Karlstads Kyrkogårdar
En värld full av sociala och ekonomiska skillnader
AbstractA walk at Karlstad's cemetery and burial - grounds is like a strolling in an architectural park with trees, bushes and flowers. But these parks are different; they are filled with dead people, their memorial stones and their life stories. This world is full of socially, economically and culture differences from different times from 19th century till today's society. The cemetery - and burial - grounds in Karlstad can tell you about 19th century influences just by looking at the stones and where they are placed. Influences from the religion, the Christianity, which symbols for example is the cross, the birds and the sun that rises or falls, but also phrases that is directing to the bible. They can also tell you about the contemporary society values. Many graves have their owner's old professional titles which during the 19th to the beginning of the 20th century where very important. Other things that tell you about society influences and fashion in stones are the stones themselves by their form and colors and their inscriptions. Even the place where the stones are placed can tell you about if the person were well situated or not. The cemetery and the burial - grounds are divided in blocks whit family graves which are payed for and common graves for people that didn't have any money. Often were the well situated people placed in blocks with family graves and the people with no money were buried in the blocks with common graves. The family gravestones are different in shapes, sizes and colors and in the early 19th century they often were made by hand and in big sizes.From 20th and 21th centuries the individualism is more represented at the cemetery and it is shown by symbols with more personal touch. The Christianity is still there but only with examples of symbols like the cross, the birds and the sun that rises or falls. People's choices for their graveyards and stones are more personal in both shapes and colors with symbols telling us more about their hobbies than their professional lives. The gravestones are much smaller than them representing the 19th century. The graveyards are still divided in blocks but from 1970s the common blocks are gone. Nowadays you don't even pay for a grave with your own money it is payed for through the taxes. You can decide where you want to be buried and you can choose from places especially made for caskets and urns. There are gardens of rest and gardens of ashes to choose from, all architectural forms.