German Cemetery Designates Space for Lesbian Couples

The Lutheran Georgen Parochial cemetery in Berlin has designated a 4,300-square-foot plot for lesbians who want to rest eternally next to each other.

The cemetery was first established in 1814. There are 80 vacancies available in the tract, which opened in April.

The idea of a lesbian cemetery is the idea of Safia, a group that represents older lesbians, and the Sappho Women’s Housing Foundation, a lesbian-run organization that helps German women in their search for housing. The two organizations have taken the formerly abandoned area that was overgrown and asserted they will keep the area clean in trade for a rent-free, 30-year lease. German graves are not purchased as they are in America, but leased instead.

There soon may be another area of the cemetery marked for a specific group. A spokesman for the church, Volker Jastrzembski, said, “We are also in an ongoing discussion with Muslim groups to see whether they can have their own plots on our cemeteries.”