Bergmannstraße Churchyards

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These four adjacent graveyards are among the oldest and most important cemeteries in Berlin. Visitors can walk from one yard to the other through openings in the separating walls.

Bergmannstraße in Kreuzberg is home to four adjacent churchyards: the Holy Trinity congretation graveyard, the graveyard of the Friedrich-Werdersche congregation, the Jerusalem Church and New Church cemetery, and the Luisenstadt cemetery. An approximately 600-meter long cemetery wall along Bergmannstraße forms the northern border of the 52-acre complex.

Trinity Congregation Cemetery

The oldest out of the four churchyards is the cemetery of the Trinity congregation, established in 1825 and inaugurated by Friedrich Schleiermacher. The graveyard features the graves of many famous personalities. The architects Martin Gropius (1824-80) and Georg Klingenberg (1870-1925), the poet Ludwig Tieck (1773-1853), the historian Theodor Mommsen (1817-1903) and the philosopher Friedrich Schleiermacher (1768-1834) were all buried here. The graveyard also houses the family grave of Adolph Menzel (1815-1905), adorned by a bronze bust by R. Begas, and the tomb of Princess Christiane Charlotte Sophie von der Osten-Sacken, a large monument of the Royal Iron Foundry with the sarcophagus set in the base.

Cemetery of the Friedrich-Werdersche Congregation

The cemetery of the Friedrich-Werdersche congregation was inaugurated in 1844. Along the western wall there are numerous Art Nouveau graves and the mausoleum of the Seeger family, which dates from the middle of the century. The graveyard church, built by Schinkel between 1824 and 1830, was restored in 1982 and is now part of the National Gallery. In the rear part of the graveyard is a field honoring the victims of World War II.

Luisenstadt Cemetery

The Luisenstadt Cemetery, established in 1831, has been expanded several times and is the largest historic municipal cemetery in Berlin. It occupies almost half of the total area of the churchyard complex. To the right of the entrance is the chapel, which was built in 1908 by Walter and Carl Koeppen. Behind the bell tower is a roundel with a statue of a resurrection angel. In another roundel behind it is the monumental mausoleum of the Löblich family, adorned by a mourning figure made of cast zinc. Gustav Stresemann (1878-1929) found his final resting place here; his grave site is formed by a limestone front with an accompanying false door. The Luisenstadt Cemetery also contains a number of powerful Art Nouveau tombs such as the marble monument to Gustav Eltschig (died 1903), which is crowned by roosters with peacock tails and framed by side benches.

Cemetery of the Jerusalem Church and New Church

The cemetery of the Jerusalem Church and New Church was the last of the four cemeteries to be consecrated in 1852. It is also the smallest cemetery in the complex. If features the tomb of the architect Hermann von der Hude (1830-1908) and the tomb of the diplomat Kurd von Schlözer (1822-94), both designed in the Renaissance style. The funerary monument to Max Krause, designed by Bruno Schmitz and Franz Metzner in 1907, is one of Berlin's most beautiful Art Nouveau tombs. It consists of a block-like limestone structure with triple staircases, side walls, and a mausoleum with a bronze door.

Information

• Address:
  Bergmannstraße 39-41
  10961 Berlin
  City map
• Opening Hours: daily from 8 AM till sunset