The cemeteries will be emptied when many are abandoning the tombstones

"The cemeteries will be emptied when many are abandoning the tombstones"

"more people are choosing to return gravrätten. But what happens to the cemeteries where the headstones are removed?"

"– When there is such a high frequency of returned burials distorted gravkvarterens look, " says Tommy Östher, kyrkogårdschef at Solna cemetery."

"Marie-Louise Hall is on the way to a family grave in Solna cemetery in the spring sun. She has just taken the decision to resign gravrätten to one of the two cemeteries."

"– It is an old, old tomb, with the relatives of my father and grandfather who is there. My mother took over the gravrätten, but now she has gone out of the time and when we have decided that we shall finish it, " she says."

"the Traditions surrounding how we handle our deceased loved ones have been somewhat constant for several hundred years. Now the country's cemeteries before a change – more people are choosing to return gravrätten, which in many cases means that the tombstones be removed from the cemeteries."

"for The past ten years I have begun to reflect on the very many choose to return the graves," says kyrkogårdschef Tommy Östher who worked in the Solna parish for over 30 years."

"the Surplus of gravrätter"

"Gravrätten – to have the right to be buried at one of the public cemeteries – applies to all who are registered as residents in Sweden after the death and lasts for 25 years. Usually it is a relative of the deceased who becomes gravrättsinnehavare and thus is responsible for the grave."

"– We get back a large proportion of the graves after the administration, after 25 years, asking if the family would like to extend gravrätten. But even when gravrättsinnehavaren dies, and someone else in the estate has the chance to take over, so you choose today to return the law to a greater extent than that someone will take over. We get back a relatively high number of graves where there is much time left, " says Tommy Östher."

"At Solna cemetery has a net surplus of gravrätter at around 40 percent, which means that the parish receives back more gravrätter than nyupplåter."

"TT: What will happen with the cemeteries more and more choose away the tombstones?"

"– instead of gravkvarter it starts to resemble... I don't want to say a putting green, but a green lawn. There, we are trying to avoid, we want to quarter retains its shape. We want to maintain the cemetery as we know it today."

"the turning back of the rocks"

"Many congregations are working partly with trying to get families who say up gravrätten to let the stones remain those 25 years, that right lasts, as well as families that choose to återbruka existing tombstones instead of destroying them. For example, granite and marble, two common types of rock in the Swedish gravestones, are not endless resources and can easily be re-ground, omgraveras and reused for a cheaper amount than what it costs to buy a totally new stone. A traditional burial is expensive, and the decision to skip the tombstone can in some cases be a cost issue."

"Not just in Solna assembly, there is a higher frequency of returned gravrätter. In Karlshamn, it may take up to six years to get the tombstones bortplockade due to the high demand, according to the P4 Blekinge."

"Mats Cedergren, vicar in Borlänge, sweden, says that it is common to gravrätter in the congregation is terminated after the 25 years passed."

"– Then it becomes that there occurs empty spaces in the cemetery where it stood by the tombstones."

"Eva Årbrandt Johansson, a lawyer and head of the kyrkogårds - and begravningsenheten in the Swedish church employers' organisation, like to see the same tendency within the Swedish church at large. According to her, is said to many gravrätter up after security checks, the court ruled that the stones are in need of maintenance, which many families think is too expensive."

"Even Årbrandt Johansson think that development is unfortunate."

"– In the long run can unfortunately be the case that the cemeteries mostly consists of grassy areas. I say unfortunately because I think it would be boring if the old cemeteries is changing. But it is a highly personal reflection, people must do as they want."

"TT: Why would we see this development?"

" I think it depends a lot on who you are, where you are in life, where you live and what you have for opportunities. Parents of small children might not have the time to go to a tomb and take in the earth, planting and so on, " she says."

"More and more people are choosing other alternatives to the traditional funeral with a tombstone. Minneslundar, askgravlundar and to scatter the ashes in nature, it is becoming increasingly more popular. Often, it is because the families are scattered around the country or abroad and do not have the opportunity to take care of a grave, but just as often it is the deceased's own wish."

"– The generation that is now leaving us, do not want to be a nuisance. I have heard so many times that you don't want to lie their survivors to the cargo. Then is a garden of remembrance is excellent – it is always nice and well-kept and there will be no need to go there, " says Tommy Östher."

"To a certain extent can the cemeteries as we know them today, however, rescued by the new swedes."

"– Many new swedes, for example, muslims and catholics, choose the burial practices as we did in the past and cremated in much lower proportion, say Östher."

"HH: we Care less about our dead today than what we did before?"

"It is not at all my idea," says Eva Årbrandt Johansson and continues:"

"– But it may depend on what age you are when you get to the question. You read a lot of people don't care anymore, they don't have the time to funerals, but I think people have rather become more individual. You think out for yourself how you want it, while all the past went in a stream."

"Gravrätten, which applies to all persons who were registered as residents in Sweden when they died, usually lasts for 25 years."

"Right presupposes the existence of relatives, which then becomes the gravrättsinnehavare. If relatives are not available for other rules."

"a tomb paid for by the^, which is a part of the treasure. All other costs account for the estate."

"the Estate of the deceased, notification to the begravningshuvudmannen (the congregation, the parish or the municipality) who will be gravrättsinnehavare. It should be done within six months after the death."

"If a gravrättsinnehavare the event of the death, transferred the assignment, either to a relative or other person with a close connection to the buried, to relatives or individuals with close connection to another person that has the ancient city in the same grave, or to the general inheritance fund."

"If gravrättsinnehavaren can't or don't want to manage the cemetery itself, one can in most cases sign a skötselavtal with the principal who then for a fee takes care of the cemetery."

"Different types of gravsättningar comes with different requirements and conditions:

"Full gravrätt: kistgravplats, urngravplats."

"Limited gravrätt: burial ground for ashes, the columbarium."

"No gravrätt: askgravlundar and minneslundar."

"A gravrättsinnehavare can choose at any time to return gravrätten. It is up to the owner what happens with a possible tombstone."

"No one else is buried in the same place during the 25 years that gravrätten lasts, no matter if it is redundant."

"Source: Swedish church."