As of: March 24, 2024, 6:00 a.m
By: Christoph Peters
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There are several free grave sites in the Peitingen cemeteries.
© Hans-Helmut Herold
Should citizens be able to secure a grave site in the Peitingen cemeteries during their lifetime?
The local council has now dealt with this question.
The reason was a corresponding request from the SPD parliamentary group.
In the end the decision was clear.
Peiting - The topic came up during a local discussion, said SPD parliamentary group leader Claudia Steindorf at the local council meeting on Tuesday.
One was approached by a citizen who would have liked to secure a grave site during his lifetime.
However, he received a rejection from the municipality because the cemetery statutes currently exclude such a pre-purchase.
However, the SPD found the wish entirely understandable.
For many citizens, it was a comfort to know where their final resting place would be.
There are also more and more single people where no relatives can take care of choosing the grave in the event of death.
In other communities such as Wessobrunn or Schondorf am Ammersee there is already the possibility of pre-purchase, said Steindorf.
This was also possible in Peiting in the past, until the practice was stopped due to concerns about there being too few grave sites available.
According to the SPD, this danger no longer exists, as the number of burials has been declining for years and more and more graves are being abandoned.
Against this background, the Social Democrats advocated changing the statutes - also with a view to the current financial situation of the market.
Ultimately, additional income could be generated through a pre-purchase.
Mayor is critical of the proposal
However, the committee was skeptical.
This discussion has already been held several times, recalled Mayor Peter Ostenrieder.
People were always against it because they didn't want to create a two-class society.
“There are certainly citizens who would like to make use of the opportunity, but cannot afford it.” And what would you do if several applicants came forward for a grave site, asked Ostenrieder.
How do you decide who gets the contract in such cases?
Given the many vacant grave sites, there would be a large selection anyway, so that a nice final resting place could be found for everyone, the town hall boss pointed out.
The financial aspect didn't convince him either.
The additional income is minimal.
From the administration's point of view, managing director Stefan Kort found another aspect to be much more important than the question of whether pre-purchase should be permitted in the future.
Namely that it is clearly regulated who will take care of the funeral in the event of death.
“Space is the least of our problems,” said Kort, referring to the increasing number of cases in which the community has to arrange for burial because there are no relatives or they cannot be identified (we reported).
Christian Lory (Independent) also advised against a change - for reasons of social justice, as he explained.
“In death everyone is equal.” Norbert Merk (CSU) also emphasized this.
“There shouldn’t be people of different classes dying.” The SPD’s proposal surprised him anyway.
Perhaps this is due to the proximity to the next local elections in 2026, the CSU council speculated.
“I think we have two beautiful cemeteries.”
Herbert Salzmann (SPD) rejected this as a “stupid argument”.
He recalled that pre-purchase was common practice in the 80s and 90s.
Making this possible again would show closeness to the citizens.
“It's not about who can afford it.” Not everyone who thinks about their grave site is a Croesus.
A quota system could also prevent a bottleneck.
That didn't convince Ostenrieder.
You can use an estate decree to name someone who should take care of a certain grave location.
“The catastrophe would be if someone reserved a grave and there were no funds left when they died.”
Marion Gillinger, however, was surprised that the discussion was about beautiful and less beautiful graves.
“I think we have two beautiful cemeteries.” However, the ÖDP councilor thought the SPD proposal made sense.
Hermann Mödl (BVP) saw it differently.
He would prefer if people would make sure that the grave was properly cared for even after her death.
In the end, a clear majority of 15:7 rejected the SPD's proposal.
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