Two new photos I took, kinda gross

[Kirsten]

Took a walk across our local graveyard today, and came across a pile of waste, and there were several grave stones in the debris, waiting for their disposal. Sort of sad, isn't it?






Kirsten

[catnapper]

Sad, but very interesting. I love old cemertaries and find them fascinating places.

What does the inscription say?

[moosmom]

Hey Kim,

Hope you don't mind, but the word is CEMETERIES. That's been a pet peeve of mine for years!!! As I was taught, you don't TARRY in a CEMETERY.

Johanna,

Since I forgot my glasses before going to work, my eyes aren't working too well. What's it all about???

[slleipnir]

I agree, it is sad...but very interesting too...I like how you made it black and white.

[kuhio98]

I wonder why these grave stones are being removed? Are the grave stones being replaced? Were the bodies moved?

[Kirsten]

I wonder why these grave stones are being removed? Are the grave stones being replaced? Were the bodies moved?

On German cemeteries, graves are usually removed after 30 years, unless there are still relatives who rebuy the place. The contracts for urne graves even expire after 20 years.

The bodies however - or what's left of them - remain in the ground.



Kim, I also love taking photographs in old graveyards, it's a peaceful atmosphere.

The inscription of the first stone reads:

Adele Rech
nee Steuer
19.7.1886 - 12.1.1956

In memory of our dear father
Friedrich Wilhelm Rech
1888 - 1945


Obviously hubby Friedrich Wilhelm has died in WW2, as there's this military cross below his name.

Can't read much of the inscription of the second stone, you can only see the name, Gustav Mueller.

Kirsten

[Suki Wingy]

On German cemeteries, graves are usually removed after 30 years, unless there are still relatives who rebuy the place. The contracts for urne graves even expire after 20 years.

THAT is what's sad That's HISTORY there!
I love wandering through old cemeteries looking for really old ones and seeing in a way they whay different people deal with death.

[Anita Cholaine]

They are sad, but I find them beautiful at the same time.
We have a really old cementery in Buenos Aires, full of great sculptures and statues. It a wonderful historical place to take good photographs...

[Kirsten]

It a wonderful historical place to take good photographs...

Sounds like an interesting place indeed!


BTW, here are some older cemetery photos I took some years ago, before I had a digicam.










What do you think of them?
(Could be that some of you have seen them before on www.kirsten-scheffel.de)

Kirsten

[catnapper]

Hey Kim,

Hope you don't mind, but the word is CEMETERIES. That's been a pet peeve of mine for years!!! As I was taught, you don't TARRY in a CEMETERY.

Johanna,

Since I forgot my glasses before going to work, my eyes aren't working too well. What's it all about???

Woops.... I really bothced that word up -- my bad typing even stuck in an extra R. LOL Thanks for the spelling -- I am not the world's best speller (even worse typer) but I like to know for future reference!

Wow Kirsten, graves expire? I can't imagine doing that here in the US, but it does proove to be a useful practice. Only so much land and lots of people to fill it.

[Kirsten]

Only so much land and lots of people to fill it.

Yep, that's the point - we're pretty overcrowded here. Of course all the ancient, historical graveyards will remain, but they remove the newer graves. You'll buy the places for 30 or 20 years, and after that they indeed "expire" and you have to make a new contract - for a lot of money, of course. I learnt from my mother today that my father's urne grave will probably be removed next year - his passing will be 20 years ago in 2007. That's really a strange thought, as it still seems like yesterday that we buried him.

Kirsten

[Karen]

It is very sad that the gravestones are removed if you don't fork over more money for upkeep. It is not that way here in the U.S., there is a cemetery through the wood behind our neighborhood, and there are gravestones in there that have been there since its founding in 1885.

I know we are a much younger country, but 30 years seems like nothing in the span of time.

[Alysser]

Those are wonderful photos but it's also very saddening. When, I went to Italy, the Villa we stayed in had a cemetery as you drove up the driveway. WHICH was very very very long. Some of the stones dated back to the 1600's!

[Sonia59]

Nice pics! And thanks for the link to your website, I did not know about this one

What kind of digital camera do you have? Are you satisfied about black and white pictures you take with them? Your older pictures (not taken with a digital cam, right?) are, to my opinion, much better. I always find that B&W digital pics are a bit "flat". Just a personal opinion, but I am curious to know if you share it