Cemeteries and urban form: a historico-geographical approach

Abstract

Research in urban morphology rarely takes account of the specific forms of burial grounds. This paper offers a synthesis of how Christian cities of the dead mirror the cities of the living, and provides an overview of different Western European ‘funeral epochs’. The shifting location of burial grounds relates to major changes in town planning and building. Adopting a historico-geographical approach, micro-morphological transformations of grave-plot forms and their cardinal orientations and accessibility are explored in the context of changing religious beliefs, rules on hygiene, and practical and aesthetic considerations. The role of cemeteries in fringe-belt development is presented, using Vienna as a historical case study.

Exploring Ritual Fields Today

“…The new cemeteries had a predetermined layout of grave plots. Some were even parklike with a geometrical ordering of space, dividing it up into distinctive grave fields (Kolnberger 2018;Heemels 2010, pp. 127-28).…”

Rules, Norms and Practices – A Comparative Study Exploring Disposal Practices and Facilities in Northern Europe

“…The countries in this study share the same broad religious-cultural heritage shaped by varied Christian traditions (notably Reformed and Catholic churches) and Enlightenment ideas of rationality (also see Kolnberger, 2018 on European traditions). They are also marked by post-war trends towards (post)secularization and increased religious diversity ( Beaumont & Baker, 2011 ; Habermas, 2010 ; McLennan, 2010 ; Molendijk et al, 2010 ), which has likewise affected attitudes and mentalities towards death and funerary practices ( Ariès, 1974 ; Jacobsen, 2016 ; Klass & Steffen, 2018 ; Maddrell, Beebeejaun, McClymont, McNally, et al, 2018 ; Mathijssen, 2017 ).…”