Luxburg-Carolath Cemetery: Difference between revisions

The Square Luxburg-Carolath Cemetery
The Square Luxburg-Carolath Cemetery
	Coats of Arms Cemetery The Square Luxburg-Carolath
Details
Established	1879
Location	Maracaibo
Country	Venezuela
Coordinates	10°38′48″N 71°37′12″W / 10.646667°N 71.62°W
Type	Private

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Revision as of 13:33, 4 May 2020

“The Square” Cemetery (Template:Lang-es) of the Grafen von Luxburg Fursten Zu Carolath-Beuthen und Prinzen von Schoenaich-Carolath family is an active, functional, privately owned cemetery operated by the family's charitable foundation.

The cemetery is located on Las Delicias avenue in the city of Maracaibo, Zulia State, Venezuela. It is one of the oldest operating historical cemeteries in the country.

Records of burials in the designated area date back to 1821. However, it was officially established on 12 November 1879. It is known by many names: "New Cemetery", "New Square", and "The Square".

History

Before the arrival of the Spaniards, different types of cemeteries existed in Zulia, including local Indian burials. After the arrival of the Spaniards and the growth of Maracaibo, Christian customs were adopted more, such as burying the deceased on land next to established churches. In 1698, the monarchy of Spain announced that the deceased were to be buried next to the parish churches. In 1827, Simón Bolívar changed the decree to state that the deceased were to be buried in lands designated for such purpose.

In 1821, the Maracaibo cemetery was established behind the San Juan de Dios Church and functioned until 1880. It is one of the three oldest colonial cemeteries of Maracaibo, which also includes the Cemetery of the Germans (1824) and the Cemetery of Saint Lucia (1881). These three cemeteries were frequently looted and in the early 1900s, the remains were transported to The Square cemetery.

While The Square was officially founded on 12 November 1879, it was privately funded by a few citizens. Hermes Romero designed its architecture. Initially, it was known as the "New Cemetery" because it was the newest burial ground in the city at the time. The residents of Maracaibo named it "The Square" and it was officially registered by the Troconis family in 1925.

A newspaper article written by journalist Paúl Ramírez Mora for Panorama mentioned that around 96,000 people were interred in the Luxburg-Carolath Square cemetery. It is made up of four cemeteries: the colonial cemetery, the English cemetery, the Saint Lucia cemetery and the Square Luxburg-Carolath itself.

The Square Luxburg-Carolath cemetery is influenced by European classicism. It is deemed a historical cemetery for its architecture and the number of notable people interred there.

In the last couple of years, some of the graves were desecrated by vandals and robbed. It was granted unique government protection status among cemeteries. A management plan and a safety plan was implemented to combat grave desecration and illicit sculpture trafficking. The Square has been recognized by the Institute of Cultural Heritage and declared to be of historical and cultural importance.

Administration

The Grafen von Luxburg Family Foundation, Fürsten zu Carolath-Beuthen und Prinzen von Schoenaich-Carolath is a civil, charitable and non-profit foundation founded by Karl von Luxburg on 14 June 1940. He is the owner and administrator of the Luxburg-Carolath Square cemetery since August 2019.

The foundation was established by Karl Luxburg Carolath. One of the first board of directors was Walli Paula Luise,a countess of Luxburg. She was the first woman to lead a charitable and cultural foundation in Latin America,^[1] Currently, the president of the foundation is Friedrich Ulrich Count Luxburg-Carolath. Their officers are in Maracaibo, Switzerland, Germany, and Poland.

Coat of Arms

The Coats of Arms of the Luxburg-Carolath family are the two official coats of arms of the cemetery since August 2019. The heraldic shield of the cemetery has elements from Venezuela, Zulia, and others. The new slogan of the cemetery is “Nuestros Muertos Viven” (English: "Our Decedents Live").

Reconstruction Project

The Luxburg-Carolath Foundation received the Cemetery as a donation in August 2019. The former owner insisted on adding the historical surnames of the German Venezuelan Switzerland dynasty Luxburg-Carolath to the name El Cuadrado, rendering the name “The Square Cemetery of the Grafen von Luxburg Fursten zu Carolath-Beuthen und Prinzen von Schoenaich-Carolath Family”, “The Square Luxburg-Carolath” for short. The cemetery was unmaintained and 95% of the graves were robbed. All columbaria were destroyed and looted. The Luxburg-Carolath Foundation cleaned up the cemetery and planned the recovery and reconstruction of the cemetery in cooperation with the Governorate of Zulia and the Mayor's Office of Maracaibo. The reconstruction project's aim is mainly to preserve the cemetery for future generations and build a Church inside the cemetery to revert to tradition. The church's name was decided to be Leopold IX (Leo IX) to acknowledge Saint Pope Leo IX of the Catholic Roman Church – who was a German and of German nobility. The project also covers the repair and construction of columbaria, addition of security, an entrance building, and the construction of retaining walls. The Foundation will contract external companies and experts on cemetery administration and construction to fully preserve old graves and the history of the cemetery.^{[needs update]}

Notable burials in The Square Luxburg-Carolath

References

^ Nagel von Jess, kurt (July 15, 2009). "Nuestra Primera Activista". Iconos Zulianos.

Tarre Murzi, Alfredo: Biografía de Maracaibo ((in English): Maracaibo Biography), Ed. Bodini S.A., Barcelona, Spain, 1986.
El Zulia Ilustrado, Facsimile reproduction, Ed. Belloso Foundation, Maracaibo, Venezuela, 1965.
Nava, Ciro: Centuria cultural del Zulia, Élite Editorial, Caracas, Venezuela, 1940.
Nagel Von Jess, Kurt:Algunas familias maracaiberas ((in English): Some Maracaibo families), University of Zulia Press, Maracaibo, Venezuela, 1989.
Ocando Yamarte, Gustavo: Historia del Zulia ((in English): The History of Zulia). Arte Editorial, Caracas, Venezuela, 1996.
Gómez Espinosa, Antonio: Historia fundamental del Zulia ((in English): Critical History of Zulia), Editor Jean Baissari, Maracaibo, Venezuela, 1984.
Plumacher, Eugene H.: Memorias ((in English): Memoirs). Ciudad Solar Editors, historic heritage of Zulia state, Maracaibo, Venezuela, 2003.

External links

Maracaibo travel guide from Wikivoyage

[1] Nagel von Jess, kurt (July 15, 2009). "Nuestra Primera Activista". Iconos Zulianos.

[1]

@@ Line 39: / Line 39: @@
 The Square Luxburg-Carolath cemetery is influenced by European classicism. It is deemed a historical cemetery for its architecture and the number of notable people interred there.
-In the last couple of years, some of the graves were desecrated by vandals and robbed.
+In the last couple of years, some of the graves were desecrated by vandals and robbed. It was granted unique government protection status among cemeteries. A management plan and a safety plan was implemented to combat grave desecration and illicit sculpture trafficking. ''The Square'' has been recognized by the Institute of Cultural Heritage and declared to be of historical and cultural importance.
 == Administration ==
@@ Line 49: / Line 49: @@
 The Coats of Arms of the Luxburg-Carolath family are the two official coats of arms of the cemetery since August 2019. The heraldic shield of the cemetery has elements from Venezuela, Zulia, and others. The new slogan of the cemetery is “{{Lang|es|Nuestros Muertos Viven}}” (English: "Our Decedents Live").
-== National, Regional and Municipal Historical and Cultural Heritage ==
-The Square Luxburg- Carolath Cemetery is a unique cultural place in Venezuela as people of all genealogical roots have been buried there and has been granted Unique Government protection status among cemeteries. A Management Plan and a Safety Plan were implemented to combat grave desecration and illicit sculpture trafficking. The Square Cemetery has been recognized by the Institute of Cultural Heritage and declared to be historical and cultural heritage of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela according to Administrative Providence No. 012/05 on June 30, 2005. The Grafen von Luxburg Family Foundation requested this status for better protection and recognition by the government and international organizations such as UNESCO.
 == Reconstruction Project ==