Friedhof Sihlfeld
written by eagleye_slives
on April 27th, 2008
(1 vote)
You could go there any time around the year, though the opening times are variable depending on the season. You think probably it’s just a cemetery. BUT – it’s the biggest coherent green area in Zürich. For it’s a cemetery where you could almost feel like in an huge park. There are several trees and plants from different parts in the world – Magnolias or Chinese Acacias or false acacias as of course the local vegetation. The Fauna is prosperous, foxes live there now for generations, and of course birds and other rodents. Beside of that, of course you can admire the exact structuring of the tombs. Walls and segments of urn -graves extend themselves imposingly, surrounded by the aesthetically arranged family-graves. The Crematory building is surely worth a visit too. Two Sphinxes on the entrance pillars beware the Chapel of unexpected intruders. A small round tank/pool with a couple of goldfishes in the middle of the forecourt – two colonnades on the left and the right side of the Chapel. I saw pics of the interior but I never have been inside myself since it always has been closed, when I was there.
The cemetery opened in 1877 as “ZENTRAL FRIEDHOF” and it was an exactly planned area of 288’000 squaremetres. The first two crematories of Switzerland where build there. Nowadays they’re not in use anymore, only for laying out. In 1896 the cemetery was renamed to “FRIEDHOF SIHLFELD”. There you can find lots of historical tombs and memorial monuments. Some important people like Henry Dunant (the founder of the red cross IKRK), Gottfried Keller (poet and writer), Johanna Spyri (inventor of Heidi), just to name some, as well as several politicians, painters and lots of citizen have found their peace here.
The thing is I know that cemetery like the pocket of my trousers. I go there since I was a lil’ kid. It has changed slightly through all these years of course. As a teenager I also went there to study sometimes. Now you gotta imagine that it really looks like a huge park, and so nowadays there are lots of people going there to hang out, they even picnic there…
Actually I don’t mind IF they respect the passed people. Since 2004 I have new special relation to it, because my father lies also there. So that’s all about it. I heavily recommend to visit the place!
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