Ohlsdorf Cemetery (German: Friedhof Ohlsdorf or Hauptfriedhof Ohlsdorf) in the quarter Ohlsdorf of the city of Hamburg, Germany, is the biggest non-military cemetery in the world and the second-largest cemetery in the world after Calverton National Cemetery in eastern Long Island.

The cemetery has a area of with 12 chapels, over 1.4 million burials in more than 256,000 burial sites and streets with a length of . Public transport is provided with 25 bus stops of two bus lines of the Hamburger Verkehrsverbund.

History

In 1877 the Ohlsdorf Cemetery was established as a non-denominational and multi-regional burial site outside of Hamburg. In 1923 the burials of Commonwealth servicemen from several cemeteries in Germany were brought to Hamburg, to build one of four permanent cemeteries in Germany.

Notable burial sites

Part of the cemetery are three plots of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC), which were used as a burial site for Allied servicemen of both world wars. There are more than 2473 identified casualties by the CWGC. Following notable persons are buried in the cemetery:

Hans Albers, actor (1891–1960)

Wilhelm Amsinck, First mayor of Hamburg (1752–1831)

Gustaf Gründgens, actor (1899–1963)

Gustav Hertz, physicist and Nobel Prize winner (1887–1975)

Michael Jary, composer (1906–1988)

Carlo Karges, songwriter and guitarist (1951–2002)

Christian Graf von Krockow, writer and political scientist (1927–2002)

Felix von Luckner, navy officer and author (1881–1966)

Kurt Sieveking, Hamburg first mayor (1897–1986)

Herbert Weichmann, First mayor of Hamburg (1896–1983)

Lawrence Winters, opera singer (1915–1965)

Further reading

• Helmut Schönfeld: Der Ohlsdorfer Friedhof Edition Temmen, 2000. ISBN 3-7672-1341-9
• Susanne Schniering: Ich trage Dich in meinem Herzen : der Gedenkplatz für nicht beerdigte Kinder in Ohlsdorf. Pinnow : Strack, 2001. ISBN 3-929813-53-X
• Günter Henzler: Ohlsdorf : Baum und Raum ; der Friedhof als Landschaftspark Hamburg : Kabel Verl., 1998. ISBN 3-8225-0470-X
• Great Britain. Commonwealth War Graves Commission: The war dead of the Commonwealth : the register of the names of those who fell in the Great War and are buried in Hamburg Cemetery, Ohlsdorf Germany. Maidenhead, Berkshire : Commonwealth War Graves Commission, 1988.

References

External links

• Hamburger Friedhöfe
• Significant cemeteries