Waldfriedhof Zehlendorf

Waldfriedhof Zehlendorf
	Ehrengrab of Willy Brandt
Details
Location	Nikolassee, Berlin
Country	Germany
Coordinates	52°25′27″N13°13′00″E / 52.42417°N 13.21667°E Coordinates: 52°25′27″N13°13′00″E / 52.42417°N 13.21667°E

Last updated February 03, 2023

Waldfriedhof Zehlendorf (Zehlendorf forest cemetery) is a cemetery located in Berlin's Nikolassee district. The cemetery occupies an area of 376,975 m². An additional Italian war cemetery was created there in 1953. A number of notable people of Berlin are buried at the cemetery; some have a grave of honor (German : Ehrengrab ). In particular, all of Berlin's deceased post-war mayors are buried here.

Landscape and buildings

The northern part of the cemetery was built between 1945 and 1947 by Herta Hammerbacher,^[1] and expanded from 1948 to 1954 by Max Dietrich.^[2] About a third of the area was forest, which was already 50 years old and was intentionally kept.^[2] The trees are mostly firs, with a few oaks, mountain-ashes and birches. Two straight paths in north–south direction structure the cemetery, connected by curved paths. The funeral halls are situated on a natural hill. Between the entrance and the halls is a large U-shaped meadow which was originally designed as heath. The graves are arranged in rows, both in the meadow part as in the forest part.^[3]

A war cemetery was created in 1953 for 1,183 Italian POWs, many of them unidentified, who died or were killed near Berlin. It is lined by trees and bushes and thus separated from the rest of the cemetery. The grave plates are arranged in a regular pattern.^[2]

Two halls, called Feierhallen (celebration halls) or Kapelle (chapel), on a hill were built from 1956 to 1958 by Sergius Ruegenberg [ de ] and Wolf von Möllendorff [ de ]. A larger and a smaller hall are connected by smaller administrative buildings.^[2] In front of the halls, two high walls covered with travertine symbolize the transition from life to death.^[4] The halls are reinforced concrete structures, with fronts of glass open to nature.^[5] Architect Ruegenberg, a student of Hans Scharoun, built simple rectangular elements on the walls and ceiling, based on a square module, and achieved "zurückhaltende Feierlichkeit" (reticent solemnity).^[4] An entrance gate at the Potsdamer Chaussee was built in 1950 by Friedrich Dückerstieg, and a gate at Wasgensteig in 1959 by Hans-Joachim Sachse and Bernhard Busen. A bell tower on the meadow was created in 1973 by Ruegenberg and Möllendorff.

Notable people

Many Berlin celebrities are buried on the Waldfriedhof Zehlendorf. 43 (as of 2002) have an Ehrengrab, cared for by the Berlin Senate (marked by * in the following list), including Willy Brandt, Mayor of Berlin and Bundeskanzler, and ballet dancer and choreographer Tatjana Gsovsky.^[3]

Hans Beirer (1911–1993), Kammersänger
Gerhard Bienert (1898–1986), actor
Günther Birkenfeld (1901–1966), writer
Boris Blacher* (1903–1975), composer
Peter Bloch (1900–1984), politician
Peter Bloch Jr. (1925–1994), art historian and academic teacher
Jan Bontjes van Beek (1899–1969), ceramic artist
Rut Brandt (1920–2006), author, married to Willy Brandt
Willy Brandt* (1913–1992), politician, Mayor of Berlin, Bundeskanzler
Herwig Friedag (1921–2012), journalist
Fritz Eberhard (1896–1982), publicist, politician
Hendrikje Fitz (1961–2016), actress
Peter Fitz (1931–2013), stage and film actor
Götz Friedrich (1930–2000), opera and theatre director.
Ekkehard Fritsch (1922–1987), actor
Ernst Fritsch (1892–1965), painter
Fritz Genschow (1905–1977), actor
Tatjana Gsovsky* (1901–1993), ballet dancer
Ina Halley (1927–1992), actress
Edith Hancke (1928–2015), stage, film and television actress
Otfrid von Hanstein (1869–1959), actor and writer
Paula von Hanstein (1883–1966), writer
Karl Hartung (1908–1967), sculptor
Hermann Henselmann (1905–1995), architect
Karl-Josef Hering (1929–1998) Kammersänger and actor
Martin Held* (1908–1992), actor
Martin Hirthe (1921–1981), actor
Wolfgang Holst (1922–2010), president of Hertha BSC
Helmut Käutner* (1908–1980), stage director
Jakob Kaiser* (1888–1961), Federal Minister
Gustav Klingelhöfer* (1888–1961), politician
Hildegard Knef* (1925–2002), actress
Hermine Körner (1878–1960), actress
Gerhard Lamprecht (1897–1974), director and screenwriter
Léo Lania (1896–1961), journalist, playwright and screenwriter
Annedore Leber* (1904–1968), publicist
Julius Leber* (1891–1945), resistance fighter
Ernst Lemmer* (1898–1970), Federal Minister
Eva Lissa (1913–1988), actress
Paul Löbe* (1875–1967), President of the Reichstag
Heinrich Lummer (1932–2019), politician
Gerd Martienzen* (1918–1988), actor
Christiane Maybach (1932–2006), film and television actress
Klaus Miedel (1915–2000), actor
Wolfgang Menge (1924–2012), writer and journalist
Wolfgang Müller (1922–1960), actor
Wolfgang Neuss (1923–1989), actor
Maria Ney (1890–1961), cabaret performer
Bruno Paul* (1874–1968), architect
Günter Pfitzmann (1924–2003), actor
Erwin Piscator* (1893–1966), stage director
Gerhart Pohl* (1902–1966), writer
Ernst Reuter* (1889–1953), Mayor of Berlin
Ernst Ruska (1906–1988), engineer
Helmut Ruska (1908–1973), physician
Ulrich Schamoni (1939–1998), stage director
Hans Scharoun* (1893–1972), architect
Clemens Schmalstich (1880–1960), composer and conductor
Wolfdietrich Schnurre* (1920–1989), writer and illustrator
Bubi Scholz (1930–2000), boxer (moved to Friedhof Heerstraße)
Richard Schubert* (1877–1955), resistance fighter
Karl Schuke (1906–1987), organ builder
Klaus Schütz* (1926–2012), politician, Mayor of Berlin
Peter Seum (1949–1998) actor
Ruth Stephan (1925–1975), actress
Heinz Striek (1918–2011), politician
Otto Suhr* (1894–1957), politician, Mayor of Berlin
Heinz Trökes (1913–1997), painter
Wilhelm Weise (1936–2012), physician, director of the Robert Koch-Institut
Wolfgang Zeller (1893–1967), composer

Literature

Klaus Hammer: Historische Friedhöfe & Grabmäler in Berlin. Stattbuch, Berlin 1994
Klaus Konrad Weber, Peter Güttler, Ditta Ahmadi (Hrsg.): Berlin und seine Bauten. Teil X Band A: Anlagen und Bauten für die Versorgung (3) Bestattungswesen. Wilhelm Ernst & Sohn, Berlin 1981, ISBN 3433008906
Hans-Jürgen Mende: Lexikon Berliner Grabstätten. Haude & Spener, Berlin 2006. ISBN 377590476X

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References

↑ Fischer, Norbert (28 February 2003). Raum für Tote: die Geschichte der Friedhöfe von den Gräberstrassen der Römerzeit bis zur anonymen Bestattung (in German). Thalacker Medien. p. 206. ISBN 978-3878151746.
1 2 3 4 "Waldfriedhof Zehlendorf – Wissenswertes" (in German). Berlin. Retrieved 27 February 2014.
1 2 Fischer, Norbert (29 September 2002). Der Waldfriedhof Zehlendorf / Eine Dokumentation der Ehrengrabstätten Berlins zum Tag des Friedhofs (PDF) (in German). Berlin. p. 3,7.
1 2 Tafel, Cornelius Tafel (1996). Architekturführer Deutschland: 20. Jahrhundert (in German). Springer DE. ISBN 3764352876 . Retrieved 28 February 2014.
↑ "Waldfriedhof Zehlendorf – Sehenswürdigkeit" (in German). Berlin. Retrieved 28 February 2014.

External links

Waldfriedhof Zehlendorf project Historische Friedhöfe in Berlin(in German)
Sergius Ruegenberg Architekt und Autor (*1903 †1996) Internationale Architektur-Datenbank (in German)
Waldfriedhof Zehlendorf map
Kapelle Waldfriedhof Zehlendorf
Waldfriedhof Berlin-Zehlendorf and the Italian War Cemetery images

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[Fischer2003-1] Fischer, Norbert (28 February 2003). Raum für Tote: die Geschichte der Friedhöfe von den Gräberstrassen der Römerzeit bis zur anonymen Bestattung (in German). Thalacker Medien. p. 206. ISBN 978-3878151746.

[Berlin-2] 1 2 3 4 "Waldfriedhof Zehlendorf – Wissenswertes" (in German). Berlin. Retrieved 27 February 2014.

[Ehrengrab-3] 1 2 Fischer, Norbert (29 September 2002). Der Waldfriedhof Zehlendorf / Eine Dokumentation der Ehrengrabstätten Berlins zum Tag des Friedhofs (PDF) (in German). Berlin. p. 3,7.

[Tafel-4] 1 2 Tafel, Cornelius Tafel (1996). Architekturführer Deutschland: 20. Jahrhundert (in German). Springer DE. ISBN 3764352876 . Retrieved 28 February 2014.

[Berlin2-5] "Waldfriedhof Zehlendorf – Sehenswürdigkeit" (in German). Berlin. Retrieved 28 February 2014.

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