Last weekend we went do visit my great grandparent´s grave at the Nienstedten cemetery in Hamburg (Wikipedia, also available in English, but with much less information). This graveyard has been opened in 1814 and since been enlarged 11 times!
I had only been there once and a few years ago. I remember that back then I was really surprised I had never been told about this nearby graves. As my father is very much into family history. We only always visit another cemetery with family graves in Hamburg (Ohlsdorf, the biggest European park cemetery). I remember being a bit offended that I had never been told and taken here.
Took one photo back then and remembered for now that it was a small cove with two gravestones. MY dad told me he knew exactly where it was so I didn´t ask further. Well… he didnt. We were under way with a stroller and it was partially muddy, so I couldnt have him sit on it and push him. So at a certain corner I asked him to wait to go look myself, rushing down row by row, back and forth. It was quite a funny situation, as I was shouting to him and he back to me. There wasn´t any other visitors that day.
He said “next to Chapeaurouge”. I found a grave and shouted “do you maybe mean Godeffroy?” (also French) – “yes”. But I still couldn´t find it. So I rushed on searching. Then I made a phone call. I had passed by and it was that one large space that looked pretty neglected and where I could not really read the names from the path, at it was closed, which I also found weird.
We went there together and I opened the heavy chain. It would have been the perfect weather (soaked) for cleaning the stones by just brushing them, and have a bit of water running over to clean it off then. But I wasn´t prepared this time, not with my clothes, nor didn´t I bring tools.
The space is so much bigger than I remembered. In fact it is a very large space, with only some 7-8 gravestones/burials. My great grandfather had a very unique house built in the area for the family, called Grüneck. It is located in the hills, its corners are all four round, and one of these round corners is facing the Elbe river. Like that, from two sides though the windows you have a river view. It is a beautiful house still!
