The New Crematorium

The New Crematorium is located a bit secluded in the forest. It is a building with a lot of technical equipment.

Photo: Ioana Marinescu.

The brick-clad building was inaugurated in 2014. The building is designed to allow relatives who wish to participate in the actual cremation.

The purified smoke gases from the ovens are led underground all the way to the Woodland Crematorium’s old chimneys where they are are released.

The old crematorium became obsolete

When Skogskyrkogården’s original crematorium from 1940 became too impractical and worn out, the city decided to build a new one. A competition was held in 2009, and the proposal “A stone in the forest” won. The architects were Johan Celsing and Müller Illien Landschaftarchitekten.

Photo: Ioana Marinescu.

Explore the crematorium online

For safety reasons, it is not allowed to enter the crematorium. However, you can see inside the crematorium with panoramic photography on Google Street View.

Cremation

Cremation means to burn the deceased. It is done in special furnaces and takes about two hours. The ashes can then be placed in an urn or a nice bag. The ashes can be buried in a grave, in an ash grave site, or on the ground in a memorial grove.

Since the 1880s, cremation has been allowed in Sweden. It was not very common at first. Many thought it was strange and unpleasant. During the 1900s, it became more common. Today, approximately 80 per cent of the deceased are cremated in Sweden. It is more common in cities than in rural areas.

Updated