When the first natural cemetery in Bavaria is opened by Forest Minister Michaela Kaniber (CSU) in the Elmauer Valley on Monday, May 17th, Mittenwald's Matthias Wurmer, the first “natural cemetery customer advisor” hired by the Bavarian State Forests, will also be there for this pilot project.
Mittenwald
- "I am incredibly proud to have got this responsible post as a permanent employee," reveals the 46-year-old family man. "Schmitzer Hias", born in Garmisch-Partenkirchen in 1975, found out about the job posting on the Internet. After his application, the headquarters in Regensburg called him and confirmed that they had submitted a very interesting job application. "You noticed that they are particularly good at dealing with people in difficult situations," he was attested to. His 30 years of professional experience as a journeyman at the Georg Fichtl joinery and his great commitment to the Mittenwald mountain and ski guard spoke in favor of Wurmer. "Here you meet people who are suffering, hoping or mourning during rescues and rescues," says Wurmer. "So I thinkthat I can also fill the position of a supervisor in a nature cemetery well. "
In short: Wurmer has been discontinued.
The project team Bernd Vetter and Miriam Friedrich have been instructing him in his new job since March.
“A heartfelt thank God to both of them.
They accompanied me theoretically in Regensburg and practically on site. ”At home, Wurmer can use his knowledge as a carpenter to identify trees and wood and the search for suitable grave sites as well as pass on his experience as a mountain guard in dealing with mourners.
With grave templates and compass
Currently, the 31 hectare mixed forest area is made accessible by main and walking paths, natural paths, benches and a lookout point. “We measured, assessed, digitized and entered the first plot of land with 350 distinctive, distinctive trees with high recognition value,” explains Wurmer. "With the help of grave templates with built-in compass, we have already determined and saved the location and number of possible grave sites."
The urns developed by the State Forests are all made of solid spruce. They do not have a metal or plastic capsule and are delivered by the funeral directors with the ashes of the deceased. After the burial, the hole dug by worms is covered with earth. “The metal plaque attached to the tree with name, date of birth and death remains visible as a personal reminder,” emphasizes project manager Vetter. The chargeable grave site with a right of use for 25 or 50 years is marked with colored number plaques on the trees that the bereaved choose. “Community graves for up to 20 places are marked with red, graves for two people with olive green, and family graves for up to ten people with blue,” explains Wurmer. "Those marked with yellow,Shooting stars' trees are free of charge and are intended for fetuses and children under the age of three. ”The natural cemetery should be changed as little as possible. Thus, only individual paths will be newly created and only existing parking spaces will be expanded. “We no longer operate regular forestry there, but we pay attention to road safety,” explains Vetter. "Our nature cemetery is open all year round at fixed operating times and is also available to the population for recreation and as a nature experience.""Our nature cemetery is open all year round at fixed operating times and is also available to the population for recreation and as a nature experience.""Our nature cemetery is open all year round at fixed operating times and is also available to the population for recreation and as a nature experience."
An office for the new account manager will be set up in Mittenwald as a contact point for interested survivors. "The place, opening times, telephone number and e-mail address will be announced in good time," said Wurmer.
Wolfgang Kunz
