Association of Significant Cemeteries of Europe: Rijeka

Showing posts with label Rijeka. Show all posts

WDEC 2025 in Rijeka

As part of WDEC 2025 in Rijeka, the photo exhibition “Mayors of Rijeka and Sušak” and guided tours explored the legacy of 15 former city leaders buried at Kozala and Trsat cemeteries.

About the event

On Monday, May 26, 2025, at 18:00, Kozala Cemetery hosted the opening of the photo exhibition “The City and Mayors of Rijeka and Sušak” by Petar Fabijan, marking the start of this year’s Week of Discovering European Cemeteries in Rijeka. The exhibition showcases the grave sites of 15 mayors and chiefs of Rijeka and Sušak buried in the Kozala and Trsat cemeteries.

The event featured a musical performance by students from the Ivan Matetić Ronjgov Music School and was officially opened by Nives Torbarina, Director of KD Kozala d.o.o., and Zvonimir Bačić, Head of Technical Affairs at KD Kozala d.o.o. Attendees then joined an educational cemetery walk led by art historian Daina Glavočić and Professor of Fine Arts Theodor de Canziani.

The program continued at Trsat Cemetery on Wednesday, May 28, 2025, at 18:00.

Visitors can also explore the featured gravesites independently using the ARtour mobile app or by downloading the PDF brochure available at the following links:

Highlights from Kozala Cemetery

Highlights from Trsat Cemetery

WDEC 2024 at the Drenova Cemetery

The Week of Discovering European Cemeteries 2024 in Rijeka, held from May 14 to 31, was dedicated to the horticulture at Rijeka's largest cemetery, Drenova.

Environmental Sustainability and Climate Change

The theme of this year's Week of Discovering European Cemeteries was "Environmental sustainability and climate change".

Members of ASCE and other European cemeteries are determined allies in the collective fight against climate change. For years, they have been working on mitigating its effects through a wide range of actions and initiatives that demonstrate a strong commitment to the environment. Their activities include responsible use of fossil fuels and water, integrating renewable energy sources, respecting the biological diversity of cemetery plants and fauna, improving native vegetation, responsible waste management, and electrifying their vehicle fleets.

This year's WDEC aimed to raise awareness about the importance of addressing climate change through various events and activities, showcasing different ways in which cemeteries and their visitors can contribute to reducing the negative impact on the environment.

Week of Discovering European Cemeteries in Rijeka

The Week of Discovering European Cemeteries in Rijeka was celebrated from May 14th to May 31st.

The program began on Monday, May 14th, with the grand opening of an exhibition displayed on pedestals along Korzo. The exhibition introduced residents and visitors to the rich horticulture of Rijeka's largest cemetery, Drenova, highlighting its connection to the natural environment.

Horticulture is a valuable aspect of every cemetery, receiving special attention in maintenance, landscaping, and enhancement. Our cemeteries serve as urban parks. The diverse horticultural species, carefully planned and arranged, invite visitors to enjoy relaxing walks. These spaces create intimate areas enriched with vibrant colors, shapes, and scents, as well as numerous geometric forms of plants that intertwine and complement the diverse terrain, creating an extraordinary natural dynamic within the cemetery.

The program continued on Monday, May 27th, at 6:00 PM with a tour of the Drenova Cemetery, accompanied by musical performances by students of the Ivan Matetić Ronjov Music School under the guidance of their mentors. The event also featured a display of photographs of plant species and an educational walk led by Mr. Goran Huljenić, mag.ing.silv., from Urbani šumari d.o.o. Novo Čiče.

The remaining days were reserved for individual visits and cemetery tours, assisted either by the ARTOUR mobile application or the brochure available at the following links:

Event photos:

WDEC 2023 in Rijeka

The Week of Discovering European Cemeteries 2023 in Rijeka, Croatia, was held from May 22nd to 31st and was dedicated to the Trsat and Kozala cemeteries.

As every year, KD Kozala d.o.o. celebrated the Week of Discovering European Cemeteries (WDEC). In Rijeka, the event was held for the first time in 2015, and over the years our fellow citizens have recognized it as another way to get to know the history of the city.

This year's theme: Trsat and Kozala cemeteries

The theme of this year's WDEC was "Cemeteries for health and wellbeing". In other words - pointing out how the attitude towards cemeteries can improve our life. The meaning of life should be seen through the prism of a place that many shy away from, not wanting to face the fact that the circle of life and death is constantly present in nature, and that man is only a part of it. Cemeteries are not only places of farewells and reminders of one's own transience, but also places where the culture, progress and maturity of a community are reflected. The attitude towards life is also reflected in the attitude and care we have towards cemeteries, and we can proudly say that Rijeka's cemeteries have long since become a part of our lives, a part of this city. They have become parks and promenades that passers-by do not bypass, but quite the opposite.

The Week of Discovering European Cemeteries 2023 in Rijeka was held from May 22nd to 31st.

Program

The program began on Monday, May 22nd, at 11:00 a.m., with the opening of the exhibition on Korzo, with photographs of grave sites in the Trsat and Kozala cemeteries.

On the same day, at 6 p.m., a guided tour of the Trsat cemetery was held under the expert guidance of art historian Daina Glavočić and with musical accompaniment performed by students and professors of the Ivan Matetić Ronjgov Music School in Rijeka.

The guided tour of the Kozala cemetery was held on Wednesday, May 24th, starting at 6 p.m., also with musical accompaniment performed by students and professors of the Ivan Matetić Ronjgov Music School in Rijeka.

Other days were intended for individual visits to the Kozala and Trsat cemeteries with the help of a special brochure (in Croatian) prepared for this year's Week of Discovering European Cemeteries.

150 years of Kozala Cemetery

1872 is the year when the Kozala Cemetery in Rijeka (Croatia) has become a communal cemetery of public interest.

The history of Rijeka, a city that flows, lives, and always rises again, is made up of our lives, efforts and efforts of our predecessors.

They are gone, but they are still here, ours. Lives lining up, one after the other through generations: births and deaths. And they became part of our lives, part of our city.

Kozala and Trsat cemeteries, as well as other Rijeka cemeteries, are in the heart of the city of Rijeka, its living part, taking over the role of parks, promenades, and open-air museums.

150 years ago, on January 1, 1872, information about a burial at the Kozala Cemetery was entered in the Book of Burials. That first entry is the official beginning of the Kozala Cemetery as a communal cemetery of public interest.

From then until today, under the cypress trees of Kozala, an entire city rests. 115 thousand deceased souls of different nationalities and religions.

Rijeka's multiculturalism, national and religious tolerance is felt at every step through the soothing alleys and lawns of its cemeteries.

WDEC 2022 in Rijeka

Week of Discovering European Cemeteries 2022 in Rijeka (Croatia) is dedicated to the unveiling of Artists’ resting places in the Cemetery Kozala and Trsat.

Week of Discovering European Cemeteries is the most important ASCE project that connects people and points out the heritage in our cemeteries. In Rijeka, the event was held for the first time in 2015, and during these years, citizens of Rijeka have recognized it as a new way to learn about the history of their city.

This year's theme: Artists’ resting places

The Week of Discovering European Cemeteries 2022, which will take place from 23 to 31 May, will focus on artists who found their final resting place in Rijeka's cemeteries.

The program began on Monday, May 23 at 11.30 a.m. with the opening of an exhibition on the city’s Promenade (Rijeka Korzo). The exhibition consist of 16 photographs of graves in the Kozala and Trsat cemeteries where artists of various profiles are buried.

On the same day, at 6 pm, a tour of the Kozala Cemetery was held under the expert guidance of art historian Daina Glavočić. During the educational walk the graves of artists buried in this cemetery were visited.

A tour of the Trsat Cemetery, also under the guidance of Daina Glavočić, will be held on Wednesday, May 25, at 6 p.m.

Other days are intended for individual visits to the Kozala and Trsat cemeteries with the help of a special brochure prepared specifically for this year's Week of Discovering European Cemeteries.

You can see some highlights from the exhibition opening, press conference and cemetery tours in the photos below.