The Metropolis

Are cemeteries the new urban playgrounds?

Mike Pollitt | Tuesday 31 May, 2011 15:17

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“Neon-clad runners, their ears stuffed with iPod earphones, sometimes appear, puffing and panting, in front of a solemn funeral procession.”

Der Spiegel reports that Munich’s cemeteries are being overrun by joggers, sunbathers and children’s parties. Anyone who’s been to Abney Park in Stoke Newington recently will recognise the trend. Ethical dilemma of the day: How recent does a grave have to be before an evocative journey into the past becomes disrespectful trampling on the memory of the dead? My answer: about 75 years.

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