Impressions and Emotions - Belgrade High School Students Visiting the New Cemetery (Belgrade, Serbia)


On October 24 and 25, 2018, two groups of  of high school students visited the New Cemetery of Belgrade.



On October 24 and 25, 2018, we were privileged to receive the visit from two groups of high school students: students from „Tehno-Art“ High School for Technologies and Crafts and students from High School Student Dorms Association of Belgrade. Exploring the history of the New Cemetery in Belgrade, since its beginnings to the present day, the students were introduced to the burial culture and by extension the importance of establishing the first architecturally planned cemetery in Serbia.


Strolling through the cemetery Allies, the students got acquainted with the architecture of the New Cemetery in Belgrade, including headstones they viewed as the works of art, in addition to the sculptural works that attracted their attention. In a view of the upcoming commemoration of the WWI Armistice Centenary and their history curriculum, the students visited the WWI Serbian Ossuary. The idea of visiting the crypt, which commenced with some degree of fear, ended in exuberance and the wish to find out more and extend the walk. 

The students transformed their impressions into the inspiring texts and drawings you may see within our post.

 

Impressions: New Cemetery in Belgrade – Open Air Museum 

When we heard that we are going to visit the New Cemetery, we were really surprised, since we are used to go to the cemetery on different occasions. First, we were extremely surprised by sheer size of the cemetery.... The Alley of the Greats is the last resting place of the most prominent WWI Serbian Field Marshal Živojin Mišić ... At his grave there is an impressive sculpture of a beautiful lady with a palm branch... We also visited WWI Serbian Ossuary, where the remains more than 4000 identified and unidentified soldiers, who died during the Great War were buried... Through intriguing stories of our guide, we traveled to a different era, when the history of our Country and our Capital was  being made...by Vida Gojković – Medical High School and Aleksandra Ranković – High School of Economy 


Guided Strolls through the New Cemetery of Belgrade Continued...

Portraits of Serbian Politicians and Diplomats and Tales of Old Belgrade and its Citizens – featured at the New Cemetery of Belgrade, Serbia
To our great satisfaction and much to visitor’s delight, the New Cemetery in Belgrade continued honoring 2018 European Heritage Days in a form of two additional them guided strolls held on September 30 and October 21, 2018.

Portraits of Serbian Diplomats and Statesmen



The significant number of visitors who attended the event, were able to hear the intriguing stories about people who chose politics and diplomacy as their careers, in addition to those who entered into this merciless arena from other professions. 



For the first time, the visitors heard the tales about diplomatic service of the significant authors and poets, representatives of so-called „Golden Age of Serbian Diplomacy" (between the two World Wars), including the tales on decisive moments in history, love and deception, intrigues and scandals.  



Tales of Old Belgrade and its Citizens 

This most intriguing of all the guided through the New Cemetery in Belgrade was highly anticipated by our visitors. Our inspiring colleague, who guided this themed stroll shared numerous interesting stories and led the visitors to an unforgettable journey through time. The visitors heard the stories on the eccentric Law professor who hated draught and was an accomplished card player, genius mathematician who was also the professional river fisherman, beautiful actresses who caused duels, industrialist with the soft spot for soccer and may others.


St. George’s Cemetery at Hermoupolis (Syros, Greece)

St. George’s Cemetery at Hermoupolis (Syros, Greece)
Syros is a rocky island located approximately in the center of the Cyclades group of islands in the Aegean Sea.

Founding of Hermoupolis

After the outbreak of the Greek War of Independence in 1821, Greeks from various parts of the country, that was under Turkish occupation, were to find refuge on this island, because of the security provided by Austria and France and the protection of the Roman Catholics ensured by a neutral Vatican.

Due to this privilege, many Greeks came here from other parts of the Ottoman Empire, where there were developed Greek communities such as Constantinople, Smyrna and Kydonies.

More specifically, after the destruction of the islands Chios and Psara and the coasts of Asia Minor (1822) many refugees settled on the Syros’ eastern coast; among them there were important merchants, who engaged in commerce with many European cities. The coastal settlement was thus slowly formed and the new town that came into being, in 1824, was named Hermoupolis.

The first cemetery of Hermoupolis

The first cemetery of Hermoupolis was located behind the church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary and the old municipal hospital, in the center of the area inhabited by people from Psara island and was, necessarily, transferred to its current position, at the SW end of the town, in 1834. 

In 1839, when the mayor of Hermoupolis was Nicholas Prassakakis, the church of St. George was built in this place. The old cemetery is no longer preserved; Moraitin Square was created in its place. But the new cemetery was very soon located in the center of the Neapolis district, which was developing at the same time. Thus, since 1857, the actions of the cemetery’s re-transfer began, but these were never completed.

St. George’s Cemetery

Hermoupolis evolved into a major economic, commercial and industrial center during the 19th century. A strong evidence of Hermoupolis’s wealth and affluence is St. George’s churchyard. Most of the monuments belong to important families that played a crucial role both in the Independence Struggle and in the development of the New Hellenic State: such as Mavrogordatos family, Negropontis family, as well as Petrokokkinos, Lagonikos, Galatis, Benakis, Antoniadis, Foustanos, Kouloukountis, Vatis, Petritsis, Proimos, Rodokanakis families. Many facts about their occupation and their life, but also about their death, derive from the inscriptions written on tombstones on the monuments of these families.

The later economic decline of Hermoupolis also caused the interruption of the wealthy activity in the cemetery, resulting in a more modest form in the architecture of the monuments in the late 19th and early 20th century.

Today, St. George's Cemetery is organized in seven areas. In the separate area E, fifty six magnificent mausoleums, belonging to the most eminent families of Hermoupolis, were erected mainly during the 19th and early 20th century. The architectural styles and sculptural decoration of these monuments offer important elements in Art History.

Most of these mausoleums were constructed by Greek sculptors and bear the marks of classicism, which greatly influenced Greek art and architecture in the 19th century. Only ten of these monuments bear the signature of the sculptors, which are Taliadouros family, Vitalis family, George Fytalis, Nick Spanos, Marmarinos, Perakis, John Karpakis and Achille Canessa. According to the researchers of Hermoupolis, Travlos – Kokkou (1980:217-219) and Lydakis (1981:289) there are some more monuments, that seem to be crafted by the sculptors G. and I. Vitalis.

On the monuments we can observe a lot of decorative features as well as inscriptions and epigrams, the main source of inspiration of which is provided by the daily activities of the deceased.

Book about St. George’s Cemetery

The funerary sculptures at St. George’s Cemetery are described in the book from 1994, by Pepy Gavala and Helen Garezou, entitled "The Funerary Sculptures of St. George’s Churchyard at Hermoupolis".

Address

Agiou Georgiou
Ermoupoli 841 00
Greece

Memorial evening at Westerveld, the Netherlands


Westerveld Cemetery & Crematorium (Duin en Kruidbergerweg 2-6, Driehuis, the Netherlands) will organise a memorial evening on Friday, 2 November.

Friends of Museums’ Day 2018 at the Monumental Cemetery of Milan

Monumental Cemetery of Milan, Italy
On 7th October 2018, discover the Heroes of World War I on a guided walk at the Monumental Cemetery of Milan.