No one has been buried for eleven years and the main gate of the cemetery is locked with a thick chain lock. The cemetery from 1888, in the middle of Bavel, is in ruins and urgently needs to be tackled. At least that is what a group of Bavelnaren thinks, who want to prevent the cemetery from being cleared and filled with houses in a few years.
The municipality of Breda is the owner and is allowed to clear the cemetery in 2031 – then it will be twenty years after the last burial. As building land, in the middle of Bavel, this can generate good money for the municipal treasury.
“We have no signals yet that the municipality of Breda is planning to do so, but the concern is there,” says chairman Jac van Gils of the Kerkhof Bavel Foundation.
“This should be open, a place where people can light a candle and sit down.”
The foundation is raising money to refurbish the cemetery. “We want to keep the cemetery, give it a nicer place for the village. As a resting place with attention for the relatives”, he explains.
Abroad – such as in France and Belgium – it is very common for old cemeteries to be open to the public as a quiet place, where people can sit on a bench. “That should also be possible here,” says secretary Hans van der Zanden.
“This must be open, a place where people can light a candle and sit down for a while. A point of rest in an otherwise hectic world.”
According to Van der Zanden, the old cemetery shows the connections between the families who lived in Bavel and who often still live. “Because here lies the history of Bavel, in other words the ancestors of many people who now live in Bavel.”
Jac van Gils’ hands are itching to make the cemetery with 550 graves beautiful again. “There is a lot of work to be done and we do that as much as possible together with the relatives. But money is also needed. Last Christmas we received a nice amount of 1500 euros from Stichting Kerst in Bavel. And we can do a lot with that. to do.”
For next Christmas, the Bavel Cemetery Foundation to a lottery. “The motivation in the village is huge. What we want to do affects many residents and they think it’s fantastic that the main gate will open again soon. This way they can pay tribute to their relatives again,” says Van Gils proudly.