Pets and Animals • German Pet Cemeteries • der Tierfriedhof

The German Way of Death and Funerals > Pets and Animals

English-speaking expats living in Germany, Austria or Switzerland are sometimes confronted with the death of a beloved pet animal. They may be at a loss in trying to deal with the German way of handling this situation. Below is a guide to saying farewell to a loyal furry, feathered or scaled companion in German-speaking Europe.

Berlin’s animal cemetery (Tierfriedhof) is part of the city’s modern animal shelter (Tierheim), featured in the 2005 sci-fi film Aeon Flux. PHOTO: Hyde Flippo

Laws, Rules and Regulations
Fortunately, there are far fewer restrictions related to burying or cremating a pet in Germany than for humans. You have many more options after the death of your pet than after the death of a person in Germany. The Animal Carcass Disposal Law, das Tierkörper-beseitigungsgesetz (TierKBG), exempts pets and other small animals from the requirement that animal carcasses be processed by an animal carcass disposal facility (Tierkörperbeseitigungs-anstalten, TBA). But a dead pet or animal not claimed by an owner will end up at a TBA, to be rendered into animal by-products.

Not that long ago, only about 10 percent of deceased pets in Germany were given a funeral of any kind. Pet funeral homes and pet cemeteries were rare in Germany. The other 90 percent ended up in an animal carcass disposal facility or were illegally disposed of. However, since the 1980s, there has been an upward trend for pet burial or cremation in Germany.

Der Tierfriedhof
Today in many parts of Germany you can find pet cemeteries (Tierfriedhöfe or Haustierfriedhöfe). However, unlike for deceased humans in Germany, there are more options for your pet’s earthly remains. As with humans, you can have your deceased pet buried or cremated. Unlike with humans, if you have your pet cremated, you can keep the ashes yourself or dispose of them pretty much as you want, including spreading the ashes at sea or in a forest. You can even bury your pet in your own yard or garden. (In Germany there are a few legal restrictions on private pet burial, mostly having to do with land in a watershed, and the depth of the grave.)

As with humans, cremation is also a growing trend for animals in Germany. Besides the full funeral offered by most pet funeral homes, at least one German pet and animal funeral home (Tierfriedhof Beyers in Kerken, NRW) offers the special option of having a pet’s ashes turned into a diamond. But most people elect to have their pet’s cremains placed in an urn that they can take with them, even if they move to another town or city. Cremation is required if the pet is to share a grave with its former owner. (More blow.)

Pet Funeral Options

Because most Germans live in an apartment, they have no yard or garden in which to bury their pet. Thus, pet cemeteries are more important in Germany than in some other countries. The Beyers pet funeral home mentioned above, has a 5,000 sq. meter (1.2-acre) pet cemetery that now contains over 400 pet animal graves. Similar pet cemeteries are found in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, but it can sometimes be difficult to find one near your home. That is why many pet owners opt for cremation. Simple pet cremation costs (with burial or urn) range from about 60 to 410 euros, depending on the size of the pet and the type of grave.

Pets and Humans in the Same Grave
In 2015 the city of Essen opened the first cemetery in Germany that allows the cremated remains of people to be buried along with their pets. Many older people outlive their friends and live out the end of their lives with a pet. They often wish to be buried with their pet or pets. This first of its kind “humans and pets” cemetery (Mensch-Hund-Friedhof) is aimed at helping them. Since then, the practice has become more common in Germany, with other communities in western Germany allowing humans to be accompanied by their beloved cats or dogs in death.

In February 2017 a cemetery in Görlitz, a small, scenic town (pop. 56,000) on the German-Polish border, became the first (and so far only) cemetery in Saxony and eastern Germany to allow pets to be buried alongside those who loved them. The cemetery revised its rules to allow the name of the pet to also appear on the headstone of the deceased person. The few conditions are that, unlike in a normal pet cemetery, the pet must be cremated, and there can be no grand funeral ceremony for the pet. If it dies before the owner, the pet can be cremated and the ashes placed in an urn for later burial by relatives, friends or cemetery staff. More: Letzter Wunsch in Görlitz: Wenn das Haustier mit ins Grab darf

Besides cats and dogs, Germans also bury their pet parakeets (Wellensittiche), guinea pigs (Meerschweinchen), rabbits (Kaninchen) and other animal companions. The burial charges at most German pet cemeteries are based on the size of the animal. A burial plot for a Saint Bernard (Bernhardiner) costs more than one for a poodle (Pudel). Typical costs also depend on the type of the pet’s grave and grave marker. An anonymous grave costs less than an elaborate memorial grave. As with humans, there is an added charge for extending the term of burial. Usually the initial term for animals is two or three years, with an additional annual charge for renewal.

Germany’s First Pet Cemetery?
Der Norddeutsche Haustierfriedhof Timmaspe
Although there are over 300 pet cemeteries in Germany today, the pet cemetery concept in Germany is a fairly recent phenomenon. While the first pet cemetery in France dates back to 1899, the concept was so new in Germany in 1980 that Walter Lorentsen had trouble convincing the local authorities to allow him to set up a pet cemetery in the village of Timmaspe near the northern German city of Kiel in Schleswig-Holstein. A retired postage stamp dealer, Lorentsen was inspired by a documentary he had seen on TV about dogs and a pet cemetery in the United States. It took him four years to get his Haustierfriedhof established. In 1983, an association (Verein für die Erhaltung und Gestaltung des Norddeutschen Haustierfriedhofes Timmaspe e.V.) was set up to keep the cemetery running.

Da liegt der Hund begraben
Since 1980, his pet cemetery, now Germany’s largest, has become the final resting place for over 6,000 pets, mostly dogs (80%), but also cats (19%), as well as birds and other small animals (1%). In the early days, Lorentsen used newspaper ads and visits to local veterinarians to spread the word about his new pet cemetery. Following Lorentsen’s death in 1995, Waldfried Howe took over running the cemetery, which lies in a scenic area between two German nature reserves (Naturparks Aukrug and Westensee).

Do you know of a pet cemetery in Germany that is older than Timmaspe? If so, please contact us.

Frederick the Great’s grave is located at Sanssouci Palace, seen here. His pet greyhounds also rest in peace nearby. PHOTO: Hyde Flippo

Other Pet Cemeteries in Germany
The Tierfriedhof – Tierheim Berlin is part of Berlin’s modern animal shelter (Tierheim, featured in the 2005 sci-fi film Aeon Flux). A pet grave there costs between 90 and 150 euros for the first three years, a very reasonable rate. The term can be extended for another two years for a flat fee of 70 euros. Berlin is also home to several other pet cemeteries and pet funeral homes (Tierbestattung).

The Tierfriedhof / Gärtnerhof Matthias in the town of Brandenburg southwest of Berlin has been in business since 2002. A pet grave there costs between 60 and 330 euros. Peter Matthias’ 2,000 sq. meter (half-acre) pet cemetery is now the resting place for about 400 pets. About 50 new graves are added each year.

Munich
The Tierfriedhof München is even newer. Opened in 2004, this full-service Munich pet funeral home and cemetery is located in Hallbergmoos bei München, not far from the Munich airport. Prices for a pet grave with a three-year term start at 300 euros. An anonymous grave costs 150 euros and up, depending on the size of the animal. Cremation is also available. Unfortunately, like a lot of German websites, their site is still not https secure.

Virtual Pet Cemetery Memorial
In Germany you also have the option of some online virtual pet cemeteries! A Virtualer Tierfriedhof offers both free and paid virtual graves and grave markers to memorialize your deceased pet. (The website is in German only: “Unabhängig von Ort und Zeit haben Sie hier die Möglichkeit, Ihr Tier rund um die Uhr zu besuchen.”)

Veterinarians (Tierärzte)
Most veterinarians in German-speaking Europe can help a pet owner arrange for the burial or cremation of a deceased pet. Since it is often at the vet that a pet passes away, your Tierarzt usually knows about local pet funeral homes, pet cemeteries or pet crematories. A pet owner or the vet can contact a pet crematorium directly to make arrangements for pet cremation. Just remember, if you simply leave your deceased pet with the vet, without making any funeral arrangements, it will end up in a rendering facility.

– Hyde Flippo

Next | The German Way of Death and Funerals

Related Pages
AT THE GERMAN WAY

• The German Way of Death and Funerals – Germany has some of the most restrictive burial and cremation laws in Europe.
• Famous Graves in Germany – The grave locations of notable Germans

ON THE WEB
All of the websites listed below are in German. We are not responsible for the content of external websites.

• Bundesverband der Tierbestatter e.V. – This German association for pet funeral directors was founded in 1998.
• Tierfriedhof Timmaspe – The oldest and largest pet cemetery in Germany was only founded in 1980.
• Tierfriedhöfe Deutschlands – www.katzennot.de (not secure; not https) – A German site for cats with a list of pet cemeteries by postal code (Postleitzahl).
• Erster Mensch-Hund-Friedhof eröffnet – from hundeinfoportal.de – Essen, Germany opened the first cemetery that allows the cremated remains of people to be buried along with their pets.
• Anubis – Tierfriedhof Himmelgarten – This pet cemetery is set in a former palace garden in Grünsberg bei Altdorf in Bavaria (near Nuremberg). Anubis runs pet funeral homes in Austria and Germany. Also see their “Virtueller Tierfriedhof” link below.
• Tierfriedhof Beyers – This is a pet funeral home and cemetery in Kerken (Ruhr region). Site not secure; not https.
• Tierfriedhof – Tierheim Berlin – Part of Berlin’s large animal shelter
• Tierfriedhof München – This pet cemetery is near the Munich airport. Site not secure; not https.
• Virtueller Tierfriedhof (Anubis) – An online virtual pet cemetery by Anubis
• Virtueller Tierfriedhof (mournium.de) – Another online virtual pet cemetery