(3 August, cont.)
Before we left the village of our paternal ancestors, we also made a stop at the church and churchyard where we have our family graves on dad's side of the family.
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| Fristad Church (built 1850) |
The only graves we have left there now that are our responsibility are those of our parents and paternal grandparents, plus that of my grandfather's grandparents (but that one is just a flat stone lying down in the lawn and requires no special care).
I don't know what the practice is in other countries, but in Sweden,
nowadays, either family look after their graves
themselves, or pay an annual fee to have that done by churchyard staff. (As we don't live
nearby, we pay for the service).
If there is no one to continue to care for a grave any more, it goes back to the church; which means that the spot can be reused by someone else (but not until after 25 years after the last burial there).
My grandmother came from a large family, and most of her siblings were buried in this churchyard too. My
parents in their time used to care for three or four more old graves here. But after dad died, we
returned those to the church - and by now, they have been reused. (I made that decision before I started digging deeper into family history myself - and perhaps that was just as well!) There are still another two or three graves that belong to cousins of my dad, though. Nowadays I normally only visit once a year or so; but when I'm there, I usually still walk around to those that
I still remember where they are.
Back in 2011 (the same year my dad died) there was a tragic accident in another churchyard in this part of Sweden, where a child was killed by a heavy old headstone falling over it. After that, there was a national decree issued that every headstone in every graveyard in the whole country has to be checked regularly. If a standing stone does not pass a certain pressure test, it is laid down on the ground; and if you want to have it raised again, you have to pay to have that done in a secure way.
One result of this is of course that you see more old headstones laid down on the ground these days. But another is that many old church yards also look more "alive" and well cared for now than they used to.
(PS. The stone on the grave of my great-great-grandparents was always lying flat, I think.)
This is a lovely church. Do you know which end the sanctuary is in...the round part or the other part? How horrible and ironic about that poor child! I had no idea that graves were re-used, except in pandemics or emergencies.
ReplyDeleteGinny, if by the sanctuary you mean the altar, that is in the round part (the apse). The standard here (in old churches of this shape at least) is that the altar is always in the east, and the tower/main entrance is always in the west.
DeleteIt's the same in England. On the graveyards I have visited in Yorkshire, many of the stones are flat on the ground. I was puzzled by this at first, but Steve explained it to me as a safety measure.
ReplyDeleteIn Germany, at least in our part of it (federalism means we often have very different regulations from one federal state of Germany to the next), we "lease" a plot for a grave for 20 or 25 years. Renewal is possible but in many families, there is no-one left (or willing) to look after a gravesite after this time.
Care of the plot is the family's responsibility, just as in your country. But here, it's usually not the cemetery staff looking after it when the family can't or won't do it, but a gardener is employed for the service. Little signs bearing the name of the gardener (or company) are stuck into the ground at such plots.
For my maternal grandparents, we have a "box" in a columbarium; no plants, no lights, no care necessary. For my Dad and friend R, you know we have the bird makers - again, no plants, no lights or ornaments allowed, and the grass around the entire flock of "birds" is regularly mowed by the cemetery staff.
Of course I meant to type bird markers, not makers!!
DeleteMeike - I did read it as markers... And I remember your photos of them. (We have various alternatives here too, when burying ashes/urns rather than coffins.) - Here, the first 25 years period is covered by a special tax paid during one's lifetime (not covering headstone or other decorations though). After that, we have to pay a fee to prolong the 'lease'. (I did that for the great-great grandparents' grave not very long ago.)
DeletePS. I still have the visual impression from online photos and TV etc that a lot of old churchyards in England are still full of "death traps" - old standing stones dangerously leaning in all directions... (?)
DeleteMost of the places I have seen in Yorkshire are a mix of both - stones flat on the ground for safety, and others leaning in all directions.
DeleteMeike, that's my impression too, but from safety point of view it seems a bit inconsistent!
DeleteThat is well kept, most of ours are over grown as they leave them for the wildlife
ReplyDeleteBilly, ah, so that's what they're doing... I suppose that makes sense too in a way, but sometimes it does strike me as also looking dangerous (from human point of view!)
Deletenow I am pondering how you reuse a grave, what do they do with the coffin that is already there. I like the shape of the church with the rounded altar part. I don't know much about what cemeteries do here, the one my parents are in is called continuous care, you pay up front, but all stones are the same and lay flat, so they can mow over them..
ReplyDeleteSandra, a grave cannot be reused until after 25 years, and I assume that time limit is set because by then there is really nothing left. But I also think that most old graves are probably reused for interment of urns/ashes rather than coffins. (That's just my guess, though. I haven't really looked into it.)
DeleteI do agree, families should be responsible for their ancestors graves but here people move around and graveyards are looked after by the local councils except for Maori cemeteries also called a Urupa, those are looked after by local Maori.
ReplyDeleteAmy, in Sweden it is the Church of Sweden that has the main resposibiity for our graveyards, with a few exceptions.
DeleteGraveyards are a problem everywhere in that we live in a very mobile society and many of our graveyards are hundreds of years old and anyone to look after graves have long since gone or died.
ReplyDeleteGraham, that's why they have changed things here, I think. Certain old graves and headstones of special historic interest are still being preserved, but then those are the resposibility of the church and/or local council etc.
Delete