Dresden Cemeteries at Risk

Dresden. Things are not looking good for the final resting place of the Semmelroth family. Lara Schink says that the New Annenfriedhof on Kesselsdorfer Strasse in Dresden-Löbtau, which is maintained by the Protestant church, has not had any money for the renovation of the historically valuable tomb made of black Swedish granite for a long time. But now it’s no longer even enough to cover the running costs, adds the administrator. There is no longer enough staff, energy, materials and maintenance of machines and equipment.

That’s why she’s now sounding the alarm – with an online petition. In it, she and her employees demand that the city contribute permanently, appropriately and reliably to the costs of renovation and maintenance. She encourages everyone to make a statement with their signature. This is possible until February 16th. It must be made clear: cemeteries are valuable for the city, so they deserve sufficient funding. The owners of gravesites could not bear this alone.

New Annenfriedhof is also a recreational area

Lara Schink’s main argument: Above all, the New Annenfriedhof, which was created 150 years ago as a park cemetery with an area of ​​over 14 hectares in what was then a growing part of the city, is now only used about half for burials. The other half was used by residents of the district as a park for outdoor recreation – without them or the municipality paying for it.

With the cemetery development concept adopted in 2018, the city committed to preserving the district cemeteries. This paper also stated: “Primarily, cemeteries are worthy burial places and are financed through fees. The secondary benefits of the cemeteries are comparable to tax-financed parks or green spaces.” This benefit for the entire population requires appropriate and continuous support – as is the case with other tax-financed parks and green spaces.

In the fall, Lara Schink calculated income and expenses for this year and next. “I cut and reduced until almost nothing was possible anymore,” she says. “Nevertheless, the bottom line was a loss of around 70,000 euros.” Rising costs for heating, energy and higher salaries to compensate for inflation are driving up expenses.

Fewer funerals, expensive renovations

In addition, she had to have the celebration hall renovated for around 244,000 euros. “Cracks had formed in the wall.” Chunks of plaster fell down. The blockage was imminent. After half a year of construction, it has been usable again since October 2025. “But it was more expensive than expected and we received less funding than we had hoped.” This caused the mountain of expenses to continue to grow.

“On the other hand, after 2023 there has been a surprisingly large drop in our burial numbers, around 20 percent.” She can only speculate about the reasons for this: “Maybe it has something to do with the demographic development in Löbtau?” There are also around 20 percent of social cases in the district. “Many people’s financial situation is tense.” Occasionally they give them payment in installments.

If relatives do not have sufficient income, assets and inheritance, the social welfare office can cover some or all of the costs. There is no set income limit for this. The Social Security Code requires individual testing. You have to prove the amount of your income. Sometimes the exam can take a year. “It’s additionally psychologically stressful,” says Lara Schink. That’s why many people shy away from this path.” Or they might opt ​​for the cheapest option: an anonymous burial on the “green field” of a municipal cemetery.

It was with a heavy heart that she had to increase funeral fees for the second year in a row. Between 300 and 400 euros more have to be paid depending on the type of burial. “As a result, we lose more and more people and then have to increase them again. This could lead to a downward spiral.” And it shows: “Financing from fees alone is no longer viable.”

Lara Schink refers to the Saxon Burial Law. This requires municipalities to make an “appropriate” contribution to the costs of other cemetery providers, “to the extent that the costs cannot be covered by income from the fees that are reasonable for the users.”

She herself is doing everything she can to make the cemetery more attractive with new grave facilities, for example with the unique “Light Shape” sculpture grave field, completed in the summer of 2025. Citizens contribute to the preservation through grave sponsorships with donations. In the “Green Urban Labs II” project, they worked with experts, students and residents to collect ideas to transform a piece of cemetery into a neighborhood park.

Now banners on construction fences warn: “Green, close – soon no longer there?” Slogans like: “Prevent cemetery deaths!” show visitors: The situation is threatening to existentially.

www.annenfriedhof-dresden.de

DNN