The English Cemetery (Malaga, Spain)

The English Cemetery (Malaga, Spain)
The oldest Protestant cemetery on mainland Spain.

The English Cemetery in Malaga was established in January 1831 at the behest of the then British Consul, William Mark, who successfully appealed to the Governor for a piece of land on which to provide British subjects of the protestant faith with a decent burial.

Important people buried in the cemetery

The first recorded burial was that of George Stephens (Captain of the brig “Cicero”, who drowned in Malaga harbour) which took place on 22 January 1831. This was followed by that of Robert Boyd, executed by firing squad with the Liberal leader, General Jose Maria Torijos, and his followers on 11 December of that year. Subsequent burials of interest include:
  • Dr Joseph Noble, Member of Parliament and physician, who died in 1861 the victim of cholera, and in whose memory his family built the Hospital Noble which until recent times served the people of Malaga;
  • William Nutter, British landscape painter, died 1871;
  • 42 officers and men of the Imperial German Navy sail training ship “Gniesenau”, which foundered outside Malaga Harbour in December 1900;
  • George Langworthy, owner of the first hotel to be established in Torremolinos, and which would subsequently lead to the Costa del Sol becoming a popular tourist resort, died 1945;
  • 4 Commonwealth War Graves of the Second World War;
  • The Finish author and journalist Aarne Viktor Haapakoski, aka “Outsider” and “Henrik Horna”, died 1961;
  • The English author and Hispanist, Gerald Brenan (died 1987) and his poetess wife, Gamel Woolsey, an American citizen (died 1968);
  • The Spanish poet Jorge Guillen, 1984.

A place of historic and cultural importance

In 2006 agreement was reached with the British government for the ownership of the cemetery to be transferred to The English Cemetery in Malaga Foundation, a Spanish registered charity, whose aims are the maintenance and promotion of the cemetery as a place of historic and cultural interest.

In November 2012, the Andalucian Regional Parliament agreed to the inclusion of the cemetery on the Regional Heritage Register as a monument of historical and cultural interest.

Address

English Cemetery in Malaga Foundation
Avenida de Pries, 1
29016 Málaga
Spain

Contact and website

Phone: +34 952 223 552

www.cementerioinglesmalaga.org

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Siselinna Cemetery (Tallinn, Estonia)

Siselinna Cemetery (Tallinn, Estonia)
The Siselinna Cemetery is a cemetery complex in Tallinn that includes three cemeteries created at different times.

About the cemetery

The Siselinna Cemetery consists of three cemeteries established at different times:
  1. the former Russian Orthodox Cemetery established in 1775, also known as Aleksander Nevski Cemetery;
  2. the Estonian Vana-Kaarli Cemetery opened in 1864 and;
  3. the Military Cemetery established in 1887.

The Aleksander Nevski Cemetery

The biggest among the above-mentioned cemeteries is Aleksander Nevski Cemetery with the area of 13 hectares and it is also the oldest among the cemeteries of Tallinn used today. Tens of thousands of people have found their last resting place at this cemetery over the last 200 years and there are many outstanding figures among those people. 

In 1856, traders of Tallinn, Aleksandr Jermakov and Ivan Germanov had a small church of brick built in the cemetery, dedicated to the Saint Aleksander Nevski, which was then destroyed as a result of bombing by the Soviet Russia on March 9, 1944. Near that place the chapel of red bricks can still be seen today. 

The cemetery was originally located on a hill that extends beyond the church. Most part of it has been in use for the purpose of burying military personnel, therefore the oldest grave marks are of warriors and some of those graves have been marked as historical memorials under public protection.

The Vana-Kaarli Cemetery

The cemetery of Kaarli Congregation, also known as the Vana-Kaarli Cemetery, has been established in 1864 because the Kalamaja Graveyard become too small for the growing number of burials. The cemeteries of Vana-Kaarli and Aleksander Nevski are separated by a high limestone wall. In the northern part of it there is a hole where a wide road runs from one cemetery to another.

There is an archaic atmosphere at the Vana-Kaarli Cemetery and we can see quite remarkable things there like old grave marks that are over hundred years old. On the right side of cemetery's main road we can see a 1,5 metre high monument made of granite with the bust of composer Peeter Süda on top of it. The monument was created in 1927 by teh sculptor Ferdi Sannamees but was destroyed during the World War II. It was then restored in its original form in 1970 according to the plaster models of F. Sannamees. In the beginning of 1990s the bronze bust was stolen and it was replaced by granite one.

The Military Cemetery

The Defence Forces Cemetery of Tallinn, also known as the Tallinn Military Cemetery, is situated about 3 kilometres outside the centre of Tallinn. The cemetery was established during the World War I. The oldest graves dates back to 1916 and hold Russian, Estonian, and German soldiers killed during the war.

The graves from 1918 to 1944, the gravestones of the Estonian soldiers, and the monument of the Estonian War of Independence were largely destroyed by the Soviet authorities and the cemetery was taken over by the Red Army for use by the Soviet occupation forces after the World War II. The monument to those fallen in the Estonian War of Independence was then restored in 2012. The registration book of people buried at this cemetery between years 1918 and 1944, with over 1,150 names, is maintained in Tallinn city central archives.

Among other things, the Military Cemetery also contains a headstone which reads "To the Unknown Soldier: 1941–1945" in Estonian and Russian, financed by the Russian Embassy in Estonia and a monument "To those fallen in World War II" - a two-meter bronze statue of a soldier in Red Army uniform with an accompanying stone structure.




*Photo source: https://et.wikipedia.org

Address

Siselinna Cemetery
3 Toonela Road
Tallinn 10132
Estonia

Contacts

Phone: +372 6014064
E-mail: siselinna@kalmistud.ee

Opening hours

Monday to Friday: 9.00 - 16.00

Metsakalmistu Cemetery (Tallinn, Estonia)

Metsakalmistu Cemetery (Tallinn, Estonia)
We can consider Metsakalmistu Cemetery as one of the richest cemeteries in Estonia for its cultural monuments.

About the cemetery

Metsakalmistu was established as the public city cemetery in Kloostrimetsa in 1933. The area first planned for the cemetey wast 24,2 ha and it has now become 48,3 ha. The official opening of the cementery was organised in 1939.

The chapel was built of limestone between 1935-1936 by the architect H. Johanson. It was then set on fire by the vandals and it was restored with the the help of Tallinn City Government in 1996.

Effect of a natural forest

Metsakalmistu is the cemetery with a natural look, which design requirements caused major arguments and reproaches at that time. Namely, placing crosses, fences and edges was forbidden, maximum dimensions of the gravestone were 80x50 cm. That is how the cemetery has maintained the effect of a natural forest till the present day. In design, monumental gravestones have been avoided later on too. Nowadays, maximum 1,5m is allowed for the height of the stone while for the edges of the burial places, natural lawn edges, covering with moss mat, bordering with flowers etc., are still required.

Important personalities at the cemetery

In Metsakalmistu Cemetery, plots of land have been allotted for the Actors, Athletes, Composers, Writers, Artists, Journalists, Doctors and Architects Union, Memento, Soomepoisid, Veterans of the Estonian War of Independence, Scientists, etc.

The first to be buried in Metsakalmistu Cemetery in 1933 was E.Vilde. The burial place of the family of the first president of Estonia, Konstantin Päts, is also located here. From well-known people, Lydia Koidula, Anton-Hansen Tammsaare, Johannes Kotkas, Paul Keres, Raimond Valgre, Georg Ots, etc., have also been buried here.

Address

Metsakalmistu Cemetery
36 Kloostrimetsa Road
1191 Tallinn
Estonia

Contacts

Phone: +372 5551 7534
E-mail: metsakalmistu@kadriorupark.ee



*Photo source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metsakalmistu#/media/File:Tallinna_Metsakalmistu_kabel.jpg

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