History of the Cemetery Pobrežje

Basic data about Pobrežje cemetery.

Early history

Cemetery Pobrežje was established in 1879, when town municipality decided to move the existing Magdalene Cemetery. In the beginning, only the poor were buried in Pobrežje. The cemetery was intended for the burial of the deceased from town districts on the left Drava riverbank, irrespective of their religious beliefs.

After 1910 the old cemetery along Strossmayer Street (Strossmayerjeva ulica) gradually started closing and Maribor residents were buried in the cemetery Pobrežje. The number of burials increased after 1914, when the new cemetery was consecrated and when the most of the cemeteries in the surrounding areas of Tezno, Studenci, Kamnica and Magdalena and Graz quarters were closed. In 1915 an office building was built at the main entrance and was later re-arranged into a charnel house.

In 1920 the cemetery was extended and in 1926 a chapel with altar was erected in the middle of the cemetery, built in accordance with the plans of Rudolf Kiffmann, building contractor. Since the chapel had not been consecrated, it was used only as charnel house for luxury funerals. The second Town Cemetery by Strossmayer Street was retained until 1940 when it was finally moved to Pobrežje, settling it’s final dimension.

Present times

Since 2000, cemetery was modernized and is becoming an important memorial park. Many soldiers were buried in Pobrežje cemetery in both world wars and therefore in 2009 a memory park was established. In 2011 first peace monument free of any ideological dimension was placed at the memory park.