Anonymous Burial Plot

Approximately 90% of the dead Copenhageners get cremated, and about 2/3 of these people end up in anonymous burial plots: a lawn where one square meter accomodates 9 urns and with no individual monuments to commemorate the dead. Furthermore, relatives of a deceased do not know exactly where on the lawn the urn is placed.

The first anonymous burial plot in Copenhagen – and in Denmark – was established in 1926 in Bispebjerg Kirkegård. The mayor of the time predicted that it would never be a success. He was wrong - it became the burial plot of the 20th century in this city. It was cheap, and it was easy for those left behind, because you don't have to care for the grave; the cemetery's staff see to that. Also, this kind of grave probably had a special appeal to the big, collectively oriented generations of the last century. The 20th century in Denmark was an era of large, public movements within politics, sports, and recreation, and their counterpart in the field of death and burial is of course the anonymous burial plot.

Today, the anonymous burial plot has become a tradition within many families, and so people continue to be buried in this way.

There are many alternative grave types to choose among in the Copenhagen cemeteries, and the apple trees surrounding the anonymous burial plot are one example. You can have your ashes interred under an apple tree. It’s quite popular, though not nearly as sought-after as to the big, anonymous lawn.