It is not easy to take a look inside a crematorium. Because if you’ve been there, it was probably for a goodbye. Indebuurt took a look behind the scenes at the Haagse Duinen crematorium: “As soon as you drive onto the road, you imagine yourself in the rich history.”
Crematoria are not scary, weird or creepy at all. Especially not Crematorium Haagse Duinen, where there are regular open days and where you can ask and see everything. The next open day is April 10, 2022, but nearby was allowed to come earlier.
Green
Before we look inside: Haagse Duinen crematorium was founded in 1990 and is part of the Cooperative Funeral Association De Volharding (CUVO), a well-known name in The Hague and Zoetermeer since the 1930s. The crematorium is located at Wijndaelersingel 1, amidst greenery, close to the sea and right next to Westduin cemetery.
As soon as you drive onto the road to Haagse Duinen, you will find yourself in history. And you can see the style of the architect Hendrik Berlage everywhere: the oval pond and the walls were designed by him in 1939. But because of the war, the design was only carried out in 1950. When you enter the crematorium you walk over the monumental staircase of the architect. You used to come via these stairs to a parking lot, now you are standing in front of the door of the crematorium.
art
In 2017 there was a major renovation and the crematorium with auditorium was added. At that time, many wooden materials were chosen, which you can see throughout the building. It therefore exudes a kind of natural tranquility.
We first look in the basement, where the chests are stored, a place where you normally never come as a visitor. From the basement we are led upstairs where the farewell rooms are. It is a corridor with many doors that lead to the rooms where people can say goodbye to their loved one in peace. What we did not expect is the art that we see everywhere. On the walls are beautiful tableaux that were once purchased by CUVO. In one of the farewell rooms, for example, our eye falls on African mudflats.
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Sophisticated
Normally in the farewell rooms the eye of the guest will go to the deceased who is lying in state. But now that we’re walking through the building, we notice a lot more beautiful things. There is a work everywhere, there is a beautiful vase, it is all very refined.
When we enter the auditorium you see the wonderful view of nature, now you see a glimpse of the Westduin cemetery through the trees. If someone wants to be buried instead of cremated, we can walk from the auditorium to Westduin via a bridge (also from Berlage).
Want to take a look yourself?
While an open day Can you really look behind the scenes? You can, for example, view the oven space: employees of CUVO will then tell you exactly how something like this works. You can also see how the family of a relative is led inside and what a hearse looks like from the inside.
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