St. Gerold priory cemetery
The expansion of the cemetery in St. Gerold continues a pioneering project that was created in 1994 as one of the first contemporary cemeteries in rammed earth construction. Due to the growing need for space, the site was carefully extended and renovated at the same time in 2023.
In a participatory planning process – using the claystorming method developed by Martin Rauch and Anna Heringer – a spatial concept was created together with the parish, the provost’s office and the community that preserves and further develops the park-like character of the cemetery. New rammed earth walls create space for additional urn and earth graves. A common gravestone along the earthen wall combines individual remembrance with the idea of equality for all people. The site is complemented by a “Monument to the victims of violence” with the inscription “To every man his dignity”.
As with the original cemetery, the material was sourced from the immediate region. The rammed earth walls are made of eroded soil from the Grosses Walsertal and Walgau regions and give the complex its calm, timeless presence.
Father Nathanael, Provostry of St. Gerold
Martin Rauch
Lehm Ton Erde Baukunst GmbH
