When the darkness of the evening falls over the city, 400 fire bowls will once again light up the paths and branches of the Stellingen cemetery. The illuminated cemetery will also be one of the popular highlights of the Night of the Churches in Hamburg in 2024.
Cemetery administrator Daniel Klandt has been working in his profession for almost 20 years, and yet this night is still something very special for him and his colleagues: “We have always been lucky with the weather, had the most beautiful starry sky and the moon shone down – this is really a unique opportunity to see the cemetery from a completely different perspective.”
“When else do you hear the murmuring of people and music from guitars in a cemetery?”
When the flame bowls light up the path and the light shines on the 150-year-old weeping beech, it is always a moment that gives the employees, who have been working at the Stellingen cemetery for 35 years, goosebumps. “We are all touched every time we see our cemetery in this way.”
And the visitors also share this enthusiasm: “People who are here for the first time are actually always overwhelmed by the atmosphere. And we only receive positive feedback, get emails with photos and thank you notes, even from people who are currently in the grieving phase because they have lost someone close to them and who were able to find some consolation on this evening.”
Cemeteries are never actually lit due to the way the soil is made, he explains. That and the atmosphere that evening were unusual for such a place. “When else do you hear the murmur of crowds in a cemetery, smell the aroma of bratwurst in the air and hear the sounds of guitar music?”
“We fulfil many important functions within the city”
In society, cemeteries are often associated with grief, emotional pain and farewells – important and correct associations, but Daniel Klandt and his team believe it is important that other connections also become part of people’s consciousness. “It is also important that cemeteries remain a protected place where people can explore emotions such as grief. But one does not exclude the other: both grief and joy are part of life.”
Cemeteries in general are fighting to be perceived differently these days. Biodiversity, for example, is a big issue, explains the administrator. “We are not just a burial site, but also fulfill other important functions within the city.” The cemetery is a small local recreation area, undevelopable and green, a huge rain retention area that protects against flooding and ensures pleasant air through vegetation – not just in summer. “An event like this is a wonderful opportunity for us to draw attention to all of this, and we are delighted when people come up to us and say how excited they are to have experienced a cemetery in a completely different way.”
Die Municipality of Stellingen opens the gates of its cemetery on September 21st at 7 p.m. at Molkenbuhrstraße 6, 22525 Hamburg. Further events for the Night of the Churches 2024 in Hamburg can be found on the website and in the App.
