Dorotheenstädtischer Friedhof I – famous celebrity cemetery

One of Berlin’s most famous celebrity cemeteries is located on the grounds of the Dorotheenstädtische and Friedrichswerdersche Gemeinden. A tour of the Dorotheenstädtischer Friedhof is almost like a walk in the park, a wonderful break from exploring Berlin.

Over 250 years ago, Frederick the Great made a large area in front of the Oranienburger Tor available to the communities. This was to replace the existing cemetery within the Berlin city wall. The great elector’s second wife was called Dorothea. She gave her name to the Dorotheenstadt and the Dorotheenstädtische Kirche. It is therefore not surprising that the associated Dorotheenstädtischer Friedhof was also indirectly named after her.

The first burial in the Dorotheenstädtischer Friedhof took place in 1770. Initially, it was mainly poorer families who buried their loved ones here.

Celebrities find their final resting place

It didn’t take long for this to change. Many scholars lived and worked in the areas of the two communities (Dorotheenstadt and Friedrichswerder), for example at the University of Berlin and the Academy of Arts. The families of the deceased from wealthier families soon decided to use the new cemetery.

Gravestone artists were commissioned to design the graves, and over time the Dorotheenstädtischer Friedhof became something of an open-air art exhibition.

The French Cemetery, which was established in 1780 for the Berlin Huguenots next to the Dorotheenstädtischer Cemetery, has been preserved to this day. A passageway in a wall makes it possible to visit this cemetery too.

It was not long before the cemetery had to be enlarged. In 1834, the community acquired land in other parts of the city and the Dorotheenstädtische Friedhof II cemetery on Liesenstraße and the Friedrichwerdersche Gemeinde cemetery on Bergmannstraße were established.

At the end of the 1860s, Cemetery I was closed due to overcrowding. Now only burials on already purchased burial plots were allowed here.

At the end of the 19th century, the municipality sold part of the site as an adjacent road was being widened. The dead were reburied.

At the beginning of the 1920s, when more and more cremations were taking place, it was decided to put the cemetery back into operation. To ensure there was enough space again, 300 old gravestones were removed.

The Second World War not only caused extensive damage to the surrounding buildings, but the consequences of the war were also visible in the Dorotheenstädtische Friedhof.

The cemetery has been a listed building since 1983. This made it possible to restore many of the graves to their original state.

Chapel

The funeral chapel has stood in the Dorotheenstadt cemetery since 1928. After it was damaged during the Second World War, the intention was to reconstruct it. However, there were hardly any documents or plans about the historic building, so they tried to make do with the little information they had.

The cemetery chapel was later renovated and modernized using foundation funds. The American artist James Turrell created a lighting concept there that makes this place unique.

Dorotheenstädtischer Friedhof: a walk through the cemetery

Some of the beautiful old graves have now been extensively restored by the state of Berlin. Some of them were very expensive, for example, a special marble from Italy was needed for the restoration of Heinrich Strack’s grave. The costs amounted to 250,000 euros.

It’s worth taking a closer look, I really like some of the artistic works. It almost “doesn’t matter” who is buried there. Nevertheless, I’m always happy when I discover a name and can associate it with a person or a story. Like the grave of Karl Friedrich Schinkel, for example.

I particularly like the beautiful cast-iron and wrought-iron grave crosses that can be found in many cemeteries. Iron was one of the materials that artists liked to use at the beginning of the 19th century. Many of the crosses found in Prussian cemeteries at this time were made in the Royal Iron Foundry in Berlin. The foundry ceased operations in 1874. If you take a closer look at the crosses, you can see small decorative elements or professional insignia that sometimes tell us something about the deceased.

I also find the replicas of ancient Roman sarcophagi or the grave designs that almost look like temples very impressive. Sometimes I wonder whether the deceased planned this design during their lifetime or whether their relatives wanted to show how important the person was.

In any case, famous Berlin sculptors and master builders of the 19th century were involved in the design of the graves. Johann Gottfried Schadow was one of them and he designed the gravestones for himself and his wife. One of his students then made them.

On my tour, I also pass a memorial. A steel cross marks the spot that commemorates the resistance fighters of July 20, 1944. Here in Dorotheenstädtischer Friedhof I is the common grave of the 8 men (Klaus Bonhoeffer, Hans John, Ludwig Sierks, Carl Adolf Marks, Wilhelm zur Nieden, Richard Kuenzer, Friedrich Justus Perels, Rüdiger Schleicher) who were accused of being involved in the assassination attempt on Hitler.

Nearby, I discover a plaque indicating a mass grave with 64 people who died near the cemetery in the last days of the war.

There are many graves of honor at Dorotheenstädtischer Friedhof, which are looked after, maintained and financed by the state of Berlin. In addition to the “old” graves, such as those of Bertolt Brecht and Helene Weigel, there are also more recent graves. For example, there are honorary graves for the eighth President of the Federal Republic of Germany Johannes Rau, for Bärbel Bohley (GDR civil rights activist and painter) and the actor Otto Sander. I also found the grave of Christa Wolf. The writer wrote several books that captivated me.

Visitor informations

Address

Dorotheenstädtischer Friedhof I
Chausseestraße 126
10115 Berlin (Mitte)