With 240 cemeteries, Berlin tops the list of European cities with the most burial grounds. One of these, the Invalids’ Cemetery, belongs to the oldest cemeteries in Berlin. Established 263 years ago in 1748, it counts as one of Berlin’s most exceptional cemeteries owing to the recently excavated Baroque sarcophagi which date back to the last third of the 18th century. The cemetery is not only renowned for its military historical importance but also for its diverse and varied history.
It commands a major civil, urban and art historical significance while also depicting an extensive and eclectic portrayal of Prussian-German and Berlin history. It is a place where numerous persons are interred who were crucial in influencing the cultural and intellectual climate in Germany and Prussia respectively and Berlin in the 19th and 20th centuries.
The cemetery documents the history of Prussian (and Germany) between 1748 and 1945. However, its key importance was and still is as a place of remembrance of the Wars of Liberation 1813 -1815.