GERMAN CHURCHES AND CEMETERIES

A Different View

When biking from Munich to Vienna, the first church we visited was in Michaelbach, Germany. This was our trial run so was only about a 20-22 mile day.

Our guide explained, “It is the custom in this part of the world to have the cemetery within the walls that surround the church. The wall surrounding the property’s perimeter is usually concrete and about five to six feet high. Then above each grave in the cemetery is a raised bed for a flower garden. This little garden is often enclosed with a concrete ‘curbing’. Relatives often tend these mini gardens with great care. Sometimes the family hires someone to do it and there are people, often elderly women, who make an occupation of just tending these little gardens.”

I thought what a nice custom.

Inside the church there are many many angels. It was explained, “Years ago the angels were a source of contention with church officials, but the people persevered and the angels remain today. Most of them are gold. This church was built in 1728-31, but it took nearly forty years to furnish.”

“Why did it take so long?” someone asked.

“Lack of money and some wars.”

The guide continued, “In 1988 this church was restored at a cost of three million marks. The organ, over a hundred years old, dates back to 1867.”

Each time we visited a church, and there were many, a docent was present to tell us the history. Personally I liked that as we learned so much more than if we had just stuck our head in the door.

As we were leaving getting ready to bike back to the hotel our guide explained, “Outside the perimeter walls of most churches you will find a war memorial. Here, each war is listed separately and the names of all the villagers who lost their lives are listed alphabetically for that war. The date of death is beside each name.”

The church is the center of the village and the ever present memorials are a nice way to remember those who made the supreme sacrifice for their country.