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Transformation of 19th and 20th century funeral rites as exemplified by the city of Cheb
KOLOUCHOVÁ, Jana
The dissertation deals with particular changes in funeral ceremonies in the late 19th and early 20th century. The analysis is focused on the West Bohemian city of Cheb and its population. Its primary sources are archival documents of Czech and German provenance in the form of minutes of City Council meetings and meetings of sanitary and cemetery commissions. The dissertation is also based on the study of cremation registers, local periodicals and tendentious press. The primary focus of the research was on Enlightenment regulations which were carried out during the period under review. Specifically, these included the relocation of cemeteries beyond the city limits, construction of a morgue, establishment of private burial institutions, and introduction of the profession of gravedigger. At the same time attention is paid to the procedures of the cremation movement, which was one of the most important interventions in the traditional form of funeral. A comparison is made between the Czech and German environments. Emphasis is also placed on the implementation of particular incineration facilities, namely the unrealized construction of one at the Cheb cemetery, and the ones in Plauen in Saxony, Selb in Bavaria, and Karlovy Vary-Rybáře in the Czech Republic. The research of crematoriums leads to the analysis of Cheb residents who chose cremation as a means of disposing of their remains. A key topic is the gradual extension of the optional funeral by cremation across the social spectrum.
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