Vestre Cemetery (Aarhus)

This article is about Vestre Cemetery in Aarhus. For Vestre Cemetery in Copenhagen, see Vestre Cemetery. For the Oslo cemetery of similar name, see Vestre gravlund.

Vestre Kirkegård (Western Cemetery), established in 1927, is one of two large municipal cemeteries in Aarhus, Denmark with Nordre Kirkegård being the other. The cemetery was inaugurated in 1927 when Nordre Kirkegård was filled up. Originally, the cemetery was 5 hectares, but it has been expanded several times, until its present size of 16.9 hectares.^[1]

Vestre Kirkegård
Vestre Kirkegård in Aarhus
Details
Established	1927
Location	Aarhus
Country	Denmark
Coordinates	56°9′34.92″N 10°10′48.74″E
Type	Public
Owned by	Aarhus Municipality
Size	16.9 hectares
Website	Official website
Find a Grave	Vestre Kirkegård

Vestre Kirkegård contains two chapels. Store Kapel (Big Chapel) by Frederik Draiby originates from the opening of the cemetery and contains 252 seats. The other, Lille Kapel (Little Chapel) designed by Henning Larsen is from 1969 and contains 50 seats. Lille Kapel in addition features a crematorium. Henry From and Christian Frederik Møller is interred in Vestre Kirkegård.

World War II

The second world war left a notable impact on Vestre Kirkegård. There are 17 protected graves belonging to resistance fighters who died in the Neuengamme concentration camp and a memorial wall has been erected by Aarhus Municipality to commemorate 15 of its citizens that died in German concentration camps and were buried elsewhere. There is a grave site and memorial for 13 victims of a 1944 explosion in Aarhus harbor who could not be identified. Finally there is a memorial for two Soviet prisoners, grave site and memorial for 11 British soldiers, grave site for 299 German soldiers who died in 1945 and a grave site for 619 German refugees that died in 1945.^[2]

Notable interments

The gravefields. Former mayor H.P. Christensen and his wife are buried at the birch tree on the left.

• Hans Peder Christensen, mayor of Aarhus (1933–1941)
• Henry From, footballer (1926–1990)
• Olaf Jonas Hansen, writer and teacher (1870–1932)
• Orla Hyllested, mayor of Aarhus (1971–1981)
• C. F. Møller, architect and teacher (1898–1988)
• Harald Salling-Mortensen, architect (1902–1969)
• Tage Skou-Hansen, writer (1925–2015)
• Einar Stecher Christensen, mayor of Aarhus (1942–1945)