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This subject is discussed frequently on such mailing lists and forums as the RootsWeb Norway List -- I checked in recent archives for that list and found this posting -
begin quote -------
Subject: Re: cemeteries
Date: Sun, 13 Nov 2005 10:57:09 +0100
References: <003101c5e6b6$11516330$976ca43f@computer>
> I have been wondering if cemeteries were by church, town or community in
> the
> 1870's or if people were simply buried on the farm where they lived.
Burials in Norway have always (for many hundred years at least) taken place
in the local cemeteries. They are usually close by the parish churches,
often the church is surrounded by a cemetery. These graveyards are
consecrated places and are the only legal burial places - in our days just
as they were 150 years ago and long before that. You will not find that
people were buried on farms or anywhere else for that matter. That would
have been not only a legal offence but also against everyone's religious and
moral views. (In recent years a handful of applications have been granted
for people to be buried in other places, though. Most of these are people
whose ashes have been spread in nature - in the mountains or at sea.)
> could hardly contain her excitement as she told me about it. She was most
> impressed by the way the cemeteries were kept. She said all the graves
> had
> fresh flowers and the surrounding grounds were carefully manicured.
Of course. Are not cemeteries in other countries kept like this?
There are different arrangements for keeping the graves nice. In many places
the family can pay a sum of money to a "grave fund" that is administered by
the church. Then the cemetery workers take care of the maintenance, usually
in cooperation with a gardener who provides flowers. In other places the
family members do this on their own, usually cooperating, sometimes feuding.
(Humans are humans.) The graveyard itself (the lawns, bushes, paths, etc)
is maintained by the church as part of their routines.
> My family was from the Sparbu
> area and were farms. Is it likely that if I am ever fortunate enough to
> visit the homeland that I could actually find and visit the cemetery where
> he is buried?
Yes, it is most likely. If you know where a person lived, you can find out
which parish he belonged to and where he was buried. (In the countryside, at
least. I know too little about cities to speak for them.) It is all in the
church records. However, it is not likely that you will find old graves. As
time passes and the closest family perish, there is nobody to take care of
the grave anymore, and it will be wiped out and re-used. In the laws it says
that a grave can be used again after 20 years, but in real life it usually
takes a lot longer than that. Old gravestones then are removed, and as for
everyone's worries about what is done to the remains of the body, there is
usually nothing left to do anything about, as nature has done its job. (Mind
you, there is no embalming over here.) In the cemetery that I know best,
there are a couple of grave markers from the 1700s plus a few more from the
1800s. They are memorials of clergy and other prominent people, not of
ordinary farmes and fishermen, and now they are kept for their historical
value.
Hope this helps you!
----------- end quote
You can review more of the archives for that very active mailing list through these links -
http://lists.rootsweb.com/index/intl/NOR/NORWAY.html
http://www.rootsweb.com/~norway/NorwayList.htm
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