A new online database enables research on graves in Dortmund
The City of Dortmund is now offering a new online database for finding graves. Users can find graves in the city’s cemeteries with just a few clicks. The application not only facilitates personal research into one’s own family history, but also commercial processes. The new online database opens up numerous possibilities and provides information on well-known personalities and types of graves: Wolfgang Närdemann (left) and Christian Berndt from the Dortmund cemeteries have worked on the new application and have also included background information on famous personalities. Photo: City of Dortmund / Roland GoreckiA new online database enables research on graves in Dortmund
New possibilities through digitization of cemeteries
The City of Dortmund’s new online database allows digital research on gravesites in municipal cemeteries for the first time. Anyone who enters a name receives the location of the grave on a map. At present, the cemetery must still be known, but soon it will be possible to search all 32 cemeteries.
Dortmund is the first major German city to offer this interesting online research service. The digital application is part of a broader development due to the ongoing digitization of cemetery administration.
This opens up new opportunities that are aimed not only at private individuals, but also at tradespeople. Stonemasonry businesses in particular benefit from the fast, digital location search for orders and inquiries.
Famous personalities of contemporary history
The new service is also aimed at those interested in history. The database contains information on personalities from contemporary history whose graves and crypts are located in the cemeteries. Well-known names can be found at the East Cemetery in particular. The listed personalities include the author Henriette Davidis, the women’s rights activist Marie Reinders and the artist Bernhard Hoetger. Important business families from Dortmund are also buried there.
“We often receive inquiries from people who are looking for the grave of a distant relative or acquaintance, for example,” reports Wolfgang Närdemann from the Dortmund cemeteries, who is in charge of the digitization project. “People from Dortmund contact us, but also people whose families originally came from here but who have moved away. ”Famous personalities of contemporary history
Information on grave type and right of use
The database also contains further information on the graves. In addition to the exact location, details on the type of grave and the duration of the right of use can be called up. This is particularly helpful for relatives who want to get an overview of existing grave rights or have organizational questions about grave maintenance.
“Even if the funeral was often years ago, people are looking for a place to mourn or remember. This is now much easier with the new online application,” adds Wolfgang Närdemann.
The application can be used via the website of the City of Dortmund and also works on mobile devices.the Ostfriedhof is displayed by default the first time it is called up.information on the type of grave and right of use
More information:
- Click here for the digital cemetery map of the city of Dortmund.
- Further information on Dortmund’s cemeteries can be found at: dortmund.de/friedhoefe.
Source: 2.Juni 2025, Nordstadtblogger, https://www.nordstadtblogger.de/eine-neue-online-datenbank-ermoeglicht-recherche-zu-graebern-in-dortmund/
