Communal grave

History of the work

In the Bümpliz cemetery on Bottigenstrasse, a sculpture of red lava stone by Walter Kretz stands at the communal grave. It was made in 1975, the same year in which, according to the City of Bern's brochure, the cemetery received its first communal grave. This type of grave was new: the dead were buried anonymously, with no names and no individual place for flowers and keepsakes.

The brochure explains the background. In the 1960s and 1970s many people did not want to burden their relatives after their death with the care and cost of an individual grave. The communal grave was therefore in great demand for a long time. Over the years, however, it became clear that the bereaved still needed a place for their grief. One day someone set down a lantern, others followed, and so a sea of lanterns grew up by the old communal grave, some bearing a name or a photo. Since 2015 a stele has stood there on which the names of the dead are engraved.

Walter Kretz was born in Steckborn on 18 December 1942 and has lived in Bern since 1958. After visiting the sculptor Gustave Piguet he gave up his path to the school-leaving exam and trained as a stone sculptor with Hans Brogni in Nidau. In 1971 he made the concrete relief at the Schanzenpost post office, in 1974 the 'Sieben Säulen' (Seven Columns) at the Schwellenmätteli, which now stand in the Schadau park in Thun, and in 1983 the 'Flügel' (Wing) in Wittigkofen. From 1975 he taught three-dimensional design, from 1999 also at the Bern University of the Arts.

Kretz returned to graves later on: he served as an expert on grave monuments for Bern's cemetery administration and in 2001 launched a research project on the design of graves and cemeteries at the University of the Arts. On site, look at the relatives' lanterns by the old communal grave; they show how the way people use this type of grave has changed since 1975.

Researched and summarised by Bärn Kit. Sources: Kultur Stadt Bern, Kunst im öffentlichen Raum (offene Daten) · Stadt Bern, Stadtgrün: Broschüre Friedhof Bümpliz (2018) · Wikipedia (de): Walter Kretz · SIKART: Walter Kretz · Wikimedia Commons: Rotlava-Steinskulptur Gemeinschaftsgrab (Walter Kretz 1975)