New mourning hall at Bocholt cemetery arouses great interest

The Bocholt cemetery opened its doors last Whitsunday. Many visitors took the opportunity to view the park-like grounds and, in particular, the new mourning hall with expert explanations during public tours. There was a great deal of interest from the public, as Gisbert Jacobs, the responsible operations manager for the city of Bocholt, reported afterwards.

"People had lots of questions. They were not only about the use of the funeral hall, but also about the renewal of rights of use, the design regulations for elective graves and the care-free grave types offered by the cemetery administration", said Jacobs. A total of around 150 people took part in the guided tours.

Other cemetery visitors explored the cemetery on foot on the signposted tour or with an electric vehicle borrowed especially for the day. The concept of the new mourning hall with its completely ground-level design, the bright and friendly interior design and the mourners' exit through the golden back wall was received "very positively" across the board, said Jacobs. It is seen as a great improvement that the entire funeral congregation is now gathered in the hall and not a large part of the funeral party has to stand outside, as was usual in the past.

Andreas Euting, head of the cemetery department at the city of Bocholt, explained the various burial options during his tours of the cemetery. According to Euting, these should be based on the wishes of the deceased and the needs of the relatives. One visitor felt that the empty graves would detract from the beautiful overall impression of the park-like cemetery. Operations manager Jacobs agrees: "It is all the more important to convince people that the Bocholt cemetery is an extremely dignified place that is suitable for almost all types of burial." A new resident of Bocholt said: "I have been to many cemeteries, but none is as beautiful as the one in Bocholt." In her opinion, the new mourning hall is "the icing on the cake".

Cemetery administration wants to strengthen public relations work

The Omega e.V. association as well as local funeral parlours and cemetery nurseries supported the successful event. Jacobs' conclusion: the public is insufficiently informed about the funeral service. The cemetery administration of the city of Bocholt will change this with brochures, detailed information on the Internet, more personal counselling and recurring guided tours", he announced.