Origins and development
The site was associated with the Melaten leprosy hospital. Following the Napoleonic burial decree of 1804, the cemetery was laid out and consecrated in 1810.
Origins: Consecrated on 29 June 1810. The cemetery is in Lindenthal, at Aachener Straße 204, 50931 Köln. Its area is approximately 43.5 hectares.
Design and present-day character
A large historic park cemetery with mature avenues, significant funerary art and the former leprosy chapel of St Mary Magdalene and Lazarus.
Read this character description together with the development of Melaten Cemetery: 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.
Connect the account with the grounds
The cemetery map contains 51 named places for Melaten Cemetery. Among them are Entrance, St Mary Magdalene and Lazarus, Site map. 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 Melaten Cemetery into a practical visit outline. For access questions or information tied to present cemetery operations, contact City of Cologne, Office for Landscape Management and Green Spaces rather than drawing operational conclusions from the historical account.