Cemeteries in Tampere

There are 6 Lutheran cemeteries  in Tampere.

The old stone church in Aitolahti was designed by Birger Federley. The church was completed in 1928. The cemetery situated by the old stone church was consecrated in 1924. The cemetery extension was completed in the autumn of 2003.

Kalevankangas cemetery was founded in 1880. It is 17 hectares in size. Nowadays new burial plots in Kalevankangas cemetery are available only for urns.

There are four memorial groves in the cemetery: the old memorial grove, the new memorial grove in the northern urn area, a memorial grove for war veterans and their spouses and a memorial grove for children called Hietakehto. There is also a place of remembrance for those loved ones who are buried elsewhere. This place is located in the immediate vicinity of the chapel.

Walking tours of Kalevankangas cemetery are arranged in the summertime. During these tours the participants get the opportunity to hear about the history of the cemetery and about the deceased who are buried there.

The chapel

The chapel of the cemetery was designed by the architectural firm Palmqvist & Sjöström. The chapel was dedicated in 1912. The crematorium adjacent to the chapel was completed in 1967.

The new, small chapel, designed by the architectural firm Antero Sirviö, was completed in 1984.

The main gate, designed by Bertel Strömmer, was built in 1937.

Sitemap

On the sitemap you can find the locations of the burial sites of prominent persons from Tampere and the memorials of the cemetery. The sitemap is in Finnish.

Tree map

The trees in cemeteries have many functions and meanings. Trees give exterior spaces structure, guide you and make the surroundings more pleasant. They act as landmarks, by help of which it is easy to find your way around a cemetery. The tree map made of Kalevankangas helps you get familiar with the trees of the cemetery. There are 32 trees species growing in the area and 15 of them are domestic leaf trees. There are over 1,500 trees in the cemetery. The map is in Finnish.

Descriptions of the marks on the tree map

• Leaf tree
• Oak tree lane
• Downy birch lane
• Siberian fir lane
• Coniferous tree
• Cultivated tree species

Notable memorials

• The memorial in the area for the graves of soldiers killed in action “Kiviristi” (“Stone cross”), designed by architect Viljo Rewell and sculptor Arvi Tynys
• The memorial to the victims of the disastrous fire of the cinema Imatra, designed by architect Veikko Kallio, 1928
• The memorial to the deceased Whites of the 1918 Finnish civil war, designed by sculptor Evert Porila, 1921
• The memorial to the deceased Reds of the 1918 Finnish civil war, designed by Jussi Hietanen, 1941
• The memorial to the deceased left in Karelia, 1955
• The memorial to the victims of the sinking of SS Kuru, designed by Kirsti Liimatainen, 1930

The cemetery in Vatiala has a standard cemetery and a forest cemetery. Vatiala funeral chapel was completed in 1960 and the large and the small chapel are located in the same building. The chapel building was designed by Viljo Rewell and the furniture for the chapel was designed by interior designer Olli Borg. The layout for the cemetery was designed by Veikko Rauhala.

The cemetery is 25 hectares in size and the forest cemetery is 1.5 hectares in size. The coffin and urn burial plots are available in the old and new areas but not in the forest cemetery. There is also a memorial grove and a place of remembrance for those buried elsewhere. The non-denominational area is in close proximity to the cemetery.

The cemetery was consecrated in October 1939. It was designed by architects Kai Blomstedt and Bertel Strömmer. The cemetery extension was designed by architectural firm Laiho, Pulkkinen & Raunio. The cemetery is 27.5 hectares in size. Both coffin and urn burial plots are available.

Lamminpää cemetery chapel was built in 1990. The large chapel and the small chapel are located in the same building. Design by architectural firm Laiho, Pulkkinen & Raunio. There is also a crematorium adjacent to the chapel.

The old chapel Rauhanportti at Lamminpää cemetery was designed by Bertel Strömmer. It was dedicated in December 1947. The cemetery also has a memorial grove and an area for the graves of soldiers killed in action. The memorial to the soldiers was designed by Bertel Strömmer in 1947.

Two of the three cemeteries in Messukylä are still in use. The deceased were laid to rest in the churchyard of the old church till year 1860. The middle cemetery was in use from 1861 to 1927 and was brought back into use in 1994.

Only urn burial plots are available at this cemetery but it is still possible to use the old burial plots for coffin burials. A memorial grove is located in the middle cemetery.

The cemetery by the Messukylä church has been in use since 1891. Both coffin and urn burial plots are available in this cemetery. The middle cemetery was founded in 1861 and the cemetery by the church was founded in 1891.

The middle cemetery is about 0.7 hectares in size, the cemetery by the church is about two hectares in size and the new urn cemetery is about two hectares in size. The urn cemetery in Messukylä was consecrated on September 24^th, 2006 and the first burials took place there in January 2007. In the urn cemetery, in addition to traditional urn burial plots, there is also a columbarium (a crypt for storing cinerary urns), a memorial grove and an area where to scatter the ashes on the ground. There is a non-denominational burial area next to said area.

The cemetery in Teisko is the oldest one in Tampere. It was brought into use in 1787. It is located by the Teisko church, about 35 kilometres north of Tampere city centre. The church was completed in 1788 and the church steeple was completed ten years later. They were both designed by Matti Åkerblom. The cemetery is 1.7 hectares in size.

Memorials

• Memorial to the soldiers killed in action, 1951
• Memorials to the Whites and the Reds who died in the 1918 Finnish civil war.
• Memorial to the deceased left behind in Karelia, 1956

The cemetery in Vatiala has a standard cemetery and a forest cemetery. Vatiala funeral chapel was completed in 1960 and the large and the small chapel are located in the same building. The chapel building was designed by Viljo Rewell and the furniture for the chapel was designed by interior designer Olli Borg. The layout for the cemetery was designed by Veikko Rauhala.

The cemetery is 25 hectares in size and the forest cemetery is 1.5 hectares in size. The coffin and urn burial plots are available in the old and new areas but not in the forest cemetery. There is also a memorial grove and a place of remembrance for those buried elsewhere. The non-denominational area is in close proximity to the cemetery.