Crematorium

Tourist attractions

Description

The site of one of the first crematoriums in Brandenburg lies at the south-eastern end of the municipal cemetery (Ger.: Ostfriedhof), roughly opposite 16A, 16B and 16C Łukowa Streets. Due to the erosion of the ground located under the crematorium itself, and in particular the seepage of salt into the soil, the exact boundaries of the building and the hardened surface surrounding it can be seen in satellite photos. The area itself is covered with grass and small shrubs, among which you can still find pieces of prefabricated slabs and stones from the former building. Due to the terrain conditions, the hills surrounding the former crematorium offer a beautiful view of a part of the old town and its green and blue areas, ie the Nysa Łużycka and its right tributary - the Lubsza.

According to Johaness Römmler, a Guben city architect and crematorium designer, [it] had the character of a monument, a massive chimney, the main part with a hall of blessings, a room for the examination of the corpse, rooms for the mourning, clergy and administration. The windows had led-glazed frames, the room of the catafalque was lined with Odenwald granite".

Historical background

The crematorium was built in parallel with the expansion of the Eastern Cemetery (Ger.: Ostfriedhof, now the Communal Cemetery). It was designed in a combination of neoclassicism (the main hall closed with a gable roof with a decorative pediment, peristage and the rhythm of the facade pilasters) with elements of German reform architecture (Ger.: Reformsarchitektur) (chimney) and a modernist brick style (a rectangular functional hall with a flat roof decorated with a stone on each corner) urn).

The interior of the farewell hall was, like its exterior, made in the neoclassical style, with a coffered vault decorated with six lamps, a matroneum with a harmonium invisible to mourners, and a rectangular apse with a catafalque. The coffin was placed horizontally and in the same position transported to the incinerator.

The incineration infrastructure was designed and built by Topf & Söhne from Erfurt.

The crematorium was completely destroyed in the last phase of World War II, in 1945.