Alter Nordfriedhof (Munich)
Arcade vaults
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| Details | |
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| Established | 1866 |
| Location | Munich |
| Country | Germany |
| Type | Public (closed) |
The Alter Nordfriedhof ("Old North Cemetery") is a former cemetery located in the Arcisstrasse in Maxvorstadt, Munich, Bavaria, Germany. It is not to be confused with the Nordfriedhof in Munich, which was set up only a short time later in Schwabing. Construction began in 1866 to designs by the city architect Arnold Zenetti.
Until the middle of the 19th century the city of Munich had only a single public burial ground, the present Alter Südfriedhof. This was growing too small however for the rapidly growing city, and planning therefore began for a new burial ground in the north of the city.
Between June 1866 and the summer of 1869 the Northern Cemetery ("Nördlicher Friedhof") was built in Maxvorstadt.
The planning process itself reflected the split in society regarding cemeteries and public buildings generally: on the one hand there was a general wish to have the most prominent grave site possible, but on the other hand an equally general feeling that the cemetery should not be at one's own front door. Despite all controversies the Alter Nördlicher Friedhof opened on 5 October 1868, and the first burial took place the same day, when the remains of the former minister of St. Ludwig's, Munich, were transferred to the new burial ground.
The cemetery itself, rectangular in shape, with the chapel and various service buildings annexed, was originally divided into 16 fields of equal size. Along the west wall 30 arcaded vaults were built; a large cross stands in the middle. In its geometrical ground-plan and to some extent the arcades along the wall it resembled the idea of the Campo Santo, at the time a popular style of burial ground in Germany.
With the rise to power of the National Socialists in 1933 the entire existence of the cemetery was thrown into doubt: the new regime, in the context of the re-building of Munich as the capital of the movement, wanted to connect Isabellastraße with Luisenstraße in order to construct a spectacular boulevard, which was obstructed by the Alter Nördlicher Friedhof. For this reason burials ceased in 1939. Up to 1944 there were still single burials in existing family graves. After that time the cemetery was badly affected by air raids and was closed altogether. Many of the arcade vaults and most of the other cemetery buildings were destroyed.
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