The cemeteries of the Abbey of Maria Laach tell of nearly 900 years of monastic history and the local tradition of remembrance. During a special walk on Saturday, November 22, 2025, visitors can explore these places of memory and learn more about their development.

In "old" Laach, i.e. from its founding until the secularization, the Laacher abbots and also nobles from the Eifel were buried in the abbey church, the Romanesque basilica. The conventuals found their burial place outside in the "Cimiterium" north of the monastery church. The cemetery for the monastery staff and friends was located behind the St. Nicholas chapel. In the 13th and 14th centuries, laypeople also secured a burial in the monastery area through pension contracts, charity foundations, or through brotherhoods with the abbey.
In "new" Laach, i.e. after the resettlement in 1892, the first nine monks who died up to 1920 were buried in the "Jesuit crypt" under the St. Nicholas chapel. Afterwards, the Laacher monks found and continue to find their final resting place in the newly constructed monk's cemetery around the chapel.
By the St. John chapel lies the forest cemetery, which was also designed in 1920 and consecrated in June 1922. There, the graves of Laacher citizens, war victims, relatives of Laacher monks, and persons particularly connected to the abbey can be found.
In the tradition as a place of remembrance for the deceased of Maria Laach, the Romanesque tower of the St. Nicholas chapel is now being converted into a burial site for urn graves. This consecrated place is to serve as a special final resting place for those who were closely connected to the abbey during their lifetime - and soon burial options are also to be offered at the forest cemetery.
The walk on November 22, 2025, will be led by Walter Müller, a volunteer guide at the monastery for many years and author of the upcoming book "Cemeteries & Burial Places in the Benedictine Abbey of Maria Laach".

All details at a glance:

• Date: November 22, 2025
• Time: 1:30 PM (approximately 90 minutes)
• Meeting point: In front of the entrance portal to the forest cemetery at the St. John chapel.

Participation in this walk is free of charge - donations are welcome.
For more information visit www.maria-laach.de