Holmer Beliebung Cemetery and Chapel

Very atmospheric place in the middle of the old fishing district

The Holm Chapel and its cemetery were built in 1650, two years after the end of the Thirty Years' War (1618-48). Schleswig was severely devastated by roving troops and their entourage. Even after the Peace of Westphalia, the problems continued. The plague raged, killing tens of thousands of starving and impoverished people, including in Holm, west of Hamburg. The epidemics were so severe that the many dead were buried quickly and carelessly, mostly at night. Christian and dignified burials were hardly possible due to the great hardship. Therefore, Holm citizens founded a Totengilde (Dead Man's Guild) – a mutual death insurance scheme. It remains the last of its kind to this day, with an old chapel as the central focus of mourning. The center of the fishing village of Holm is the cemetery with the chapel from 1876. Both belong to the Totengilde (Dead Man's Guild) Holmer Beliebung (Holm Beliebung) of 1650. In the Holmer Beliebung (Holm Cemetery), men gathered on the Holm and other residential areas of Schleswig "of their own free will"—that is, without orders from the "authorities"—to provide their deceased with a respectable and Christian burial, as well as to offer support and sympathy to their families.The Holmer Beliebung Chapel is located in the center of town, surrounded by the cemetery.It is an idyll of peace that is an integral part of this fishing village with its small, colorful cottages.denkmalschutz.de/denkmal/holmer-friedhof.html

A picturesque little district of Schleswig, located around the cemetery. You don't see it that often.