Luisenfriedhof II - small cemetery in Berlin-Westend

On Königin-Elisabeth-Straße in the Westend district of Charlottenburg, a small terraced cemetery lies between the city motorway and some houses. A detour to Luisenfriedhof II is worthwhile if you want to get an insight into Berlin’s burial culture.

In 1831, the first cholera epidemic ravaged Charlottenburg. Burial sites became scarce and the dead were now also buried in the sand pits outside the city on Spandauer Berg in an epidemic cemetery.

A few years later, the district administration decided to turn the epidemic cemetery into a regular cemetery. Of course, the corresponding structural measures were to contribute to this. This was realised sooner than expected. In 1866, cholera broke out again in Charlottenburg and so the cemetery was hurried to completion.

An area was created in which avenues running at right angles bordered the individual grave fields. The cemetery chapel, now a listed building, was completed in 1868 according to plans by Rudolf Zeitler.

In the following years, it quickly became apparent that the previous area was not sufficient and so the area was expanded several times. Even the 2500 square metre private cemetery of the then well-known magazine publisher Schaeffer-Voit was incorporated.

When Luisenfriedhof III in Fürstenbrunner Straße was opened in 1891, it was decided not to hold any more burials in Luisenfriedhof II. A few years later, however, it had to be reopened because the population growth and the associated increase in burials had exhausted the existing capacities at the other cemeteries.

After the Second World War, Luisenfriedhof II underwent a major change. The city urgently needed building land for the construction of the city motorway on the east side and the widening of Königin-Elisabeth-Straße. The cemetery had to be reduced in size and lost some hereditary burial grounds.

Small tour of the cemetery

The main entrance to the cemetery is on Königin-Elisabeth-Straße, a smaller inconspicuous side entrance is on Lerschpfad. As soon as you step through the entrance gate, the noise of the traffic rushing by fades. It is a bit like leaving the city behind.

Luxurious-looking honorary burials still stand in the cemetery and bear witness to a time when even the final resting place had to be representative. During a tour, I notice a few graves of honour. Most of the names don’t mean anything to me, even though they must have been well-known people in their time. But I do stop at one grave. Wilhelm von Bode … wasn’t that…. Wilhelm von Bode was an art historian and director of the Royal/State Museums in Berlin . The Bode Museum on Berlin’s Musemsinsel was named after him.

Luisenfriedhof II, Grabstätte Wilhelm von Bode

Luisenfriedhof II also shows that cremation has become increasingly important in Berlin over the years. The gravesites have become smaller, the cemetery area could be divided differently.

As I stroll through the rows, I notice numerous lattice graves. Some seem forgotten and the grids are rusting away. On other gravesites there are even signs indicating that the grave has expired and will soon be levelled. New graves will surely be created here.

When I get to the outer edge of the site, which is close to the city motorway, I discover a few more war graves. 226 war victims of the two world wars were buried here.