptures.
Within the Ohlsdorf Cemetery, you will find the Hamburg Commonwealth War Graves Commission Cemetery near Chapel 12. Here lie over 400 Allied prisoners of war. They died in German captivity during World War I. Sailors whose bodies washed ashore on the Frisian Islands are also buried here. Remains of British Commonwealth servicemen were brought here from 120 burial grounds. Further deceased Commonwealth soldiers of World War II and later were also interred here.
Several memorials honor victims of the Nazi era within the Ohlsdorf Cemetery. The Monument for the Victims of Nazi Persecution stands across from the new crematorium. It features a stele engraved with the names of 25 concentration camps. Nearby, a graveyard holds urns with ashes of victims and soil from concentration camps. The Passage over the River Styx is dedicated to the 38000 victims of the Hamburg firestorm. Another memorial honors Hamburg Resistance fighters. The Cemetery for Foreign Victims honors victims of Nazi concentration camps and forced labor. The Erinnerungsspirale in the Garden of Women remembers female victims and opponents of the Nazi regime.
To learn more, visit the Museum Friedhof Ohlsdorf. It raises awareness for the cemetery. The museum promotes both historical and contemporary funeral culture. Since 1996, the museum has displayed old maps, tools, urns, and some of the cemetery’s oldest tombstones.
Many notable figures rest here at Ohlsdorf Cemetery. These include actor Hans Albers, Chancellor Wilhelm Cuno, comedian Heinz Erhardt, and physicist Gustav Hertz. Also buried here are composer Michael Jary, writer Christian Graf von Krockow, and Chancellor Helmut Schmidt.
As you wander through Ohlsdorf Cemetery, remember its significance to European cemetery culture. Ohlsdorf was the first American-style park cemetery in Germany. Take a moment to appreciate the history and beauty around you.