Europe - Scattering Ashes

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Is Germany starting to embrace modern ashes memorialisation?

The UK ashes memorialisation has flourished over the past few years. Now I think the reason it has flourished in the UK is threefold: Cremation has been the most common funeral for people for many years and people tend to be more developed in their thinking of how ashes can be used for memorialisation We […]

Scattering and Cremation Ashes Law in France

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What is the law in France concerning cremation ashes and scattering ashes? France is a progressive secular state, however when it comes to death it seems to be rather conservative in its outlook. Whilst just over half of the population (51%) assert being Christian (with Roman Catholicism being by far and away the most practised […]

Attitudes to ashes are changing in Germany

Germany, traditionally, has always been one of the strictest countries in Europe in relation to cremated remains. In most German states it is illegal to keep, bury or scatter ashes anywhere outside of cemetery, but attitudes are changing according to a recent survey. The survey of over 1000 people revealed that the vast majority of […]

Ashes contained inside a marital aid

I kid you not. Now where might a product such as this be produced, come on guess…. The Netherlands, which accordingly to the straweyist of straw-type polls I conducted was the bookies favourite. I love the Dutch. Not just because of their determination to bring all things back to sex, but in the unflinching way […]

Philip II of Macedonia cremated remains confirmed

Most of us have heard of Alexander the Great, well in case you weren’t aware his father was Philip II of Macedonia and scientists now believe they have discovered his cremated remains. The tomb that held them was found a while ago in 1977, but recent excavations revealed that there were were more burial […]

Bremen is the first state in Germany to allow the scattering of ashes

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Bremen, the smallest state in Germany, has voted to allow the scattering of ashes. To be honest I knew the name, but I was not aware where it was – and it is small, really small in fact it is two cities that are separated by the larger state of Lower Saxony. You might […]

Cremation in Norway – not what you would think

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A Nordic send-off conjures up images of iconic Viking pyres, right? Wrong, turns out they are not big fans of cremation There is something of odd here, the percentage of Danes and Swedes opting for cremation is circa 70%+, nothing surprising there comparable with many secular progressive democracies, but Norway figures range from 36% […]

Je suis coupable… of keeping ashes?!

Our Gallic cousins appear to have a different attitude to keeping ashes at home, well I say different attitude – it is actually illegal! In fact 72-year old widow has been convicted by a local court for keeping ashes of her deceased husband. She missed him and she wanted him near by, so last year […]

Why is so difficult to cremate someone in Greece?

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In 2006 the Greek parliament laid a law allowing cremation, yet to date no one has been cremated. Greece suffers a problem, like many countries, their urban cemeteries are overcrowded, it is not uncommon for a body to be exhumed moved after three year to make space for someone else. So one might think that […]

columbarium long barrow for ashes wiltshite

Long Barrow: Burial Chamber in Wiltshire

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A fantastic Long Barrow columbarium where ashes can be buried for ever. Do you like tradition? Do you like the ancient Britain? If so we have found the right place for you. A history expert has built the first Long Barrow in England for maybe over a thousand years. This Long Barrow* is situated in […]

Julius Caesar’s soul was carried to the heaven by an eagle

Julius Caesar arguably one off the most important figures in western history was assassinated on the Ides of March (15 March) 44 BC. When Caesar died, his body was taken to The Forum to be cremated, the crowd that witnessed this was much larger than had been expected causing mayhem, and his funeral pyre burnt slightly out of control causing […]

New cremation law to be introduced in the Republic of Cyprus

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The Republic of Cyprus (the southern bit) is looking to introduce some laws on cremation. Within these is all the sensible one might expect: stuff thou shalt remove all pacemakers along with all clothing or footwear containing rubber or PVC, earrings, bracelets, rings, glasses, and any foreign material which cannot be cremated. However, dental implants […]

The False Tsar who had his ashes shot out of a cannon!

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This is a great little story from northern europe from the early 17th century, during the Polish–Muscovite War (1605–1618) The incident is set in the conflict or series of conflicts that involved the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth taking an opportunistic swipe at the Russians when the Russian Tsardom was torn into a series of civil wars. As with many civil […]

What do these Greeks have in common…

People who commit suicide, untoothed children and persons struck by lightning? The answer: they were not allowed to be cremated. It would appear that in pre christian times cremation was the standard form of funeral and that as christianity took hold, a distinction between the old and the new must be established and previous practises were considered […]

Repatriation Abroad Ashes Cremated Remains Sending

Repatriation of ashes or sending ashes abroad

Sending ashes abroad or repatriating them can be a difficult problem, few couriers are willing to handle them, mainly due to the fact that they are beyond value to a loved one – so how could you put a price on that? The second issue is the paperwork – every country seems to have […]

Can you send cremation ashes in the post?

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Royal Mail Policy on sending Ashes in the post You cannot send the whole amount of cremated human remains / cremation ashes in the post. You can however send up to 50g of ashes. The Post Office prohibits the full amount being sent either: nationally via Royal Mail and Parcelforce and internationally through Parcelforce Worldwide UK, which includes mail […]

Some Dutch Authorities are ripping people off for scattering ashes

Firstly in the Netherlands you can’t just scatter ashes anywhere, they need to be scattered in a designated place, the trouble is that there appears to be huge disparity in the amount being charged for the privilege. This was reported in the Dutch News, which emanated from the consumer show Kassa (translated quite simply […]

Switzerland – scattering ashes in the river Ruess at Lucerne

I do like it when I can report another place to scatter and this is the first I have found in Switzerland, authorities in the city of Lucerne have announced that Hindu funeral rites will be officially permitted on the river Ruess. These ceremonies were previously unofficial, but after an environmental study gave the ‘thumbs […]

Overweight germans casing fires at crematorium

Cremation of very obese people causes environmental and safety concerns in Germany

The obesity debate has found its way to our door in an article from Germany. This isn’t easy reading so if your constitution is not up to it, choose another post. Basically there has been a number of cremation fires in Germany caused by the excess heat from the fuel created by those of […]

Burying cremation ashes at a War Graves owned by the War Grave Commission

Interment of remains in a designated war grave, owned by the Commission, is restricted only to the war casualty’s spouse, siblings or children. Once it has been established that the initial criteria has been met those that wish to arrange for the interment of the ashes, would have to apply to the War Graves […]

Nazi war criminal’s body exhumed, cremated and buried at sea to hamper memorialisation

Rudolf Hess the one time deputy to Adolf Hitler has had is body exhumed, cremated and his ashes scattered at sea. In Germany, the cemetery in the Bavarian town of Wunsiedel was becoming a centre of memorialisation for Hess and Nazism more widely. Fascists had held a yearly demonstration at the grave on the […]

Venice – the ideal destination to scatter your ashes?

Scattering ashes over water is symbolic whether over the sea or a river. And so many people have strong connection to enchanting city of Venice – so what better place than to scatter them than over the famous lagoon. Every year there are a huge number of requests for people to be scattered at the […]

A Jewish woman’s last wish: To have her cremated remains taken back to Treblinka

As stories of poignancy, heartache and resonance go, this one really stops you in your tracks. I would urge you to read the article it is likely to leave you thinking for quite some time. A lady who survived the death camp at Treblinka, while her parents and younger sibling died, has said she wishes to have her […]

Thank Kew – Scattering at Kew Gardens

Kew Gardens: permit ashes to be scattered. This can be arranged by emailing commemorative@kew.org or by calling Rebekah Spencer on 020 8332 3645. It can be done on any day, and while there is no specific notice period the earlier the better as only one scattering per day is permitted. At Kew ashes can be scattered […]

Scattering ashes database! record where you scattered

Here is something from the States – a scattering ashes database, they will be offering free searchable database allows you to record the name, date of death and the location of where the ashes of your loved one where scattered. The good news for us this side of the Pond is that you do […]

Dignitas dump ashes illegally – no irony there then!

The Swiss euthanasia clinic has caught dumping urns containing ashes of it clients at the bottom of lake Zurich. I find it hard to comprehend that a company whose principle reason for being – to give people a dignified exist, then dumps the cremated remains illegally – what is going on? Where is the […]