Tree burial ground opened in Dechsendorf

The city of Erlangen has opened a tree burial ground at the Dechsendorf cemetery (photo: registry office). The registry office responsible for the cemetery is thus responding to the trend towards maintenance-free graves that has been evident for years.

While the number of urn burials in 2017 was still 69 percent, the figure had already risen to over 80 percent by 2024. Half of the burials took place in maintenance-free graves, where the relatives do not have to take care of the grave.

Erlangen's cemeteries offer a wide variety of maintenance-free graves: burials are possible

• in a raised bed
• in the orchard meadow
• in a columbarium
• as anonymous burials or
• as tree burials.

There are already tree burial plots at six of the ten municipal cemeteries. The demand for tree burials is steadily increasing. For many people, it is a beautiful idea that the roots of a tree are nourished by the ashes of the deceased and that these live on in the tree.

Plaques with names

The new field opened at the end of March at the Dechsendorf cemetery with nine different tree species comprises a total of 68 grave spaces. The relatives can choose a tree. As grave decorations, candles or flowers cannot be placed under the trees, there are steles at the edge of the grave field. The names are placed there on leaf-shaped plaques and there is the possibility of placing grave decorations or flowers.