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sl8

(13,584 posts)
Mon May 6, 2019, 10:11 AM May 2019

Grave with the hands



From https://nl.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graf_met_de_handjes

Grave with the hands
National monument on Road along the Graveyard opposite

The grave monument Van Gorkum-Van Aefferden , better known as grave with the hands , at the cemetery near the Chapel in 't Zand is a monumental double grave monument in the Dutch city of Roermond . [1]

Background

The cemetery 'Near the Chapel in' t Zand ', popularly called the' Oude Kerkhof ', was originally a Jewish cemetery. At the end of the 18th century it was expanded with burial space for other residents of Roermond. Architect Pierre Cuypers was responsible in 1858 for the renovation of the cemetery. Among other things, a Catholic and a reformed part were set up, separated by a wall.

Jacobus Warnerus Constantinus van Gorkum (1809-1880), originally from Amsterdam, was a cavalry colonel and a militia commissioner in Limburg. He married in 1842 the Roermond lady Josephina Carlina Petronella Hubertina van Aefferden (1820-1888), member of the Van Aefferden family . [2] Because of their background, it was a mixed marriage ; Van Gorkum was originally a Protestant, his wife was a Catholic. The age and position differences between the two also caused a stir at the time. [3]Van Gorkum was buried in the Protestant part of the cemetery after his death. His widow wanted to be buried with him, but as a Catholic he could not be buried in undiscovered soil. The solution was found in a double grave, on both sides of the wall, the gravestones joined by two hands that interlock over the wall.


Description

The grave monument is formed by two almost identical grave marks on either side of the wall. The gravestones, placed on a hard stone base, consist of a sandstone column with a gable roof-shaped seal that protrudes above the wall. The enclosure is crowned by a cross and shows in relief on its side the coat of arms of the Van Gorkum family, on its side an alliance weapon . Hands are placed on the back of both churches, a man's and a woman's hand, interlocking as a symbol of solidarity over death and religion.

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