Skogskyrkogården: 20+ years of being unique

Skogskyrkogården (The Woodland Cemetery) is unique in its own way. It is characterized by the interaction between landscapes and buildings, richness of detail, essential vegetation and varied lines of sight.

For 20 years, the Association of Significant Cemeteries in Europe (ASCE) has been a select group for cemeteries considered to be of historical or artistic importance. Through activities and dissemination of knowledge, ASCE has drawn the attention of citizens and tourists to the values that the significant cemeteries possess. ASCE has also created an important network and meeting place for cemetery enthusiasts around Europe who work for the preservation of these essential and valuable environments.

The member cemeteries represent a diversity of; culture, religion, tradition, history and architect- ural expressions. What all the cemeteries have in common, is that they are unique, in their own way, and that is what makes them significant.

For 20 years, Skogskyrkogården (The Woodland Cemetery) in Stockholm, Sweden, has been one of the significant cemeteries. What makes Skogskyrkogården unique is that it has also been a UNESCO World Heritage Site for 20+ years.

It all started in 1914 when the cemetery committee announced an international competition to design Stockholm’s new southern cemetery. Cemetries of that time were designed as magnificent parks with lavish grave monuments as a tribute to the dead. The cemetery committee now wanted to create a unique cemetery where nature and architecture formed a harmonious whole. The winners of the competition were the young, Swedish, architects Gunnar Asplund and Sigurd Lewerentz.

The Landscape

With the competition entry Tallum, the architects fulfilled the requirements to create a cemetery integrated with the existing nature by making use of the site’s existing topography and forest.

The cemetery is surrounded by a 4km long stone wall. Inside the semi-circular main entrance, the rolling landscape opens up. The iconic Almhöjden (Elm Hill) and the stone cross, designed by Gunnar Asplund, catches the visitor’s eye. In the distance, the pine woodland of the burial ground appears as a dark green silhouette. The 900m long processional path Sju brunnars stig (Seven wells path) leads you through the woodland to the southern part of the cemetery.

Landscape architect Sigurd Lewerentz was the one who designed the majority of the landscape, such as Almhöjden and the garden of remembrance, which was inaugurated in 1961.

Skogskyrkogården is unique in its kind and is characterized by the interaction between landscapes and buildings, richness of detail, essential vegetation and varied lines of sight. Throughout the design is the idea of the journey between light and darkness, between joy and sorrow, through the cycle of life-death-life.

The Woodland

Skogskyrkogården is not only a World Heritage Site but also an active cemetery. The 107 hectare large cemetery houses over 100,000 graves, which makes it one of northern Europe’s largest cemeteries.

The graves interact with the woodland on the pine-covered grassy areas. The cemetery’s 10,000 pine tree trunks tower up between the gravestones like roman pillars and their crowns form a green canopy against the sky.

The pines at Skogskyrkogården are one of the building blocks that make the World Heritage Site unique and the importance of its preservation is specially designated to maintain the World Heritage Status. One of the cemetery’s biggest threats is damage to the trees due to disease, grave digging or age. To ensure regrowth, new pines are planted in the cemetery every year. Seeds plucked from the original pine trees ensure that the right plant material is used.

The Five Chapels

Inside the forest lies Skogskapellet (The Woodland Chapel). The chapel, which is the cemetery’s smallest, was designed by Gunnar Asplund and is modestly subordinate to the pines and fir trees. Skogskapellet was inaugurated in 1920 in conjunction to the inauguration of Skogskyrkogården.

Soon after, it was established that the chapel was too small for a large funeral party. In 1925, Uppståndelsekapellet (The Chapel of Resurrection) was completed, which was designed by Lewerentz and was twice as big as Skogskapellet. The chapel with its neoclassical design acts as the destination at the end of Sju brunnars stig and is visible all the way from the top of Almhöjden.

At the entrance of Skogskyrkogården, Asplund designed the cemetery’s main buildings. Due to financial and practical reasons, construction was delayed. In 1940, however, Skogskrematoriet (The Woodland Crematorium) was completed with its three chapels, Tron (Faith), Hoppet (Hope) and Heliga korset (the Holy Cross). Functionalism now had its impact, which permeates through the entire design.

The unique layout of each building shows the architects’ eye for richness of detail, focus on the visitors experience and the cycle of life-death-life.

The Crematoria

In 2009, history repeated itself when the cemetery committee announced a new architectural competition at Skogskyrkogården. After more than 60 years in operation, Gunnar Asplund’s crematorium closed down, as a more modern facility was now required. Five international architectural firms were invited to compete and the winning entry was En sten i skogen (A Stone in the Forest) by Johan Celsing in collaboration with Müller Illien Landschafts- architekten.

Nya krematoriet (The New Crematorium) was inaugurated in 2014 and opened for business in 2015 after Skogskrematoriet conducted its last cremation No. 285,944. Once again, a unique building had been constructed at Skogskyrkogården, which was discreetly integrated into the surrounding woodland. In 2013, Nya krematoriet received the national Swedish Kasper Salin-Prize for high architectural quality.

The World Heritage Site

Since 1994, Skogskyrkogården has been recognized on the UNESCO World Heritage List of invaluable cultural and natural heritage sites. The motivations for this recognition are as follows:

• ”The creation of Swedish architects Gunnar Asplund and Sigurd Lewerentz at Skogskyrkogården established a new form of cemetery that has exerted a profound influence on cemetery design throughout the world”.
• “The merits of Skogskyrkogården lie in its qualities as an early 20th century landscape and architectural design adapted to a cemetery”.

Skogskyrkogården is unique in its kind as the world’s only active cemetery established as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. In 2001 ASCE was founded with the City of Stockholm being one of the founder members. Soon afterwards, Skogskyrkogården was recognized as being significant.

In September 2020, Skogskyrkogården celebrated its 100 years anniversary. For more than 20 years, it has been a World Heritage Site and of course, it also celebrates 20 years as a significant cemetery.

The Woodland Cemetery is proud to be part of ASCE and in the celebration of its 20th anniversary. We hope to be a member for another 20+ years alongside all the other unique significant cemetery.

About the article

Text by: Sara Carlquist, City of Stockholm, Cemeteries Department
Photos by: Per Stjernberg & Sara Carlquist

You can access the original article HERE.

100 years of The Woodland Cemetery

Skogskyrkogården, the Woodland Cemetery, celebrates its 100th anniversary, and 25 years as a World heritage site, with a new exhibition.

This outdoor (and online) exhibition, that is located at the main entrance of the Woodland Cemetery, showcases the 100 year history since its consecration to the future and coming renovations. It also remembers thousands of cemetery workers and others who contributed to its formation and functioning.

The outdoor exhibition will be on display from September 19 to November 1, 2020. The admission is free.

You can find more information about the exhibition HERE.

*Photo by Susanne Hallmann.

The Northern Cemetery (Solna, Sweden)

Norra Begravningsplatsen, literally "The Northern Cemetery" is a major cemetery of Metropolitan Stockholm, located in the municipality of Solna.

About the cemetery

The Northern Cemetery in Solna, was built in 1815 in an area belonging to Karlberg’s royal estate which was deeded a general burial place for Stockholm residents. It opened on June 9th, 1827 and the burial site was expanded and adapted several times after the city’s growing needs, especially in the 1860s and 1870s. The oldest, southeast, part was planned by the architect Carl Gustaf Blom-Carlsson after French-class pattern with a semi-circular place and lime-tree lined avenues.

At the Northern Cemetery there are two chapels for funeral ceremonies, Norra kapellet and Stora Gravkoret. Immediately next to the Northern Cemetery was a provisional crematorium built in 1887 as the first crematorium in Scandinavia. In 1909 it was replaced when a new crematorium was put into service. The new crematorium was then taken out of service in 1989, after 80 years of operation.

Within the Northern Cemetery there is a large number of beautiful and magnificent grave arrangements that range from smaller headstones to great mausoleums, many of which are located in the hill called “Lindhagens kulle”. 

Famous architects such as Gustaf Lindgren, Gunnar Asplund, Sigurd Lewerentz and Lars Israel Wahlman together developed the Northern Cemetery to be one of the country’s most impressive and rich burial places. There are many sculptures, relics and other artistic ornaments created by some of Sweden’s most outstanding sculptors, such as Carl Eldh and Carl Milles.

Architect Jan Wahlman has designed the garden of remembrance, which was opened in 1987. At the memorial and meditation site is a sculpture group by Anita Bruzewizt-Hansson called Music in the branches.

At the cemetery you can find a burial area especially for infants and children. One special aspect of the area is the playful atmosphere through the wooden climbing sculptures. These sculptures are carved and made out of elderly elm trees that had once grown at the cemetery.

Important personalities at the cemetery

Many prominent Swedes are buried at the Northern Cemetery, for example:

• Alfred Nobel (inventor and industrialist),
• August Strindberg (author),
• Ingrid Bergman (actress),
• Ragnar Östberg (architect and artist),
• Ferdinand Boberg (architect and designer),
• Per Albin Hansson (former prime minister),
• Salomon August Andrée (initiator and leader of the Andrée-expedition) to name just a few.

*Source: http://ar-tour.com/guides/the-northern-cemetery.aspx

Address

Norra Begravningsplatsen
Solna Kyrkväg, Grind 3
171 64 Solna
Sweden

Contacts

Telefon: 08-508 301 00
Fax: 08-508 300 80

Skogskyrkogården (Stockholm, Sweden)

The unique merge of nature and architecture into a seamless whole. That is Skogskyrkogården - The Woodland Cemetery.

When Skogskyrkogården was founded at the beginning of the 1900s, the aim was to create something special, something original - a cemetery blending nature and architecture into a seamless whole. Today, Skogskyrkogården is considered one of the most important creations of modern architecture, and is even inscribed on UNESCO's World Heritage List.

Skogskyrkogården's history begins at the beginning of the 1900s, when it became apparent that Stockholm's cemeteries were insufficient and needed complementing. Stockholm City Council decided to build a new cemetery south of the existing Southern Cemetery, in modern-day Enskede.

At the time, cemeteries were generally considered "Gardens of the Dead", with grandiose parks, tree-lined avenues and impressive headstones raising a kind of memento to the dead. The city's cemetery committee had a desire to move away from this ideal and to instead create a cemetery centred on the underlying landscape. 

Photos of the cemetery by Susanne Hallmann:

The Stockholm City Museum Phone

+46 8 508 31 620

Booking service

+46 8 508 31 620
bokning.stadsmuseum@stockholm.se

Visitors Center

+46 8 508 31 730
visitorscenter.skogskyrkogarden@kyf.stockholm.se

Ekshärad Cemetery (Ekshärad, Sweden)

Ekshärad Cemetery is well known for its graceful and imaginative iron crosses.

About the cemetery

There is a unique heritage preserved at the Ekshärad Cemetery. Over 450 forged iron crosses, most of them from the 1700s and 1800s, are preserved. 

Iron crosses were frequently used in the cemeteries in Värmland until the 1900s, but they were not functional and became outdated so they started to disappear. People started to throw them away or sell them. This happend in Ekshärad Cemetery as well, and for many years their home was on the outside of the cemetery. Luckely, they choose to put the iron crosses back in the 1920s.

*Source: www.visitvarmland.se

*Photo source: www.mapio.net

Contacts

Swedish federation of Cemeteries and Crematoria
Sveavagen 116
10432 Stockholm
Sweden

e-mail: kansli@ignis.se
Tel: +46 81 50540
Fax: +46 86 128036

Tourist information

Tourist Information about Sweden House
P.O. Box 7542 SE-103 93
Stockholm
Sweden

Tel: +46 8 789 24 00
Fax: +46 8 789 24 50

The Eastern Cemetery in Gothenburg (Gothenburg, Sweden)

The Eastern Cemetery in Gothenburg was designed by architect J. H. Strömberg and was inaugurated on November 16, 1860.

About the cemetery

The Eastern Cemetery in Gothenburg is located in the parish of Örgryte, in the Diocese of Gothenburg. With an area of 25,3 hectares, and nearly 18.000 graves, it is the third largest graveyard in the city. Including the urns, it is estimated to be the resting place of 150.000 people. 

Special attention must be paid to the hill on the west side, with its magnificent mausoleums, most of which commemorate notable Gothenburg citizens, whose work and donations helped shape the city. Many of their tombstones and monuments are true works of art.

A Jewish burial site is located at the southern end of the cemetery.

History

The cemetery was designed by the architect J. H. Strömberg and inaugurated on 16 November 1860 by dean Peter Wieselgren under the name Begravningsplatsen ("The Burial Place"). The first burial took place on 27 February 1861. During the first year of operation, 348 adults and 648 children were buried there, as measles and diphtheria were raging in the city.

The crematory in Gothenburg    

In 1890, the first crematory in Gothenburg was opened, designed by Swedish architect Hans Hedlund. It burned down on 23 December 1920, but was later rebuilt. However, it was closed in 1951, and its functions were taken over by the crematory in the nearby district of Kviberg.

*Text source: www.wikipedia.org

Cemetery address

Swedish federation of Cemeteries and Crematoria
Sveavagen 116
10432 Stockholm
Sweden

Cemetery contacts

Phone: +46 81 50540
Fax: +46 86 128036
E-mail: kansli@ignis.se

Tourist Information about Sweden House

P.O. Box 7542 SE-103 93
Stockholm
Sweden

Phone: +46 8 789 24 00
Fax: +46 8 789 24 50

Malmö Eastern Cemetery (Malmö, Sweden)

The Eastern Cemetery is the largest cemetery in Malmö. Both landscape and buildings were designed by the renowned architect Sigurd Lewerentz.

About the cemetery

The Malmö Eastern cemetery was inaugurated in 1921. The architect Sigurd Lewerentz dedicated a large part of his life to the Eastern Cemetery, creating a prime example of Swedish architecture and its development over time.

The ridge, Hohögsåsen, divides the cemetery into two architectural styles. South of the ridge, the architecture is strictly regular with cut hedges and form trees, while the terrain north of the ridge has invited a design with more free-growing plants and continuous lawns. 

While strolling through the cemetery you will notice the chapel, the crematory, the bell tower and the lush landscape itself,  all designed by Lewerentz. However, his most famous work in the cemetery is probably the flower kiosk -  a simple concrete house where the windows are attached with black sealant that attracts. It was completed in 1965, and was Lewerentz’s last work before he passed away in 1975.

*Sources: www.malmo.se and www.visitsweden.com

Contacts

Swedish federation of Cemeteries and Crematoria
Sveavagen 116
10432 Stockholm
Sweden

E-mail: kansli@ignis.se
Tel: +46 81 50540
Fax: +46 86 128036

Tourist information

Tourist Information about Sweden House
P.O. Box 7542 SE-103 93
Stockholm
Sweden

Tel: +46 8 789 24 00
Fax: +46 8 789 24 50

Östra Cemetery (Jönköping, Sweden)

Östra Cemetery, also known as the Eastern Cemetery, is located in the city of Jönköping in southern Sweden and it originates from the 17th century.

About the cemetery

The first mention of the Östra cemetery dates back to 1636. It has been expanded two times - in the 1920s and 1970s. Since the city and the railway have grown up alongside the cemetery, it has taken on a very elongated and irregular shape.

The cemetery provides a good deal of historical information thanks to its wonderful old gravestones and iron railings. The chapel was built in the 1930s and is similar to the old wooden chapel which was previously destroyed in a fire. Next to the chapel there is a 400-year-old oak tree and the landscape is punctuated by avenues lined with elm and lime trees. The cemetery also features some renowned rockeries.

*Photo and text source: www.svenskakyrkan.se

Contacts

Swedish federation of Cemeteries and Crematoria
Sveavagen 116
10432 Stockholm
Sweden

e-mail: kansli@ignis.se
Tel: +46 81 50540
Fax: +46 86 128036

Tourist Information

Tourist Information about Sweden Hous
P.O. Box 7542 SE-103 93
Stockholm
Sweden

Tel: +46 8 789 24 00
Fax: +46 8 789 24 50

Mjösund cemetery (Njurunda, Sweden)

Mjösund cemetery in Njurunda, Sundsvall, has become a tourist attraction thanks to its beautiful location and exotic flora.

About the cemetery

Mjösund cemetery is a cemetery in Njurunda (in the Sundsvall municipality in Sweden), managed by Njurunda parish. The burial site was opened the 1940s and expanded in 1960 and 1973. Mjösund's burial chapel is located at the burial site. 

Today, the cemetery represents an interesting tourist attraction thanks to its beautiful location and exotic flora.

Cemetery address

Mjösund cemetery
Mjösundsvägen 13
862 40 Njurunda,
Sweden

Swedish federation of Cemeteries and Crematoria

Address
Sveavagen 116
10432 Stockholm
Sweden

Contacts
Email: kansli@ignis.se
Phone: +46 81 50540
Fax: +46 86 128036

Tourist Information about Sweden House

Address
P.O. Box 7542 SE-103 93
Stockholm
Sweden

Contacts
Phone: +46 8 789 24 00
Fax: +46 8 789 24 50

*Main photo source: www.wikipedia.org

Strandkyrkogården (Stockholm, Sweden)

Strandkyrkogården, also know as the Shore Cemetery, was inaugurated in 1996. It is located six miles south-east of the Stockholm city centre, next to the lake Drevviken.

About the cemetery

Planning for Strandkyrkogården began in the first years of the 1980s and the facility was inaugurated on 20 September 1996. No chapel buildings were erected because Strandkyrkogården was considered complementary to Skogskyrkogården in Gamla Enskede.

The cemetery covers 25 hectares of land that alternates between open parkland and closed forest areas with the burial sites. In total, there is room for around 20.000 graves. The entrance is located by Gudöbroleden and is decorated with granite blocks from Göinge. Next to the cemetery 's memorial grove , there is a viewpoint with a view of lake Drevviken.

Text and photo source: www.wikipedia.org

Swedish federation of Cemeteries and Crematoria

Address
Sveavagen 116
10432 Stockholm
Sweden

Contacts
Email: kansli@ignis.se
Phone: +46 81 50540
Fax: +46 86 128036

Tourist Information about Sweden House

Address
P.O. Box 7542 SE-103 93
Stockholm
Sweden

Contacts
Phone: +46 8 789 24 00
Fax: +46 8 789 24 50

Tourist information

https://www.visitstockholm.com/
http://www.sweden.com