The cemetery is located in the Osterholz district of Bremen and is one of the 37 cemeteries in this northern German harbor city. It was opened in 1920 with the plans of garden architect Paul Freye, who is also buried here. It currently counts about 100,000 graves and with the size of 196 acres it is the second largest cemetery in Northern Germany. It also contains about 6000 war graves of military personal and civilian victims of World War II.
Please note that the final resting places in Germany are not eternal, due to lack of space. This cemetery has a "period of repose" of 20 years. Once the time is up for a renewal of the "lease" the cemetery administration will place a small sticker on the gravestone to alert the family to contact the office of the cemetery. Unless the family of the deceased pays for another period of 20 years, or the grave is of historical importance (in that case the city of Bremen will carry the costs), it will be leveled and re-used. Leftover stones will be collected and eventually crushed and used as gravel in road construction.
