The oldest Talking Gravestones were made from slabs of red sandstone that originates from the Solling hills in northern Westphalia.[7] Later tombstones measure roughly 160 by 70 centimetres (63 by 28 in). Most gravestones were made from sandstone quarried in Obernkirchen, Lower Saxony. Shipmasters used to take the stones on board as ballast. Only wealthy people from Föhr could afford totally new monuments while poor persons would have to grind off old slabs to add a new design.[5] Sometimes also test objects from a stonemason's workshop may have been erected in the cemetery. This theory is supported by specific letters and the word ALVABET on the backside of one headstone.[7]
Stonemasons
Apart from a few great tomb plates that were likely created by foreign, professional stonemasons, all Talking Gravestones were made locally by the island population. At first it may have been Dutch wood carvers from the mainland that were hired to decorate the gravestones, until ship carpenters had obtained the skills of stonemasonry and got orders from the neighbouring islands and Föhr proper to create gravestones.[8] The design of the decorations is sometimes very intricate, so that the process of creation took a long time. As a result, many gravestones could only be erected several years after the burial of the deceased person.[5]
Language and symbolism
The tombstone of a husband and wife in the cemetery of Süderende
The cemetery of Nieblum
The cemetery of Boldixum
The texts on most gravestones are exclusively written in the "noble" church language of Standard German (Hochdeutsch)[8] although the island then used to belong to Denmark and the everyday-language was Fering, a local dialect of the North Frisian language which is still spoken today. A few stones exhibit texts in Low German which used to be the official and ecclesiastical language until around 1700, while other texts are written in Latin. Some 20th-century tombstones have inscriptions in Fering.[3] In order to tell the long biographies on the limited space of the stone slab, the stonemasons sometimes used abbreviations:[7]
J.S.G.G.S. = Ihren Seelen Gott gnädig sei [May God have mercy upon their souls]
D.S.G.G.S. = Deren Seelen Gott gnädig sei [On whose souls God may have mercy]
I.S.S.G.G. = Ihrer Seele sei Gott gnädig [On whose soul God may have mercy]
D.S.G.G.I. = Deren Seelen Gott gnädig ist [On whose souls God has mercy]
G.S.S.S.G. = Gott sei seiner Seele gnädig [May God have mercy upon his soul].
The relief decorations are kept in baroque and rococo style. They are often detailed and fantastic with unique forms that are not repeated. The images may show "angels as symbols of justice, happiness, and a sign of faith, love and hope, but also ships, windmills and the family tree are shown".[3] Scenes from the Bible are often the main motive of the ornaments on a stone. When a seafarer died on his ship, the ship is depicted with full sails while unrigged ships mean that the sailor died on land. Other popular motives are items from the deceased person's daily trade but also Lady Justice.[9]
A special iconographic tradition can be found in the floral motives: the husband and the sons of a family are depicted on the left-hand side of the image as tulip-like flowers whereas the wife and daughters are shown on the right-hand side as star-shaped flowers with four petals.[7] A broken stalk is a sign that the respective person was already dead when the tombstone was created.[8] The frequency of broken flowers attests a high rate of infant mortality.[7]
History
The oldest gravestones were made of sandstone slabs. To put them up in a slanted position, a hole was drilled through the stone so a wooden staff or a whale bone could support the stone.[3] In later times, largers stones became popular that were called 'Bremen stones' according to their origin.[7] The oldest Talking Gravestone dates back to the year 1605.[5] After 1700, the income of the population increased rapidly. because from the 17th to the 19th century, seafarers from Föhr including a number of captains pursued whaling and merchant shipping. In these times, upright tombstones were used more often. Steles were introduced in the 18th century. When they were erected, they were mostly decorated with a coloured ornament on top, the section below would relate the biography of the deceased, and at the bottom would often be a Biblical verse or another image. When old stones were grinded off, the original top decoration often remained intact.[7]
The early 19th century marked the decline of this type of gravestones. Classicist monuments became increasingly popular which refrained from displaying images and extended biographies.[7] In the mid-19th century, this special form of burial culture had become totally uncommon.[10] Nowadays, polished slabs of granite that only display the name and vital statistics of the deceased are usually found on Föhr and other North Frisian islands.[7]
^Schulz, Matthias (2008). "Kostbares Gedächtnis". Der Spiegel (in German). No. 29. Retrieved 12 October 2016.
^(PDF) (in German). Landesamt für Denkmalpflege. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 12 October 2016.
^ abcd"Der Friedhof" (in German). St. Laurentii Congregation, Föhr. Retrieved 12 October 2016.
^"Die alten Grabsteine auf dem Kirchhof von St. Johannis". Friesendom (in German). St. Johannis Evangelical Lutheran Congration. Retrieved 12 October 2016.
^Tobien, Jenny (26 March 2008). "Sprechende Grabsteine erzählen vom Walfang". Die Welt. Retrieved 22 October 2016.
^ abcdefghi"St. Johannis Kirche in Nieblum auf Föhr". Inseltouristik (in German). Retrieved 12 October 2016.
^ abcPreuss, Renate. "Sprechende Steine". Land & Meer (in German). Retrieved 12 October 2016.
^Anger, Siegfried (1999). "Darstellungen der Justitia auf Grabsteinen des Friedhofs von St. Johannis in Nieblum / Föhr". Nordfriesisches Jahrbuch Neue Folge (in German). Vol. 35. p. 97.
Media related to Gravestones in Föhr at Wikimedia Commons
January 29, 2023
talking, gravestones, föhr, talking, gravestones, german, sprechende, grabsteine, föhr, also, known, story, telling, gravestones, erzählende, grabsteine, historic, artifacts, german, island, föhr, they, found, cemeteries, laurentii, church, süderende, 7163, 43. The Talking Gravestones German Sprechende Grabsteine of Fohr also known as the Story telling Gravestones Erzahlende Grabsteine are historic artifacts on the German island of Fohr They can be found in the cemeteries of St Laurentii church in Suderende 54 42 59 N 8 26 07 E 54 7163 N 8 4352 E 54 7163 8 4352 St Laurentii Suderende St Johannes church in Nieblum 54 41 36 N 8 29 28 E 54 6934 N 8 4911 E 54 6934 8 4911 St Johannes Nieblum and St Nikolai church in Boldixum 54 41 45 N 8 33 01 E 54 6958 N 8 5504 E 54 6958 8 5504 St Nikolai Boldixum which is now a district of Wyk auf Fohr Similar objects are known from the neighbour island of Amrum 1 All such headstones made until 1870 are designated cultural heritage monuments 2 Their inscriptions tell the biographies of the deceased including their private and professional lives extraordinary events and honorary appointments 3 With 265 monuments the St Johannis cemetery has the largest inventory of historical gravestones in Nordfriesland district 4 The best known tombstone is the one of Matthias Petersen who was a very successful whaling captain and was therefore dubbed Lucky Matthew der gluckliche Matthias 5 The only ornamental decoration on this stone is a circular relief depicting the goddess of fortune upon a swimming whale in the style of a coat of arms It features the only inscription completely in Latin language in the cemetery of Suderende which relates that Petersen who died in 1706 caught 373 whales during his lifetime 6 The tomb of Lucky Matthew in the cemetery of Suderende Contents 1 Origin of the material 2 Stonemasons 3 Language and symbolism 4 History 5 See also 6 References 7 External linksOrigin of the material EditThe oldest Talking Gravestones were made from slabs of red sandstone that originates from the Solling hills in northern Westphalia 7 Later tombstones measure roughly 160 by 70 centimetres 63 by 28 in Most gravestones were made from sandstone quarried in Obernkirchen Lower Saxony Shipmasters used to take the stones on board as ballast Only wealthy people from Fohr could afford totally new monuments while poor persons would have to grind off old slabs to add a new design 5 Sometimes also test objects from a stonemason s workshop may have been erected in the cemetery This theory is supported by specific letters and the word ALVABET on the backside of one headstone 7 Stonemasons EditApart from a few great tomb plates that were likely created by foreign professional stonemasons all Talking Gravestones were made locally by the island population At first it may have been Dutch wood carvers from the mainland that were hired to decorate the gravestones until ship carpenters had obtained the skills of stonemasonry and got orders from the neighbouring islands and Fohr proper to create gravestones 8 The design of the decorations is sometimes very intricate so that the process of creation took a long time As a result many gravestones could only be erected several years after the burial of the deceased person 5 Language and symbolism Edit The tombstone of a husband and wife in the cemetery of Suderende The cemetery of Nieblum The cemetery of Boldixum The texts on most gravestones are exclusively written in the noble church language of Standard German Hochdeutsch 8 although the island then used to belong to Denmark and the everyday language was Fering a local dialect of the North Frisian language which is still spoken today A few stones exhibit texts in Low German which used to be the official and ecclesiastical language until around 1700 while other texts are written in Latin Some 20th century tombstones have inscriptions in Fering 3 In order to tell the long biographies on the limited space of the stone slab the stonemasons sometimes used abbreviations 7 J S G G S Ihren Seelen Gott gnadig sei May God have mercy upon their souls D S G G S Deren Seelen Gott gnadig sei On whose souls God may have mercy I S S G G Ihrer Seele sei Gott gnadig On whose soul God may have mercy D S G G I Deren Seelen Gott gnadig ist On whose souls God has mercy G S S S G Gott sei seiner Seele gnadig May God have mercy upon his soul The relief decorations are kept in baroque and rococo style They are often detailed and fantastic with unique forms that are not repeated The images may show angels as symbols of justice happiness and a sign of faith love and hope but also ships windmills and the family tree are shown 3 Scenes from the Bible are often the main motive of the ornaments on a stone When a seafarer died on his ship the ship is depicted with full sails while unrigged ships mean that the sailor died on land Other popular motives are items from the deceased person s daily trade but also Lady Justice 9 A special iconographic tradition can be found in the floral motives the husband and the sons of a family are depicted on the left hand side of the image as tulip like flowers whereas the wife and daughters are shown on the right hand side as star shaped flowers with four petals 7 A broken stalk is a sign that the respective person was already dead when the tombstone was created 8 The frequency of broken flowers attests a high rate of infant mortality 7 History EditThe oldest gravestones were made of sandstone slabs To put them up in a slanted position a hole was drilled through the stone so a wooden staff or a whale bone could support the stone 3 In later times largers stones became popular that were called Bremen stones according to their origin 7 The oldest Talking Gravestone dates back to the year 1605 5 After 1700 the income of the population increased rapidly because from the 17th to the 19th century seafarers from Fohr including a number of captains pursued whaling and merchant shipping In these times upright tombstones were used more often Steles were introduced in the 18th century When they were erected they were mostly decorated with a coloured ornament on top the section below would relate the biography of the deceased and at the bottom would often be a Biblical verse or another image When old stones were grinded off the original top decoration often remained intact 7 The early 19th century marked the decline of this type of gravestones Classicist monuments became increasingly popular which refrained from displaying images and extended biographies 7 In the mid 19th century this special form of burial culture had become totally uncommon 10 Nowadays polished slabs of granite that only display the name and vital statistics of the deceased are usually found on Fohr and other North Frisian islands 7 See also EditTalking Gravestones of AmrumReferences Edit Schulz Matthias 2008 Kostbares Gedachtnis Der Spiegel in German No 29 Retrieved 12 October 2016 Verzeichnis der Kulturdenkmale bis 30 1 2015 PDF in German Landesamt fur Denkmalpflege Archived from the original PDF on 5 March 2016 Retrieved 12 October 2016 a b c d Der Friedhof in German St Laurentii Congregation Fohr Retrieved 12 October 2016 Die alten Grabsteine auf dem Kirchhof von St Johannis Friesendom in German St Johannis Evangelical Lutheran Congration Retrieved 12 October 2016 a b c d Das Ratsel der sprechenden Steine Nordfriesland Tageblatt in German SHZ de 30 January 2012 Retrieved 12 October 2016 Tobien Jenny 26 March 2008 Sprechende Grabsteine erzahlen vom Walfang Die Welt Retrieved 22 October 2016 a b c d e f g h i St Johannis Kirche in Nieblum auf Fohr Inseltouristik in German Retrieved 12 October 2016 a b c Preuss Renate Sprechende Steine Land amp Meer in German Retrieved 12 October 2016 Anger Siegfried 1999 Darstellungen der Justitia auf Grabsteinen des Friedhofs von St Johannis in Nieblum Fohr Nordfriesisches Jahrbuch Neue Folge in German Vol 35 p 97 Quedens Georg Hingst Hans Stuck Gerhard Wilts Ommo 1991 Amrum Landschaft Geschichte Natur in German Amrum Verlag Jens Quedens p 110 ISBN 3 924422 24 9 External links EditMap all coordinates using OpenStreetMap Download coordinates as KML Media related to Gravestones in Fohr at Wikimedia Commons Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Talking Gravestones of Fohr amp oldid 1134114215, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
