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Petrographic investigations in cemeteries in Dresden: a scientific view on the tombstone inventory including historic and cultural aspects

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Abstract

Cemeteries give evidence for a continuous change in sepulchral culture and provide insights into the application of characteristical rock materials used for tombstones during different times. Four selected cemeteries in Dresden (the Eliasfriedhof/Elias Cemetery, the Trinitatisfriedhof/Trinity Cemetery, the Johannisfriedhof/Johannis Cemetery, and the Städtischer Urnenhain/Municipal Urn Grove), which are of considerable cultural and historical importance, have been investigated within an ongoing mapping project. First results of this project focussing on the tombstone inventory of the mentioned graveyards and thus the use of building and decoration stones therein between 1680 and 1945 are presented in this paper. It can be demonstrated that the choice, variety, and application of rock material depends on the infrastructure and transport possibilities, but is also strongly influenced by sepulchral cultural trends and the prevailing zeitgeist. Until the middle of the 19th century, nearly solely Elbe sandstone (from the area of the Elbsandsteingebirge/Elbe sandstone mountains), that was transported on the Elbe river by ship, is found as rock material for tombstones in Dresden cemeteries. Rapid construction and development of the railway network starting around 1840 improved the availability, at first, of regional rock material (e.g., from the Lausitz/Lusatia) and, later on, from about 1880, of national and international—especially European—rock material (e.g., from Franken/Franconia, France, Scandinavia). Furthermore, the Friedhofsreformbewegung/cemetery reform movement at the beginning of the 20th century, with its significant effect on the selection of rock types used for tombstones, marks another historical breakthrough.

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(compiled after Memmesheimer 1968; Leisner et al. 1990)

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Acknowledgements

The authors are indebted to Angela Ehling (BGR Berlin) for constructive review. Olaf Kolditz (UFZ Leipzig) is sincerely thanked for the careful editorial handling and Siegfried Siegesmund (Universität Göttingen) for his invitation to publish within the context of this special issue Stone in Architectural Heritage. Daniel Hamann (SNSD), who was involved substantially with the mapping project and further introduced several students into the mapping activity, is gratefully acknowledged. A number of students of the TU Bergakademie Freiberg took part in different mapping campaigns and are also thanked for their work: Markus Bohrt, Nico Frenzel, Nadine Freudenberg, Björn Fritzke, Björn Goldberg, David Göttlich, Tamino Hirsch, Julia Hübner, Theo Pahlke, Stefan Richter, and Marcus Wolf. Beatrice Teichmann (administration of the Elias-, Trinitatis-, and Johannisfriedhof, Dresden) and Jens Börner (administration of the Städtischer Urnenhain Tolkewitz, Dresden) are thanked for supporting the project and giving access to the archives. Last but not least, language support by Robert Stearns (Almonte, Ontario) is greatly appreciated.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Senckenberg Naturhistorische Sammlungen Dresden, Museum für Mineralogie und Geologie, Sektion Petrographie, Königsbrücker Landstraße 159, 01109, Dresden, Germany

    Jan-Michael Lange, Martin Kaden & Nadine Janetschke

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  1. Jan-Michael Lange
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  2. Martin Kaden
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  3. Nadine Janetschke
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Correspondence to Jan-Michael Lange.

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This article is part of a Topical Collection in Environmental Earth Sciences on “Stone in the Architectural Heritage: from quarry to monuments—environment, exploitation, properties and durability”, guest edited by Siegfried Siegesmund, Luís Sousa, and Rubén Alfonso López-Doncel.

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Lange, JM., Kaden, M. & Janetschke, N. Petrographic investigations in cemeteries in Dresden: a scientific view on the tombstone inventory including historic and cultural aspects. Environ Earth Sci 77, 620 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-018-7789-4

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