More freedom in the future? The new burial laws and their impact on cemeteries.
Last year and this year, three German states amended their burial laws: Rhineland-Palatinate, Saxony-Anhalt, and Hesse. In all three cases, the changes resulted in a liberalization of regulations. Furthermore, Saxony is expected to significantly accommodate secular burial preferences in a predominantly religious cemetery landscape. Other states are currently revising their burial laws.
How will the legislative changes affect the work of cemeteries? This question will be addressed at the Cemetery Administrators' Conference on Thursday, October 22, 2026, at the Museum for Sepulchral Culture in Kassel, through a series of expert presentations. In addition to practical examples from cemeteries in German-speaking countries, the conference will also examine other European countries where this liberalization has already taken place. The aim is to discuss current developments in the cemetery sector through professional exchange and to explore different perspectives.
Program
Thursday, October 22, 2026, 9:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
9.30 pm
Arrival – Standing coffee
10.00 pm
Opening address
Dr. Dirk Pörschmann, Managing director of Arbeitsgemeinschaft Friedhof und Denkmal e.V.
10.15 pm
Cemetery and burial law in flux – overview and assessment of current legal developments, particularly in Saxony-Anhalt, Saxony, Rhineland-Palatinate, Hesse and Schleswig-Holstein (Online article)
Prof. Dr. Torsten F. Barthel , LL.M., lawyer and specialist lawyer for administrative law, Berlin, legal advisor of the Working Group Cemetery and Monument e. V.
11.15 11.45 clock to clock
Break
11.45 pm
Experiences with reburial in the cemeteries of Mölln
Johannes M. Stettner , cemetery manager of the Evangelical Lutheran cemeteries in Mölln, Schleswig-Holstein
12.15 pm
Reflections from Rhineland-Palatinate on the impact of the changes in the burial law on the work of cemeteries
Ronny Pietsch , Head of Department for Cemeteries and Burials, Mainz Cemeteries, Mainz Municipal Services, Rhineland-Palatinate
12.45 pm
Lunch break
13.30 pm
Considerations regarding planned changes to the Saxon burial law with regard to work in the cemetery
Birgit Hemm , Cemetery Administrator, Catholic Cemeteries Dresden, Member of the Network of Dresden District Cemeteries, Dresden, Saxony
14.00 pm
Thoughts on changes to work in the cemetery due to the new burial law in Saxony-Anhalt
Andrea Langewitz, cemetery administrator of the New Cemetery in Naumburg (Saale)
14.30 15.00 clock to clock
Break
How do other European countries with comparable conditions handle the situation? How do cemetery operators there compete against their rivals?
15.00 pm
The Situation of Cemetery in the Netherlands, an Overview (Online article)
Esther Kooistra , Landelijke Organization van Begraafsplaatsen, Amsterdam, Netherlands
15.30 pm
Making cemeteries interesting – experiences from cemeteries in Switzerland (Online article)
Stefan Brunner , Product Manager Cemetery, Green City Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
Our interview with Stefan Brunner provides a brief insight into the special situation of Zurich's cemeteries .
16.00 pm
Austria – Experiences from St. Barbara Cemetery in Linz (Online article)
Clemens Frauscher , administrator for cemetery operations and the surrounding properties at the St. Barbara Cemetery Foundation, Linz, Austria
16.30 pm
Final discussion
17.00 pm
End of the event
Museum of Sepulchral Culture, Weinbergstraße 25-27, 34117 Kassel
EUR 160,00
7 October 2026
Further information on the Cemetery Administrators' Conference 2026, as well as reviews of the Cemetery Administrators' Conferences of the last six years, can be viewed here.
