Wo Zürich zur Ruhe kommt

1 750 000 m2 of land in prime locations - in the city centre, in the outer quarters and on the slopes of the local mountains - has been reserved by the metropolis of Zurich for its deceased. This area, the size of the old town and yet unknown to many, is divided among twenty-four large and small cemeteries, one private and six Israelite. Since 2004, the Witikon cemetery has had burial plots for Muslims. Article by Meret Peter / Günter Vogt. [pdf]

Cemeteries are an essential and complex subsystem of any large city. They reflect traditional views of death and life as well as the diversity of contemporary opinions. As service providers, they are simultaneously subject to the demands of efficiency and nature awareness.

This first attempt at an overall view makes us aware of Zurich's cemeteries in their charming individuality, but also in their urban context. The book aims to encourage people to visit, to make their own unbiased observations, to overcome shyness and prejudices, and provides the necessary basic information to do so. In addition, it provides for the first time an overview of the amazingly numerous prominent dead and references to their lives and work in Zurich.

(N.L., 1998)