Friedhof Nordend Bereich Gethsemane

Consecrated on Ascension Day, May 27, 1897, Friedhof Nordend Bereich Gethsemane began its life with a peculiar story. Friedhof Nordend Bereich Gethsemane, along with Frieden-Himmelfahrt and Zion cemeteries, forms the largest continuous cemetery in northern Berlin. On that first day, a tradition demanded a burial. A problem arose at Friedhof Nordend Bereich Gethsemane. No one in the Gethsemane congregation had recently died. A solution was found. They borrowed the body of a five-month-old boy from the Zion congregation. This fulfilled the tradition, seemingly rooted in superstition, of avoiding a woman or girl’s burial for a cemetery’s consecration. The child’s grave, marked by a small marble cross, is still maintained near the entrance of Friedhof Nordend Bereich Gethsemane. The Friedhof Nordend Bereich Gethsemane chapel, a neo-Gothic brick structure designed by Georg Roll, stands silent now. Decommissioned in the early 1970s, it echoes with memories of past services. Across from it, the restored waiting hall, a rare survivor on Berlin’s cemeteries, offers a glimpse into a bygone era. Nearby, the memorial grove commemorates the Gethsemane congregation members who fell in World War I. A grand linden tree avenue, a designated garden monument, stretches over a kilometer through Friedhof Nordend Bereich Gethsemane. This emphasizes the cemetery’s classic layout. It was once graced by a large entrance portal at Dietzgenstrasse, destroyed in the final days of World War II. The side pillars and iron gates remain. Near the entrance, the neo-Gothic brick administration building, dating back to around 1900, houses the offices for all three Nordend cemeteries. All these structures are protected historical monuments. Friedhof Nordend Bereich Gethsemane’s character is further defined by well-maintained hedges in the front section. The rear, beyond the chapel, has become overgrown, transforming into a small forest. Burials in this section ceased in 2013. The front area predominantly features burial plots for both in-ground and urn burials. The area around the chapel is noteworthy for its large historical tombstones and grave sites from the Art Nouveau period. They offer a glimpse into the area’s cultural history.