Founded beyond the old city
St Matthew’s parish purchased the land on 9 June 1854 for more than 6,000 thalers. The churchyard was consecrated on 25 March 1856, when Frau Krottnauer-Petersen became its first burial. The earliest burial register was subsequently lost.
The grounds expanded in 1863, 1866 and 1884. After St Luke’s parish was founded in 1865, both congregations used the churchyard. The southward slope was organised by a clear rectilinear path system. Mature trees and representative funerary architecture still define its character.
Chapel and buildings
The chapel is the architectural centre. Historic ancillary structures include spaces for funerals, administration and entrance functions; the gate and administration ensemble on Grossgoerschenstrasse dates from the early twentieth century. Mausoleums such as the von Hansemann family complex express the representative aspirations of nineteenth-century Berlin’s bourgeoisie.
Destruction and relocation
In 1938 and 1939, Nazi plans to reshape Berlin led to numerous graves being moved to Südwestkirchhof Stahnsdorf. The original graves along Grossgoerschenstrasse were lost. A war-dead field followed in 1945. Broader restoration began around 1975.
Remembrance today
The churchyard is at once a burial ground, heritage site and social space of memory. The 20 July 1944 memorial commemorates resistance figures whose individual graves did not survive. Denk MAL positHIV, the Lesben-Grab-WG and the Garden of the Stillborn Children bring previously marginalised life stories into view.
Café Finovo has operated by the northern entrance since 2006. Grave sponsorships support the preservation of historic memorials, while an app launched in 2014 interprets selected biographies. The churchyard remains active and its ensemble is protected under Berlin heritage reference 09045874.
The cemetery tour links six places in this story, while notable graves explores five biographies in greater depth.