grave | Der Deutscher Wald

Dorotheenstädtisch-Friedrichswerderscher Cemetery is just up the street from our apartment here in Mitte. It has many famous graves, including Bertolt Brecht. It also has a mausoleum that still has bullet holes from WWII. I found the various places where you can still see the bullet holes like this to be among the saddest signs of the war. You can see the furious intent behind the scars and know that they were aiming to kill someone. Sometimes Berlin feels like a great Necropolis, filled with monuments, cemeteries, and the scars of war at every turn.

Dorotheenstädtisch-Friedrichswerderscher Friedhof, Berlin. Photo by Scarlett Messenger

Lilac, Dorotheenstädtisch-Friedrichswerderscher Friedhof, Berlin. Photo by Scarlett Messenger

Bertoldt Brecht, Dorotheenstädtisch-Friedrichswerderscher Friedhof, Berlin. Photo by Scarlett Messenger

Vines, Dorotheenstädtisch-Friedrichswerderscher Friedhof, Berlin. Photo by Scarlett Messenger

Black Cat, Dorotheenstädtisch-Friedrichswerderscher Friedhof, Berlin. Photo by Scarlett Messenger

Blackbird, Dorotheenstädtisch-Friedrichswerderscher Friedhof, Berlin. Photo by Scarlett Messenger

Mass Grave, Dorotheenstädtisch-Friedrichswerderscher Friedhof, Berlin. Photo by Scarlett Messenger

Battle of Berlin & Others, Dorotheenstädtisch-Friedrichswerderscher Friedhof, Berlin. Photo by Scarlett Messenger

Cemeteries are everywhere in Germany. Centuries of history combined with a culture built upon memorializing and remembrance give cities like Berlin some of their most beautiful greenspaces. People treat the cemeteries like public parks, so unlike the sterile flat lawns of cemeteries back home you have shady groves, beautiful statuary, and plenty of benches to sit on. It is common to see people having lunch or just hanging out with friends in the cemeteries. Cemetery photography has been a hobby of mine for years, so Berlin was the perfect place for me.