Östra kyrkogården
in Lund

in Swedish

The most visited cemeteries often offer a shortcut, such as Gamla kyrkogården in Malmö (IDstory) or a comfortably long walk. Östra kyrkogården In Lund is more surrounded than crossed by pedestrians and people in a hurry. Many of the latter may be able to get in time for the lessons at the upper secondary school i Lund Spyken↗ svW that is right south of the cemetary.

Actually, Östra kyrkogården was intended to grow in a northerly direction on land owned by the same private company that owned and operated the cemetery between approximately 1847 and 1885↗. But they did not get permission and the intended ground is now part of Lund's Botanical garden↗.

But when did this happen and why did you want to expand? The answer is partly found in the number of new inhabitant in Lund during the 19th century. As can be seen from the table below, the number of inhabitants increased ever faster and it was probably quite easy to see that more cemetery space was needed. Nor was the Northern Cemetery well maintained in the mid-19th century. In today's perspective it was a wise decision not to expand Östra kyrkogården.

1800 1810 1820 1830 1840 1850 1860 1870 1880 1890	3.085 3.100 3.550 4.211 5.264 6.709 8.412 10.688 14.304 15.023	- +15 +450 +660 +1.053 +1.445 +1.703 +2.276 +3.616 +719

Number of inhabitants in Lund during the 19th century

Gates

Old cemetarys are filled with many interesting details. Gates belong to these. They sometimes stand alone, as remnant without a function. If you want to visit this grave you don't need the gate.

But this has made them more beautiful; They have detached from their original purpose and become something we can see with new eyes. . See more gatesꜜ

More history

You can read more history about the Östra kyrkogården at denna undersida till botan.lu.se↗.

It is interesting to see the titles that appear on many tombstones. On Carl Fredrik Hill's tombstone it says artist, whereas GAN (IDstory) at Norra kyrkogården is completely without title.

Vandalism

Unfortunately, Östra kyrkogården in Lund has also suffered from having several graves vandalized.

It is difficult to understand how the person(s) are "thinking" when they carry out these destructive acts. How long will it take before the damage is repaired? More about vandalismꜜ

Gates

Craftsmanship - not haste

Östra kyrkogården in Lund is filled with beautiful details.

Vandalised tombstones at Östra kyrkogården in Lund

These and other damages occurred on two different occasions in the weeks around May 1, 2010. The three photos were taken by the cemetery manager Lars Borgström.

People may wonder what happens to the stones after the vandals' rampage? Read further below to find out more about this.

Repair of vandalized and damaged tombstones

Sometimes gravestones are damaged by falling trees or large branches. Sometimes there can be pure accidents during cemetery work in addition to the effects that the ravages of time inevitably cause. Metal thieves also ravage our cemeteries. But what is most visible and most upsetting is the brutal vandalism of individual graves.

Cemeteries and grave sites are insured by the Church of Sweden's own insurance company. When damage occurs, a dialogue is initiated with this insurance company. Quotations must be received and it can take quite a while before the actual repair work can begin. Update: The damaged gravestones have now been repaired for several years.

One can hope that this process goes faster today than when these damages occurred. And that there are fewer damages.

Lushness and calligraphy

In the summer, the cemetery becomes an ornate part of its neighbor, the Botanical Garden.

References

• About BiBB, a media company and an encyclopedia 4.0
• Östra kyrkogården - Svenska kyrkan
• Karta
• Om några som vilar på kyrkogården
• Östra kyrkogården i Lund, Regionmuséet (2014), vård-och skötselplan, pdf 62 pages
• Text/photo/web: Johan Schlasberg

Published: 2010.10 Updated: 2025.06.09

Kategorier 20 Historiska personer 45 Lund 16

---



Tip others about BiBB
- an encyclopedia 4.0



You know a lot, we may add a little^®