November 06, 2011

Dorotheenstadt cemetery

On a sunny but chilly autumn saturday I went visiting the cemetery in the neighborhood, the Dorotheenstadt cemetery, which hosts several famous people besides my late grandma. Initially I hadn't wanted to take photos, but in the end I did because it was rather interesting there and lots of tourists strolled along the paths anyway, with much bigger cameras than mine, so I guessed it doesn't matter if I, too, do some sightseeing there.
As I said everything was colorful in yellow and brown in front of a blue sky, this seasons colors seemed to match the purpose of the place much better than summer colors.
Lots of interesting graves of famous writers, artists and architects, even a German president is buried here, didn't know that. This grave in the picture is a mass grave of several people who died within a couple of days, during bomb raids in the last days of World War. Only some of them have names and of only a few the birthdays were known.
Also a chemist lies here which I hadn't heard of so far, but he was the first to discover several elements like uranium and titanium, which I do know.
Then, just some steps from Klaproth, there's the grave of Schadow, a German sculpturist who designed the famous quadriga on top of the Brandenburg Gate, the town mark of Berlin.
Even if I no exactly like to be on cemeteries it was rather interesting walking there and discovering names.
On the way to the exit a non-human sculpture reminded of the past summer, a perfect rose still alive and in bloom, though very lonely....