Wester Cemetery

The Westerbegraafplaats was inaugurated in 1873 as a secular cemetery for mainly prominent citizens. The entrance buildings and the enclosure wall were erected between 1867 and 1882 to a design by the then city architect Adolphe Pauli.

History
The 'municipal cemetery of Ghent' or the 'Westerbegraafplaats' is located on the north-western edge of the city, outside the Brugse Poort, on the border with Mariakerke. The former cemetery of the Brugse Poort, created after the decree of Joseph II (1784), was located further south, more precisely on the corner of the Elysian Fields and the Gasmeterlaan. It was transferred to Palinghuizen along the Bruges Canal in 1872, in a rural and almost undeveloped area at the time.

The Westerbegraafplaats was inaugurated on 1 January 1873. The liberal city council under mayor Charles de Kerchove de Denterghem wanted to create a completely secularized cemetery, namely without compartmentalizing by confession. Until 1919, the graves in this cemetery were unconsecrated, which is why it is still popularly known today as the 'Geuzenkerkhof', at the time it was mainly the burial place of prominent liberals and socialists, professors and artists. These graves, often designed by well-known Ghent sculptors, are usually located in the oldest part of the cemetery, namely a rectangular walled park to the south. Later extensions, including in 1911, took place on the east and west sides and show a typical geometric layout of the 20th century.

A cobbled road, built in 1869, with a beech avenue leads from Palinghuizen on the Brugse Vaart to the gatehouse. The entrance buildings and the enclosure wall were erected to a design by the then city architect Adolphe Pauli between 1867 and 1882. The design of the cemetery was his last assignment as city architect, already in 1867 he became a consultant architect after his resignation and the works were carried out under the direction of his successor city architect J. Hofman. The project envisioned a planted cemetery with a park ('jardin des morts') intended for 13,300 graves, enclosed by a gallery for monumental tombs and crypts and a shelter for visitors, and a wall with an entrance gate in the form of a triumphal arch. However, the gallery that would later be erected was never executed.

Source: https://inventaris.onroerenderfgoed.be/erfgoedobjecten/126562

Rudy Wuyts