A dramatized visit of the Ballena Cemetery

On October 29 and 30, 2022, a guided dramatized visit will take place at the Municipal Cemetery of Castro-Urdiales in Spain.

As a member of ASCE, the Municipal Cemetery of Castro-Urdiales (the Ballena Cemetery) continues to promote the dissemination of its historical importance and heritage value.

Thus, the Department of Tourism and Heritage has scheduled for October 29 and 30, 2022, at 17.30, a dramatized visit of the cemetery to discover not only the funerary and architectural richness of the place, but also to bring to life the stories of the illustrious characters who rest there and who will be the protagonists of this visit.

The theatrical visit will be carried out by the theatre group "A Trote", where the Castreño actor Julen Guerrero will be the host who will introduce the prominent characters while guiding the spectators through the cemetery.

The tour will be limited to 25 visitors, so advance reservations are required.

*Text source: www.castro-urdiales.net/new
**Image source: www.castro-urdiales.net/galeria

Event “Spring in the cemeteries”

The City of Brussels is taking part in the event “Spring in the cemeteries” and for this first edition it will take place at Laeken Cemetery, on 21 and 22 May 2022.

About the Laeken Cemetery

The Laeken Cemetery counts a large number of important personalities from the 19th century and early 20th. Many of them have erected impressive monuments designed and built by the most prominent architects and craftsmen. In order to meet the large number of burial requests and to maximize the burial space, underground galleries were built. These were the first to be built in Belgium, and will later be extended on several occasions.

“Spring in the cemeteries” event

Throughout the weekend of 21 and 22 May 2022, from 10 am to 4 pm, several activities are proposed:

• Guided tours of the galleries with Epitaaf (in French and Dutch).
• Visit of the cemetery punctuated by artistic stops (singing and poetry) with Laeken Découverte in partnership with the Cours Florent located in Laeken.
• Visit for the deaf people, hearing impaired people and hearing people with the theatre company "Sur le bout des doigts".
• With the help of a map given a t the entrance, the public explores the cemetery in order to find the places where artistic breaks are offered in several languages (only on Sunday afternoon).
• The pianist Marie Pleyel is buried in the Laeken cemetery. On Sunday, Oxalys will pay a tribute to her in the choir of the old church. The programme of this classical music concert will include a selection of music composed by people who knew and admired her (Ignace Pleyel, Franz Liszt, Frédéric Chopin and Hector Berlioz).
• Next to the cemetery, from 10 am to 5 pm, multilingual guides from Epitaaf will welcome you in the old Salu workshops. A family that for three generations has built numerous funeral monuments.

The activities are free of charge.

Registration is compulsory by sending an e-mail specifying the activity desired and the number of participants to servicedespublics@brucity.be.

You can donload the original event program HERE.

Visit the cemetery at any time

If you are not in Brussels on the weekend of 21 and 22 May and would like to visit the cemetery, it is open every day from 8.30 am to 4 pm. 

Brochures and audio guides in French and Dutch are available at the reception desk. In preparation for your visit, you can also download the children's educational tour in French, Dutch and English (www.bruxelles.be).

Celebrating the Golden Ring

On Monday, 4 April 2022, the English Cemetery and the House of Guidi will celebrate the Golden Ring that Elizabeth Barrett Browning's poetry created between Italy and England with a special event.

Event Program

1. The English Cemetery (located at the Piazzale Donatello) will be open in the morning from 9:00 to 12:00. 
2. The House of Guidi (located at Piazza San Felice, 8) will be open in the afternoon from 15:00 to 18:00.
3. In the evening at 20:00, at the English Cemetery, the film "A Tea with Mussolini" by Franco Zeffirelli will be screened (in case of rain the evening event will not take place).

You can find the original invitation HERE.

For all questions and additional information please contact the event organizer.

First Hungarian city to join ASCE

We are happy to announce that Budapest (Hungary) will be joining ASCE.

On Friday, May 14th, 2021, the General Director of Cemeteries in Budapest, Móczár Gábor Attila, visited Maribor (Slovenia) and met with ASCE President, Lidija Pliberšek. Among other things, they discussed Budapest's accession in ASCE, current and future ASCE projects and some of the ways in which Budapest could contribute to the realization of ASCE goals and mission with its fresh ideas and positive energy.

We are looking forward to discovering Hungary's culture and the significant cemeteries of Budapest.