The graveyard of Oud-Zuilen

Traditionally, people were buried in or around the church, in the centre of the town. In the late 18th century, the belief spread that burials in churches and churchyards may have been responsible for epidemics of contagious diseases. The churches were not too keen on moving burials away from the churches, and the government seemed not to be interested, but there were several private initiatives to found graveyards out of town.

One of the oldest out of town graveyards is located near the village Oud-Zuilen. It was founded by Willem René van Tuyll van Serooskerken, who lived in the nearby manor house, and opened on 18 March 1782.

The gate at the entrance is now a protected monument. On it, we can read that wy leven om te sterven, we live to die. It is decorated by winged hourglasses and skulls, symbolizing the passing of time and approaching death.

I could not find any 18th century graves in the cemetery, and very few from the 19th century. Most graves are from the 20th century, and many of them later - the cemetery is still in use.

The first grave behind the entrance is the grave of F.C. Donders, a famous ophthalmologist. The stone reads F.C. Donders, Hoogleeraar te Utrecht, 1848--1888 (F.C. Donders, Professor in Utrecht, 1848-1888). The dates refer to his professorship, he actually lived from 1818 until 1889!

Opposite the entrance, in what looks like a small building but is actually a walled in section of the graveyard, are the graves of the founder and his wife. We will have a closer look in a future post.

In the next post I will show you some of the graves of this cemetery.

Photos: Cemetery Oud-Zuilen, taken on 25 October 2008 by the author.