Description

There are probably two main reasons for the conversion of churches into a place of burial (columbarium): the church is preserved in its form and function for the community, and the growing demand for urn burial sites makes it possible to finance the conversion and maintenance of the building. The Kirche Heilige Familie in Osnabrück is a rare example in that it combines the burial place and place of worship in a single building.

The diocese also encouraged the congregation to incorporate a columbarium into its church to more closely interweave death as an elementary part of life within the parish and to embody the principle of resurrection. The architects achieved this by dividing the space into an inner circle for church use and an outer circle for the columbarium. The central church space has seating for 90 and is surrounded by a curved corridor with 842 urns. The inner area is financed as usual by the congregation, and the columbarium by renting the urn niches. The result is an aesthetically pleasing combination that meets present and future liturgical requirements and is also economically viable.

Jury statement: The special feature of the new Columbarium Church is that the necessary reduction in the size of the church service space has been combined quite naturally with its new use as a burial place.

Originally published in Bauwelt 36.2016, pp. 22-29, abridged and edited for Building Types online, translated by Julian Reisenberger

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