The Hauptfriedhof is the main cemetery of Mainz, the capital of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It was established in 1803 when Mainz was under French administration. It became the model for the Cimetière du Père-Lachaise in Paris. It is the burial place of prominent persons, also the Deutscher Ehrenhof honorary graves. The cemetery is a cultural heritage site and prominent urban green space.
History
When Mainz was under French administration, cemeteries became rare due to the closing of church institutions. A new Christian cemetery was established in 1803 when Jeanbon St. André was the French préfet of the department of Mont-Tonnerre (Donnersberg).[1][2][3]
The Hauptfriedhof was first a square ground of about eleven morgen that was expanded several times. It has now an area of 22 hektar,[5] roughly in 75 "fields" in the central part, 14 in the urn grove across Saarstraße. The paths form a grid, with the main paths lined by trees. The cemetery contains old trees and other plants, and is regarded as quality urban green space of Mainz.[5]
Monuments
Portal grave near the old crematory
The Hauptfriedhof contains historic graves and monuments, interesting for historians and art historians. There are graves for single people, families, and also groups, including victims of wars, French soldiers,[3][6] and Deutscher Ehrenhof honorary graves.[7] The cemetery features two Gruftenstraßen (grave roads) with high monuments of important Mainzer families. The oldest gravestone dates to 1805. 230 gravestones and monuments are listed historic monuments.[3]
Graves of notable people
The Hauptfriedhof holds the graves of important Main personalities: scientists, industrialists, musicians, writers, politiciana and people of the Mainz carnival.[3]
Burials include:
Bernhard Adelung (1876–1943), politician (SPD), mayor of Mainz and minister-president of Volksstaat Hesse
Hauptfriedhof Mainz was included in the list of the most important cemeteries in Europa by the European Association of Significant Cemeteries in 2006.[9] The cemetery placed third in a 2012 poll of the most beautiful cemeteries in Germany,[5] after the Ohlsdorf Cemetery in Hamburg and the Waldfriedhof in Munich.[10]
Rupert Krömer, Sabine Theiss-Krömer (eds.): Ort der Stille. Von der Kraft der Endlichkeit. Verborgene Leidenschaften. 200 Jahre Mainzer Aureus – 2000 Jahre Heiliges Tal. Ein Bürgerprojekt. Vitruv Verlag, Mainz 2006, 4th edition 2008, ISBN3-937562-00-1.
Wolfgang Stumme: Der Mainzer Hauptfriedhof. Menschen und ihre letzten Ruhestätten. Leinpfad Verlag, Ingelheim 2010, ISBN978-3-942291-14-9.
Wolfgang Stumme: Der Mainzer Hauptfriedhof II. Menschen und ihre letzten Ruhestätten. 31 neue Porträts. Leinpfad Verlag, Ingelheim 2013, ISBN978-3-942291-65-1.
