Malmin hautausmaa (Malms begravningsplats)

English translation (from the Finnish)

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Description

Originally consecrated in 1894 at Malmi outside the city of Helsinki, the Pohjoinen hautausmaa has been extended on several occasions and is the largest cemetery in the country. The Evangelical Lutheran cemetery comprises several sections with differing overall appearances, which reflect the garden and landscape art styles and design principles prevalent at each time. The cemetery, enclosed by a stone wall, is characterised by large-scale compositions and an exceptionally diverse and fine selection of tree species.

On the northern edge of the cemetery stands a large funeral chapel designed by architect Selim A. Lindqvist and completed in the early 1920s, containing several separate chapels. The northern edge also has a functionalist water tower designed by Lindqvist in 1936.

The oldest surviving graves date from 1895. In the central part of the cemetery is the private Åbergin hautausmaa, established in the 1890s, as well as, in block 34, the so-called Rundman area, originally private, from the early 20th century. The single and row graves of the working-class population from the cemetery's early years have been joined by family graves, which have become common since the 1930s.

The newest section of the cemetery, the so-called Viikin kolmio, dates from 1997.

History

Malmi cemetery was consecrated for use in 1894. The Helsingin suomalais-ruotsalainen seurakunta had redeemed the area, which had been a training ground for soldiers, as a cemetery in 1888. The cemetery was first extended in 1920, when the so-called Russian cemetery was added to it. Construction of larger additional areas began in 1936, according to the plan by architects Arvo Muroma and Albert Nyberg.

At the beginning of the 20th century, in addition to family graves, it was possible to redeem individual graves or shares in a communal, or so-called linjahauta, at Malmi cemetery. The number of family graves at Malmi increased only in the 1930s, when burial places at Hietaniemi began to run short.

The deceased, with their escorts, were once transported by rail to the cemetery, which lies about 10 kilometres from the centre of Helsinki. A siding was laid from Malmi station to the cemetery in 1894. In 1954 transport by rail was discontinued, and the activities of the Harju mortuary were terminated in the late 1950s. The cemetery's own station building, later used as a maintenance building for cemetery workers, was completed in 1896.

A crematorium was built in 1965 in the Kappeli designed by architect S.A. Lindqvist. A new crematorium was completed next to the chapel in 2007; the building was designed by Arkkitehtitoimisto Rotko & Hytönen.