As of: March 29, 2024, 3:00 p.m
By: Johannes Jais
Comments
Press
Split
The entry is deceptive: There are now 200 free grave sites near Maria Egg (picture) and Bühlach. © Jais
With the negative vote (seven voted for, 15 against), a proposal from the SPD parliamentary group was, so to speak, “buried”. The Social Democrats wanted a change in the cemetery statutes. Citizens should be able to secure a grave site in the Peitingen cemeteries during their lifetime for a small rent.
Peiting parliamentary group spokeswoman Claudia Steindorf told the local council that there were more and more empty graves. There is definitely an interest among the population in choosing and leasing an area during their lifetime. This was also the topic when the SPD local association was present with an information stand on Bahnhofstrasse in 2023.
In the application, the SPD faction states that the number of burials in the ground is declining and more and more graves are being abandoned. The initiative should be seen against this background and partly also in view of the current financial situation. The possibility of leasing a grave site would relieve relatives during the mourning phase. Single people could decide for themselves how and where they want to be buried. In other communities there is the possibility of pre-purchasing a right to use a grave.
But the majority of the committee has a different opinion. Mayor Peter Ostenrieder was worried that a “two-class society” could emerge. With such an approach, the community would “create a market”. The expected additional income is minimal, but the damage to the land is significant, he commented.
CSU local councilor Norbert Merk was surprised that the application for a grave reservation for a lease fee “came from the ranks of the SPD,” which otherwise promotes social justice. Christian Lory (Peitingen Citizens' Association) thought that the topic of graves should not take on capitalist traits. In death everyone is equal.
Herbert Salzmann (SPD) looked back on the 80s and 90s. At that time, pre-purchase was common practice. This was stopped when there were only a few graves left. But today the situation is different; The potential expansion area for the cemetery at Bühlach is no longer needed and has been sold to build the new Marienheim.
Managing director Stefan Kort focused on a different idea. Much more important than the question of reservation is who will take care of the funeral. In the administration, people are quickly “at their wits’ end” when, for example, a refugee from Ukraine dies and no relatives can be reached. In this case, the municipality would remain responsible for the costs.
Stay up-to-date on the most important stories with the Kreisbote newsletter every day at the end of the day or with the new “Kreisbote” app.