User:MorrisGF/Sandbox

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While doing family history research it's common to search for the grave of an ancestor, hoping to get some birth or death date from the gravestone (especially in U.S. Research). Before you plan a trip to Sweden to travel around their cemeteries, you should consider some of the social and cultural differences. Here are a few things to consider:

Types of burial places
Historically burial places around the world have had different forms for example, burial places in the forest. Ancient burial places outside of a city are called necropolis. Jewish and Muslim congregations in Christian countries may have their own burial places often near the larger christian burial areas. Some burial places were created at the time of a epidemic, usually mass graves. These mass graves might only have been used as a burial place for the duration of the epidemic. Due to war, sometimes there are cemeteries specifically for military use.

A churchyard is the area around a church that is often used as a burial place. Churchyards are the most common place for burials in Sweden. Even Swedish cemeteries that do not have a church are called churchyards. Modern cemeteries in Sweden are often further out of a town and are equipped with a cemetery chapel.

Ancient Burials in Sweden
Very few graveyards have been found in Sweden that date back to stone age cultures. By the Bronze Age, cremations and other forms of burial were praticed. By the early Iron Age grave fields became common. Late Iron Age burial grounds are often linked to villages that are traced into Medieval times. By the 900's the practice of cremation on a burial pyre was done. Afterwards the burnt bones and personal items in an earthern vessel were buried where older burials had already taken place (often among stone circles, rock formations, or burial mounds.) Early Christian burials in Sweden show the skeletal remains often laid with their feet towards the east and the head towards the west to prepare for the great resurrection.

Christian Burials
Decades after Christianity arrived in the 1000's, people founded common graves around the church buildings and the old farm cemeteries were abandoned. Over time the churchyards were organized by community or family. Graves were marked with planks or crosses made of wood. Up until the early 1800's the practice of having a family burial place in the churchyard, often as a low mound covered in deep grass with a modest wooden cross was common. Very few graves, usually in the cathedral churchyards or in cities, had a flat or standing marker of stone (often sandstone or limestone), or of iron.

Churchyards in Older times
In older times, a stone wall was built around churchyards to protect the grounds from larger wildlife. The wall would have one or more openings, often with a small wooden staircase, with wooden walls built up on the sides and a roof over the top. The churchyard of Täby has a good example of these portal structures. The southern and eastern parts of the churchyard were the most used for burials. In many places the northern part of the church yard was believed to be a unsuitable place for burials.

Unlike modern times, the graves were not placed in organized rows. At times the churchyards were used for grazing. They were used for public gatherings, public announcements, court sessions, markets, or even outdoor plays.

Martin Luther spoke out in disapproval of the misuse of churchyards which was supported by the Swedish Lutheran church leadership. There are witnessed accounts of graves that were opened for use during the 1600 and 1700's where bones from previously buried people were left on the surface rather than reburied in the new grave. For this reason the benhus (literally meaning the bone house) was built, where one could deposit them. Åker church and Strängnäs cathedral have examples of surviving benhus.

Status
The burial place of the nobility or clergy was often in the church, under the floor with flat stone markers, in built up monuments, tombs, or even family chapels. In 1633 a burial chapel was built for King Gusaf II Adolf in Riddarholms church in Stockholm which became the pattern for the nobility. For the rest of the 1600’s and 1700’s many parish churches had a burial chapels built. Another tradition was the creation of burial shields (for the nobility) that were carried during the funeral services and eventually mounted on the wall in the parish church. The burial shield might include an epitaph with the design of the deceased persons nobility shield, or even a sculpture carved out of wood which was painted. This practice was even done in rural parish buildings where the noble family had prominence. By 1779 the ecclesiastical government body (prästståndet) began to question the value of burials in the church buildings. In 1815 the practice of burial in the church buildings was forbidden. The nobility or the clergy were given a prominent place in the churchyard instead, often with a little iron fence or a stone edging around the grave.

The Sanctity of Burial Places
Toward the end of the 1700’s the churchyards became enclosed. In 1776

En skrivelse i Sveruge 1776 att stenmurar skulle uppföras. De gamla kyrkobalkarna, som delvis var timrade, kom därmed att ersättas av mera varaktiga och stabila konstruktioner. Även marknadsstånden började avhysas. Under 1700-talet började man plantera träd på kyrkogårdarna. Herrnhutiska församlingar i Tyskland var föregångare. Träden skulle förbättra dem förpestade lukten på storstädernas överbefolkade kyrkogårdar. På grund av befolkningsökningen på 1800-talet, i Sverige orsakade av faktorer, som Esaias Tegnér poetiskt formulerade som ”freden, vaccinet och potäterna”, ledde till att man tvingades anlägga helt nya kyrkogårdar. Främst i städerna var behovet helt oundvikligt på grund av den sanitära olägenheten. I Sverige utfärdades 1810 en förordning som kungjorde att nya begravningsplatser skulle anläggas utanför städerna. Det första området av nuvarande Norra begravningsplatsen invigdes 1827 av Johan Olof Wallin. I samband med epidemier ordnades särskilda kyrkogårdar, kolerakyrkogårdar runtom i landet är mycket vanliga. De nya begravningsplatserna fick en mera modern stil med planteringar, regelbundna kvarter med markerade individuella gravplatser. Inskriptioner på gravvården skulle upplysa om vem som ligger begravd där och när vederbörande fötts och avlidit. Inte sällan tillfogades även citat eller psalmnummer. Gravskicket varierade efter samhällsklass från det anonyma till det pampiga. Många familjer har egna familjegravar där avlidna släktingar successivt nedsätts. Människor med annan religiös bakgrund har i Sverige fått egna begravningsplatser. Den första judiska begravningsplatsen tillkom på Kungsholmen 1776, och den första katolska på Norra begravningsplatsen 1847. Invandringen efter andra världskriget resulterade i behov för begravningsplatser för muslimer och ortodoxt kristna. I både Stockholm och Göteborg återfinns idag gravplatser med stora gravmonument, inte sällan med ett inetsat fotografi på den avlidne. I Stockholm kremeras huvuddelen av de avlidna. På Norra begravningsplatsen ägde den första likbränningen rum 1909 på Norra krematoriet. Därför har kyrkogårdarna kompletterats med urnlundar, kolumbarier och minneslundar. Urnlundar kännetecknas av begravning där den dödes aska placeras i en urna och gravsätts. Kolumbarier är urnlundar som är byggda i anslutning till eller under kyrkorna. I minneslundar placeras urnan med aska utan markering av platsen. I enstaka fall sprids askan ut på platser utanför griftegårdarna.

Well known Sverige
Galärvarvskyrkogården, Stockholm Katarina kyrkogård, Stockholm Kungliga begravningsplatsen, Solna Kvibergs kyrkogård, Göteborg Maria Magdalena kyrkogård, Stockholm Norra begravningsplatsen, Stockholm Ravlunda kyrkogård Sandsborgskyrkogården, Stockholm Skogskyrkogården, Stockholm Södra kyrkogården, Nacka Uppsala gamla kyrkogård Väskinde kyrkogård, Gotland Östra kyrkogården, Göteborg