From September, the ecological cemetery Louka vzpomínek will be used for burial in Prague
From September, an ecological cemetery called Meadow of Memories will be used for burial in Prague. The natural burial ground, which is a project of the city’s contributory organization Prague Cemeteries Administration (SPH), will be located in the grounds of Ďáblický cemetery. SPH is thus developing its new concept of funeral services. He wants people more options for burial and individual forms of farewell to their deceased. Martin Červený, the organization’s director, told the press.
The natural cemetery will take the form of a flowery meadow, with mowed alleys between the meadow strips. The burial ground will have a capacity of about 350 grave sites and the individual graves will be marked with two ceramic plates from the deceased. The place will be complemented by a gazebo, which will serve as a ceremonial place. In order for the burial to be ecological, the deceased will be buried exclusively in coffins made of natural materials such as wood or wicker. Natural textiles must also include the clothes of the deceased and the upholstery of coffins.
“It will be the first cemetery in the Czech Republic where there will be ecological burials of the body in the ground, which is not possible to this day,” said the director of SPH Červený.
The meadow of memories will follow the first natural cemetery The forest of memories, which is also located in the area of Ďáblický cemetery. The ashes of the dead can be stored there at the roots of memorial trees. Instead of tombstones, there are wooden signs with the names of buried trees on the trunks of maples, lindens and other trees. The Forest of Memories was opened by the cemetery administration in cooperation with the organizations Kroots in June 2015 and is now almost completely occupied, according to the Red majority.
According to the director of SPH, a place for open-air funeral ceremonies could also be created in the premises of the currently disused Bubeneč cemetery in the vicinity of Prague’s Stromovka. Red said that after the funeral of their loved ones in nature, the survivors are now interested. SPH will only look for a specific use of the historic cemetery, where it has not been buried for about 130 years. At the same time, SPH is planning, among other things, a construction-historical survey of the cemetery, the history of which, according to Červený, little is known. Tombstones that are in a state of emergency will also be examined. Na Skalce Cemetery should be taken over by the SPH from the capital, the allocation will be approved by representatives of the metropolis on Thursday.
The Ďáblice cemetery is the second largest burial ground in the metropolis after the Olšany cemeteries. The Devil’s Cemetery was established between 1912 and 1914 according to the design of the architect Vlastislav Hofman. The cemetery in Ďáblice is thus the only Cubist cemetery in the Czech Republic. The burial ground has been protected as a monument since 1958, and was declared a national cultural monument in 2017. This year, the Prague City Hall, through the SPH, announced an architectural competition for its reverential renovation.
Administration of Prague Cemeteries
takes care of more than thirty of the 70 cemeteries in the territory of Prague, provides funeral services and the operation and administration of the Motol and Strašnice crematoria. The new SPH will be called Cemeteries and Funeral Services of the Capital City of Prague. The amendment to the charter will be discussed by representatives of the metropolis on Thursday.
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