Old Cemetery Park

Hämeenlinna’s most mysterious park is the Old Cemetery Park, a remnant of a cemetery established in the 1770s.

The Old Cemetery was established in its current location after the completion of Hämeenlinna Church in 1798. The cemetery was placed quite far from the church, outside the town, due to the risk of epidemics.

Several notable figures who influenced Hämeenlinna in the 18th and 19th centuries are buried in the Old Cemetery, including the father of master composer Jean Sibelius, city physician Christian Sibelius (1821-1868).

The park features several monuments, the most impressive of which are the Nordenswan family burial chapel, the monument and walled family tomb of Governor Otto von Rehbinder (1797-1873), and a massive monument erected in memory of German soldiers who fell in 1918.

In 1872, a new cemetery was established in Ahvenisto, leading to the cessation of burials in the old cemetery, which was eventually converted into a park. The park is a protected ancient monument area, offering an interesting and thought-provoking walk into the past.