Tales from the Graveyard
When I told Daiana I wanted to visit art places, one of the places she suggested was the Frankfurt Main Cemetery at Eckenheimer Landstrasse 194.
“I been there few times and fell in love with the arts, furthermore, I want to find the grave of Arthur Schopenhauer. I had not been able to find it on my previous visits because the cemetery is very large,” she added. Arthur Schopenhauer was a German philosopher, often called the “philosopher of pessimism,” whose writings influenced later existential philosophy and Freudian psychology.
I agreed right away because it would be great to see the philosopher’s grave not to mention the artistic side of the cemetery.
I find the cemetery very fascinating because of the beauty of memorial art, the various styles and designs, the skills and craftsmanship sculpting a material as hard as granite. Many memorials are truly works of art and what added to the beauty is mother nature itself.
The Frankfurt Main Cemetery (German: Hauptfriedhof) is the largest cemetery in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. It was opened in 1828. The cemetery is located directly adjacent to two Jewish cemeteries, the Old Jewish Cemetery (opened together with the Main Cemetery in 1828) and the New Jewish Cemetery (opened in 1928), and together they constitute one of the largest cemetery areas in Germany.
The New Jewish Cemetery is the burial ground for many historical Jewish figures as well as other citizens of Frankfurt in the 19th and 20th centuries. The well maintained grounds give this cemetery a pleasant park-like appearance. A sobering Holocaust memorial stands near the entrance to the cemetery. Some individual gravestones and cenotaphs note that individuals were murdered at Nazi death camps. Many Frankfurt Jews who committed suicide rather than be deported to death camps are buried in a separate section.
After walking long in the cemetery, we found Schopenhauer’s grave.
Each day is a little life; every waking and rising a little birth; every fresh morning a little youth; every going to rest and sleep a little death. – Arthur Schopenhauer (Born: February 22, 1788, Poland
Died: September 21, 1860, Frankfurt).
I end this post with a little haiku (accompany by my photo) that I wrote inspired by this visit:
Tales from the Graveyard (Hauptfriedhof)
Beyond buried souls
etched marbles and bronze sculptures
Ivy thrives on tombs.
Reference:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frankfurt_Main_Cemetery
http://www.hauptfriedhof-frankfurt.de/
19 Comments
musadun
impress with your photography skills.
Steven Narbonne
It is nice to think we will be remembered even if for just a little while and nice that people may wonder even longer.
Sandy Brown Jensen
Emily,
I loved this post on Schopenhauer ‘s grave. As a photographer, I really appreciated your eye for the interplay of roses, fallen leaves, the spirit of the man(in the quote), the monument itself and, of course, your haiku was like the touch point on a calligraphy, just the right, light, final touch.
I truly enjoyed visiting your blog and hope to return soon!
Sandy Brown Jensen
Eugene, OR
emila
Thank you so much,Sandy! Glad you enjoyed reading it. 🙂
Hafsah ahmad
Each day is a little life; every waking and rising a little birth; every fresh morning a little youth; every going to rest and sleep a little death. – Arthur Schopenhauer
His words, like a translation of doa tidur & doa bangun tidur.
Hafsah ahmad
Love your haiku btw. 🙂
Perfect for this post.
Coralie
I love cemetaries… they are really peacefull places…
Hazural
I like the tiny angel 😉
imaisha
I’ve never imagine going to a cemetery could look this fascinating! So many artistic side that’s worth to see 🙂
imaisha
looks very cute kan.. ^_^ suka juga dgn angel at the heart shape~
imaisha
that haiku really impressed me! kak Em mmg serba boleh ^_^
Glory jane
Me too imaisha.
Never thought cemetery as an interesting place to visit because we feel it a gloomy place.
Glory jane
This post open my eyes to see something thru other people perspective.
Glory jane
This post make me see other side of cemetery (thru artist eye) that is quite interesting and historical.
imaisha
mmg kan.. we always remember the mourning and lost loved ones if we think about cemetery.. now can see different perspective in another country~
Glory jane
Old graveyard is so much fun to visit. The modern cemetery did not have elaboration accessories like this right?
imaisha
kalau tgk dlm modern foreign movie yg ada part kat cemetery, tgk mmg biasa je mcm kat sini juga la.. maybe certain tempat je yg look interesting to visit because of the famous people that were buried there~
Glory jane
Iye la. Sbb tu mula2 pelik tgk kak em lawat grave yard. Tapi rupa-rupanya seronok juga
Hazural
one of the kak em skills kan… I like it too 😉