Multiuse Cemetery Paradigm: Cemetery as a multifunctional place of social significance – Reshaping a cemetery in the urban space of Eastern Europe

Abstract

In recent years, the notions of European identity, values and heritage have been put on the public agenda. Cemeteries construct ‘European significance’. Eastern Europe is lacking in terms of research and the social use of cemeteries, where these sites are treated as strictly separate ‘gardens of silence’. As cities become denser, green spaces are in danger of decreasing. Cemeteries in Eastern Europe have an untapped green potential. How can the potential of cemeteries be used? What solutions can be implemented to shape the cemetery in Eastern Europe within a multifunctional paradigm? The countries included in this study share the same broad religious cultural heritage shaped by varied Christian traditions: Poland, Slovenia, Hungary, Lithuania, Croatia. A review of multiple case studies of burial sites in Poland and abroad allowed for the creation and compilation of a set of practises related to structure, functions and social role of cemeteries. Moreover, the Scenic Beauty Estimation method was used to determine social preferences regarding the perception of the cemeteries appearance. To highlight the societal value of cemeteries, the concept of a multifunctional municipal cemetery in Gniezno (Poland) was designed.