Nature is the central focus
There are no graves in sight — a sign that nature is the central focus, not the graves. These are mainly located in the depths of the woodland. In contrast to other cemeteries of the time, the graves are quite small. No grave was to be larger than any other, to show that in death all people are equal.
The Wildlife
Many animals are found at the cemetery. Hares, squirrels and foxes live here. Sometimes roe deer cause problems when they eat the plants. At the cemetery there are beehives too. The lily pond is home to the only population of great crested newts in southern Stockholm. Birdwatchers can see nesting northern goshawks, ravens and hawfinches.
Various endangered species are found here such as red ring rot and the “reliktbock”. Red ring rot is a fungus found almost exclusively on very old pine trees. The reliktbock is a small beetle that also thrives on old pines.
The pines
Among the graves are almost 10,000 pines. Some of these are over 200 years old, but numbers are declining due to various tree diseases and grave digging. To ensure growth, saplings are planted that have been grown from cone seeds from the finest pines. Until the young trees reach their full height the treescape will be multi-layered, a contrast to the pillared hall we see today.
