Friedhof am Hörnli in Riehen, Basel-Stadt

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Get directions Hörnliallee 70
Riehen, Basel-Stadt, 4125 Switzerland

Coordinates: 47.56495, 7.64012
www.riehen.ch/leben-und-wohnen/parkanlagen-und-friedhoefe/friedhof-am-hoernli
Cemetery ID: 2143513

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This is the largest cemetery in Switzerland. The cemetery opened in 1932 to replace several smaller cemeteries that had reached capacity. Although the cemetery was built to serve the City of Basel, it was extended several times since opening and now is entirely in the neighboring town of Riehen, which is near the German border. Surrounded by a thick forest, the cemetery's layout is a symmetric area of almost 124 acres with 12 distinct sectors for 40,000 graves. In the center of the cemetery is located six funeral chapels with various seating sizes and one being non-Christian to serve other cultures. Recently, a crematorium was added to the campus in a Mediterranean design, which has an area for urns containing the ashes. The ashes of those cremated, who have no heirs, are scattered in a communal gravesite with a stone that reads “Grave of the Lonely.” The park-like lawns are well-kept with flower beds and topiary hedges. There are some terraces with handrails on the steps. Numerous statues can be seen throughout the cemetery, with some being very modern. There is an internal bus connecting the main entrance with all sectors every 30 minutes, and public transportation will bring you from the city to the main entrance of the cemetery. Several persons of notoriety have been re-interred here after their remains were moved from old, abandon cemeteries.