Cemetery Groenesteeg

Historical cemetery with old trees, here and there historical figures are buried

Particularly beautiful place to unwind.

Very nicely maintained cemetery, perfect for relaxing.

One of Leiden's hidden treasures. Under ancient trees lie side by side, sometimes extra accentuated by iron gates, old weathered grave slabs. A little further, in the grass with snowdrops are stelae and a single grave. Just like elsewhere in Leiden, you can see canals on all sides and even a houseboat with a thatched roof. So peaceful, with history at your feet. A place to cherish, here you want to pass in all seasons ...

After Emperor Napoleon decided by decree in 1811 that burial in churches was no longer allowed, plans were made in Leiden to set up a new burial place for the well-to-do citizenry. A stronghold on the east side of the city was selected for this. Work on the stronghold between the Zijlpoort and the Hogewoerd railway began in 1813, after which the first funeral took place on 19 March. The cemetery became the property of the Reformed Church. Already on December 22, 1813, William I decided to allow burial in churches again and halted the development of the Groenesteeg cemetery. Willem returned to this measure in 1825 on the advice of a council of chemists and doctors. After this decision, the city architect Salomon van der Paauw was called in in Leiden to investigate whether the cemetery complied with the new rules. When this turned out to be the case, Van der Paauw was commissioned in 1828 to design an auditorium for the cemetery and also to devise the walking path and planting scheme. The cemetery, which was still owned by the church, was also handed over to the municipality of Leiden in that year. In 1838 the management returned to the church and from 1859 the cemetery became the property of the reformed church. The decision was made to expand the surface of the cemetery and to do so by the architect J.C. Richly the auditorium was raised by one floor. After the new Rhijnhof cemetery was opened in 1910, the old cemetery on the Groenesteeg slowly fell into disrepair. Since 1975, the cemetery has stopped burials and in 1981 the site, now a national monument, returned to the municipality. Work on the restoration was only made in 1993. The next phase of restoration was started in 2014 by the municipality of Leiden. The Foundation for the Maintenance of the Groenesteeg Cemetery (Foundation Groenesteeg), together with the municipality, has gone much further. This is partly due to the fact that this cemetery is a so-called 'jewel' in the plans around the Singelpark. This phase was completed in 2015.