Perhaps you are thinking of a peaceful resting place. The Új köztemető or New Public Cemetery is Budapest’s largest cemetery. It spans 207 hectares. That is over 500 acres. It holds more than three million interments.
The Új köztemető wasn’t always so large. It opened on May 1 1886 with 183 hectares. The first burial was Viktória Závoyly on August 6 1886. She rests in section 53.
Czigler Győző designed the cemetery’s layout. He planned its square sections and main buildings in 1903. Ármin Hegedűs designed the entrance complex. The Új köztemető features Italian-style tomb vaults near the entrance.
During World War I two sections became military burial grounds in 1903. Soldiers from allied central powers and prisoners of war who died in Hungary were buried here from 1914. Back then the Új köztemető was Europe’s second-largest cemetery after Verdun. Most of the war hero sections were removed after 1955.
Sándor Wossala designed the mortuary and cooling house between 1920 and 1925. These were renovated between 1978 and 1985.
After the 1956 revolution many people were executed for political reasons. They were secretly buried far from the Új köztemető’s entrance. This includes Imre Nagy the prime minister who was executed in 1961. In 1989 Nagy Imre and his fellow martyrs were reburied in a public ceremony.
Hungary’s second crematorium opened here in 1968 designed by János Pomsár. The building was expanded in the 1970s. However the crematorium closed in 2007.
In 2001 the Heroes’ Cemetery Memorial Park was created. A memorial to Hungarian military heroes was erected the following year. Military honors are given at the central wreath-laying ceremony on the Hungarian Heroes’ Memorial Day.
Since 1984 relatives could take home or scatter the ashes of their loved ones. The first scattering area was created in section 53. The Urna Pantheon opened in 2006. It provides crypt-like burial spaces.
The cemetery has been expanded several times. The Új köztemető now covers about 207 hectares. About 7000 to 8000 people are buried here each year.
Sections 298 to 301 hold a special significance. Section 300 features György Jovanovics’s martyr memorial. It includes the graves of Imre Nagy and his fellow martyrs. A black granite prism stands 1956 millimeters tall. Section 301 holds the graves of those executed after the 1956 revolution. They have identical headstones.
The Új köztemető also has graves for soldiers of other nations. These include Turkish martyrs from the World War I Galician front. There are also Bulgarian Italian Romanian and Soviet military sections.
The Új köztemető is more than just a burial ground. It is a historical landmark. It reflects Hungary’s complex past. It is a place of remembrance and reflection.