The 2.65 hectare cemetery with its park-like character, closed in 1872, is one of the oldest cemeteries in Germany that has been preserved in its entirety. Today it is a first-rate natural and cultural monument that is truly worth seeing and attracts tourists and locals alike for a walk into the past. Especially at this time of year, on All Saints’ Day, National Mourning and Sunday of the Dead, the cemetery with its colorful autumn colors is a unique and moving experience.
When you’re in the graveyard, be sure to direct your steps towards the east wall as well. There you will very quickly see a grave which is now one of Freiburg’s attractions and is certainly one of the most beautiful and most famous graves in the Breisgau metropolis. It is about a young stone sleeping girl, lying on a stone bed full of folds on a stone sofa and surrounding a mystery unsolved to this day.
It is known who the girl is. Her name is Caroline Walter (1850 – 1867), she lived in Opfingen and died of tuberculosis when she was only 16 years old. In her hands she holds an open book. It seems that by reading it softly you have fallen asleep forever. The book bears the inscription: “It is established by God’s counsel that one must part with what is most dear to one.”
It is said in Freiburg that not a day has gone by without fresh flowers since the girl’s death. Initially it is said that he was the girl’s lover who could not get over her death, which is why he brought her fresh flowers to her grave every day, although it was rumored that her lover could be her tutor .
Be that as it may: he is certainly no longer among the living. What remains are the beautiful flowers, fresh every day, that adorn the girl’s final resting place. Who continues this tradition to this day is an unsolved mystery. Of course, it stands to reason that it is visitors to the cemetery who regularly decorate Caroline’s grave. But who knows, maybe love is immortal after all. . .
Info: If you want to know more about this magnificent structure, we recommend the fantastic site of the Società Amici e Sostenitori del Old CemeteryFreiburg im Breisgau eV www.alter-friedhof-freiburg.de
