On Sunday 11 September 2016, Westerveld Cemetery & Crematorium will take part in the national Open Monuments Day. Dieren Crematorium will also be open on Saturday 10 September. You can enjoy a (monumental) walk in both memorial parks. Everybody is very welcome.
Monumental memorial park Westerveld
On 11 September, you can take a walk around the Westerveld monumental memorial park. This route is part of the North Holland Network of Walks. The route map is available at Petit Café Westerveld, which is open from 11.00 to 16.00 during the Open Monuments Day. The memorial park itself is open from 09.00 to 17.00. You would be most welcome to come to the Petit Café Westerveld for more information and a cup of coffee or tea with a tasty treat or for our special walking package. During the Open Monuments Day, you can also buy the book ‘Westerveld, een monumentale ontdekkingstocht’ for just € 12.50. If you buy something in the Petit Café, you will even be eligible to buy the book for the special price of € 9.50.
Nature and monuments at Dieren Crematorium
On Saturday and Sunday 10 and 11 September 2016, you can take a walk through the beautiful memorial park from 10.00 to 17.00. Dieren Crematorium was the second crematorium in the Netherlands (1954), making it a symbol for the history and development of cremation. With its unique location in a wooded setting, Dieren Crematorium really is an integral part of the locality. Aside from being a crematorium and wonderful piece of cultural heritage, the memorial park is also a fabulous place for walks, with peace and quiet and lots of nature and adorned as it is with so many monuments. Columbarium Erica is a monument in and of itself. The columbarium was awarded monumental status due to its exceptional architecture and the unusual design, which plays with symmetry and the way light falls.
Icons & symbols
The national theme of the Open Monuments Day is Icons & symbols – images or signs that have something special to tell us. Monuments can have an iconic value, as they are symbolic for our culture and closely related to our identity. The designs often use different symbols: a sign of the times, the religion or beliefs of the deceased.