Kranenburg

In 1926 the municipality of Zwolle bought the former havezate 'Craanenburg', one of the largest eighteenth century country estates in Overijssel. Craanenburg was located on the northeast side of Zwolle. At the beginning of the twentieth century, the general cemetery Meppelerstraatweg became full. This cemetery was built in 1824 outside the fortifications of Zwolle, on the exit road towards Meppel. It was not possible to expand the cemetery or to create more burial places within the existing cemetery. That is why the municipality was looking for a new location. The municipality found it in havezate 'Craanenburg'.

Beautiful park

Kranenburg would not only become a cemetery and a place to commemorate loved ones, but also a park. Residents could then go there on Sundays and holidays to go for a walk. In addition to the park Het Engels Werk, on the southwest side of the city, the municipality also wanted a park on the other side of the city. In 1928, the municipality of Zwolle launched a competition: who designs the most beautiful grave park on this country estate? The winning landscape architecture firm was H. Copijn & Zoon. Their design was based on the existing structures of the estate.

Copijn added two elliptical paths to the existing paths, along which the graves would be located in a park-like whole. Copijn has combined elements from different style periods in the design. For example, he used the Dutch landscape style that was popular in the nineteenth century. Copijn designed a large pond at the entrance. The unemployed dug this pond with the shovel, as part of the provision of employment during the crisis years of the thirties. The
large pond is not deep, about 1.20 meters.

Copijn's design was carried out in phases. First came the entrance with the pond behind it and the part of the cemetery that is now called the Park section. The first funeral was in 1933. The Forest section, the Hagenpark section and the Parnassusberg are extensions of a later date.

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