St. Johannisfriedhof (St John’s cemetery), located at today’s Johannisstraße in the city district of Johannis, had originally been established in the 13th century as “Siechkobel” (infirmary) outside the town to house sick people and lepers. Up until the beginning of the 16th century, Nuremberg citizens were buried within the town walls in the vicinity of the major churches. When, 500 years ago, the decision was taken to transfer burials to outside the town wall, the Sebald part of the town was able to use the St John’s cemetery situated outside the Neutor (New Gate), by extending the existing burial field. Thus burials have taken place here for more than 500 years, up until the present day.
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By decree of 31 October 1518, Emperor Maximilian I stipulated that from that time onward burials were only to take place outside the Nuremberg town wall.
At that time, the two major cemeteries were located around the main churches, St. Sebald (St Sebaldus’) and St. Lorenz (St Lawrence’s), and there was also a large cemetery around St. Jakob (St James’). As an after-effect of the Crusades, around 1200, the number of people suffering from leprosy increased greatly. The lepers were looked after in “leper colonies” which also included churches and cemeteries. These infirmaries were established on the main traffic thoroughfares, in order to gather the largest possible amount of donations and alms, following the Christian teaching on almsgiving.
In the 14th century, the infirmary in the St. Johannis district was extended to the east to include a plague cemetery with the Stephanuskapelle (St Stephen’s Chapel). This chapel was demolished in 1506/07, and the Heilig-Grab-Kapelle (Chapel of the Holy Sepulchre) was erected in its place. It houses the burial of the Patrician Holzschuher family. Because of several waves of the plague, the burial sites around the major churches in the inner city were no longer sufficient. Thus the Nuremberg city council – also under the pressure of the Imperial decree – on 8 November 1518 decided that the burial sites within the city were to be closed down, and burials were to be shifted to outside the town wall.
For the Sebald part of the city, the existing cemetery in Johannis just outside the Neutor (New Gate) seemed most appropriate. The district just below the Imperial Castle was at that time not only the home of many Nuremberg Patrician families, it was also the location of the major Nuremberg trading companies and of the workshops of important artists. So, it is no surprise that many famous people, including Albrecht Dürer (d. 1528) and Willibald Pirckheimer (d. 1530), are laid to rest in St John’s Cemetery.
For the Lorenz part of the city, a plot of land was found south-west of Spittlertor (Spital Gate), was walled in and established as a cemetery. In 1521, the Nuremberg Patrician Imhoff family had a funeral chapel erected here and chose the patron saint of plague sufferers, St. Rochus (St Roch) as the chapel’s patron. The Imhoffs had brought the cult of St Roch from Venice to Nuremberg via their trade connections. Since the main population in the Lorenz part of the city consisted of craftsmen, the majority of graves on St Roch’s Cemetery has been for Nuremberg artisans, but a number of famous Nuremberg people were also buried here, including the metal caster Peter Vischer the Elder (d. 1529) and the composer Johann Pachelbel (d. 1706).
Until this day, both cemeteries are characterised by their lying ashlar gravestones with epitaphs, metal nameplates. The ashlar size has been specified since the beginning, for all citizens were to be equal in death. At the same time, however, the Nuremberg redsmiths and coppersmiths (bronze and brass casters) developed the important art of the epitaph. Plaques fashioned from brass or bronze were affixed to the lying ashlars, and referred to the deceased person. While at first, they only showed coats of arms or artisans’ symbols, later on, particularly in the Baroque era, sumptuously decorated and elaborately worked epitaphs were created. Thus, for example, the epitaph for Andreas Georg Paumgartner from 1679 covers the entire ashlar surface. As a rule, the ashlars were oriented towards the East, to Jerusalem so that the cemeteries present a rather uniform structure.
In the course of the centuries, St John’s cemetery was extended several times. The largest extension was made in 1856 towards the south and west, when the adjacent municipal shooting range was purchased. In this new area, standing gravestones were now also permitted. In order to meet the increasing demand for exclusive gravesites, the neo-Gothic arcades at the western edge of the cemetery were established in 1860.
Located in the eastern part of the cemetery, the chapel was built by master builder Hans Beheim the Elder in 1513, to replace the St Stephen’s chapel. A round central structure constructed from sandstone blocks, topped by a polygonal tented roof, is adjoined by a lower, semicircular choir to the east. The interior boasts a resurrection altar of 1507, a star vault with a keystone decorated with foliage, and Adam Kraft’s sculpture of the Tomb of Christ, with a mural of the Heavenly Jerusalem behind it. Since the burial of Lazarus Holzschuher in 1523, this chapel has been the burial site of the Patrician Holzschuher family. In 1927 it was sold to the City of Nuremberg. It was severely damaged in the Second World War and has been repeatedly renovated since then. The Chapel is only accessible as part of a conducted tour.
Integrated into the northern cemetery wall, this house, built in 1682, still houses the Lutheran cemetery administration. The house’s name refers to the fact that the “stone scribes” marked the ashlars with the grave numbers. They kept the grave records and made sure that the specified ashlar size of three by six Werkschuh (Nuremberg foot corresponding to 84 cm x 167 cm) was adhered to. A historic standard is displayed at the Holzschuher Chapel to the right of the entrance.
The tomb vault hall was built in 1858/1860 according to plans by City Master Builder Bernhard Solger, on the premises of the former shooting range. The neo-Gothic building features 25 pointed arch arcades open to the east, with a 3-arch wimperg and several stone figures. This tomb vault hall provided a sumptuous burial option to Nuremberg’s upper middle classes who had recently acquired wealth, giving them the opportunity to set themselves apart from the uniform structure of the older part of the cemetery.
The adjacent funeral hall was built from sandstone in 1898/99 by Heinrich Wallraff. Today it is owned by the City of Nuremberg and is rented out for funeral celebrations.
Starting in the mid-13th century, St. John’s Church originally served as a place of worship for the people living in the adjacent leper colony. The church was extended in several stages, and has remained unchanged in its present form for more than 650 years. It is still a location for church services and special occasions, such as baptisms, weddings and funerals.
For further information see: www.st-johannis-nuernberg.de/geschichte-unseres-stadtteils-3-kapitel
In Nuremberg, the word epitaph refers to memorial plaques for the deceased, cast in bronze or brass. They were created by artisanal methods following individual designs and then affixed to the lying gravestones.
The council of the city of Nuremberg was of the opinion that all human beings were equal in death and that worldly riches should not be flaunted. This is why, after 1520, strict norms for the size of gravestones were adopted. Thus an epitaph was the only possibility of distinguishing oneself from others even in death. The famous Nuremberg bronze casters impressively implemented their clients’ wishes.
On both cemeteries, the artistically and historically valuable epitaphs from five centuries have been preserved.
Each era can be identified by its distinctive forms and stylistic features. Between the 16th and 19th centuries, epitaphs typically included an inscription with the deceased’s life dates, profession, sometimes a brief biography, and a coat of arms or house or master’s mark. Decorations featuring ornaments, biblical scenes, or representations of tools of the trade — as well as the popular visual depiction of a name (“canting arms”) — were sometimes complemented by depictions of the donor’s family.
In the later 20th century, mass-produced epitaphs became increasingly common, paralleling the growing trend toward personalization in memorial plaques.
To both preserve the historical heritage and allow for contemporary expressions, a committee oversees the approval of new epitaphs — just as has been customary for centuries.
At the beginning of the 16th century, the graves at St. Johannis and St. Rochus cemeteries were covered with simple rectangular sandstone slabs. At that time, the Nuremberg City Council defined the standard stone size as three by six Werkschuh (approximately 84 × 167 cm). The oldest stones date back to around 1520.
This simple stone form remained unchanged for a long time. It was not until the 17th century that the upper surface (the cover) of the stones became more curved, the long sides more rounded, and the surfaces were inscribed with engraved, recessed lettering.
From around 1650 onward, a broad relief band—usually in the shape of a cross—was added to the curved surface. Around the same time, pedestal-like ornaments began to appear at the head end of the stones, although these remained relatively rare.
Another type of stone emerged in this period: all four sides were given a pronounced moulding, and the cover was separated by a deep groove, making it appear almost like a coffin lid.
The form continued to evolve, transforming into the shape of a sarcophagus — with a curved top, richly moulded indented long sides, and narrow sides rolled into volutes, later often adorned with central cartouches. This type of gravestone remained predominant until the 18th century.
During the Early Classical period, the sarcophagus-like form persisted, but the four sides were increasingly decorated with garlands. In the second half of the 19th century, flat gabled tops appeared on the stone covers, and crosses in relief were added to the narrow sides.
Since the late 16th century, each stone has borne its own engraved number.