Origins and development
The cemetery opened on 18 September 1844 as Heidelberg’s first municipally managed burial ground. Johann Metzger’s design followed the hillside. Extensions continued until the present extent was reached in 1952; the crematorium dates from 1891.
Origins: 18 September 1844. The cemetery is in Südstadt, on the slope above Rohrbacher Straße, at Rohrbacher Straße 115, 69126 Heidelberg. Its area is approximately 15 hectares.
Design and present-day character
A terraced hillside cemetery with steep paths, steps and important funerary monuments. Entrances on Rohrbacher Straße and Steigerweg serve different levels.
Read this character description together with the development of Heidelberg Bergfriedhof: it identifies what gives the grounds their present identity without turning the cemetery into a purely historical attraction. A visit can focus on spatial structure and named orientation points while leaving individual graves undisturbed.
Distinctive features on the grounds
The crematorium was built in 1891.
Paths serve hillside terraces; upper areas include stairs and steep stretches.
The separate Jewish cemetery must be distinguished from the municipal Bergfriedhof.
Connect the account with the grounds
The cemetery map contains 53 named places for Heidelberg Bergfriedhof. Among them are Cemetery entrance, Bergfriedhof chapel, Auswahl bedeutender Grabanlagen. Use these names to relate the historical account to locations visible during a visit, without assuming that every historical feature has its own marker.
Continue the visit
The cemetery tour turns selected named points at Heidelberg Bergfriedhof into a practical visit outline. For access questions or information tied to present cemetery operations, contact City of Heidelberg – Landscape and Forestry Office, Cemeteries Service rather than drawing operational conclusions from the historical account.