© Julie Thilges
Visiting cemeteries for the blessing of graves on All Saints' and All Souls' Days remains a deeply rooted tradition in Luxembourg, yet even these places of remembrance are evolving with the times.
The City of Luxembourg currently manages 14 cemeteries. The St Nicolas Cemetery on Limpertsberg, also known as the Cimetière Notre-Dame, has the most graves. As All Saints' Day approached, the city's cemetery services were fully mobilised to clean and prepare each site.
According to Sam Kloos, head of administration at the city's Cemeteries Department, the teams spend the entire month of October focused on upkeep. On All Saints' Day itself, many of the staff also accompany priests to guide the traditional grave blessings, Kloss said.
But even these spaces steeped in tradition are changing. One clear sign of this is digitalisation, as Kloos noted that several graves are now fitted with QR codes that visitors can scan with their phones to access information about the person buried there or about the monument's artistic or historical value. He added that the initiative helps preserve local heritage and makes it easier for visitors to explore.
Beyond that, there are ideas to turn cemeteries into more reflective and even creative spaces., Kloss explained that the city hopes to collaborate with artists to design sculptures and installations for open areas, and even introduce yoga sessions for seniors at the St Nicolas Cemetery.
He admitted that yoga in a cemetery "might sound strange at first", since people tend to associate it with parks, but he said the peaceful atmosphere makes it ideal for calm, mindful activities. He also mentioned new infrastructure being added to improve accessibility, such as bike paths leading through Limpertsberg Cemetery.
Cremation and changing rituals
Cremation continues to gain ground, though traditional burials remain popular. At the Hamm Crematorium, a second furnace has been installed and the facility is currently undergoing renovation and expansion. The crematorium offers farewell ceremonies, which can be civil or religious.
Steffi Keilen-Weigel, deputy director of the crematorium, explained that it is a house open to all faiths, where each person can organise a farewell that reflects their wishes and beliefs. Since its opening in 1995, around 78,000 people have been cremated there.
Families may choose to scatter ashes in one of the crematorium's memorial meadows, either in the presence of relatives or anonymously. Keilen-Weigel said that some ceremonies take place without family members, often because it was the deceased's wish or relatives live too far away. In such cases, crematorium staff conduct the scattering as respectfully as if 100 people were present, always in pairs and with great care, she explained.
Thierry Graul, president of the Luxembourg Federation of Funeral Directors (FPF), said that despite the rise in cremations, the number of traditional burials has not significantly declined. He observed that cremation is more common in the south of Luxembourg than in central or northern regions, where traditional village burials remain the norm.
Families cannot keep ashes at home, but there are other commemorative options, such as having part of the ashes transformed into a diamond or glass keepsake.
Discussing death openly
Graul also noted that more people now make advance funeral arrangements, formally stating how they wish to be laid to rest. This, he said, spares families the emotional burden of making difficult decisions during a time of grief.
Death, however, remains a taboo subject. However, it is a topic that should not be avoided. Graul explained that many retirement homes now include questions about end-of-life wishes during intake interviews. Interestingly, he said that staff often feel more hesitant asking the questions than residents do answering them.
For Kloos, what matters most is ensuring that people can take their final journey according to their own or their family's wishes. He said that cemetery workers approach their work with complete dignity and respect, aware that these moments stay with families forever.
Cemeteries themselves are evolving too, not just to accommodate changing burial practices, but to offer new ways of seeing death and remembrance. Kloos explained that visitors increasingly see cemeteries not only as places of grief, but also of beauty, nature, and reflection. Integrating greenery and art, he believes, helps make them more serene rather than sombre.
In the end, as society changes, so do the ways we mourn, and the ways we remember. Life and death, as he put it, go hand in hand.
