“The old cemetery in Freiburg is a site of university history too”
Freiburg, 30/01/2026
Valerie Möhle works at the Uniseum, the museum of the University. And she also volunteers to help out at the Alter Friedhof, Freiburg’s old cemetery which has been turned into a public park. There are many tales of the university involving the professors buried there.
Dr Valerie Möhle works at the Uniseum. She volunteers for the association of friends of the old cemetery. Photo: Klaus Polkowski / University of Freiburg
Worn, moss-covered gravestones, rusted crosses, painstakingly restored sculptures on graves: Valerie Möhle’s gaze wanders over the extensive grounds of the old cemetery in Freiburg. On this day in late autumn, the sunlight is dappled by the fine old trees, and colourful foliage adorns the paths. “The old cemetery is a site of university history too,” says Möhle. She holds a PhD in art history and works at the Uniseum, volunteering in her spare time with the Verein der Freunde des Alten Friedhofs, the association of friends of the old cemetery. There, she gives guided tours and helps to maintain the park.
The old cemetery is situated in the Neuburg district of Freiburg. For almost two centuries it was the central cemetery in Freiburg. In 1872 it was closed to new burials and converted into a site of natural and cultural importance in the heart of the city, which is open to visitors. “I love the old cemetery because of its individually distinctive monuments,” says Möhle, “whether you are interested in art history, or the inscriptions on the stones, or the lives of the people buried here, there’s just so much to discover.”
Guided tours through university history at the Alter Friedhof
Möhle has been volunteering at the old cemetery for five years and also offers guided tours there. The donations she receives for the tours help the association in its work to maintain the cemetery. “The friends’ association supports the city of Freiburg’s efforts to have monuments in the cemetery restored professionally,” says Möhle. She feels it is important also to include the history of the university in her guided tours. One of them in fact deals exclusively with the traces of the university in the old cemetery. “There are many university professors buried in the old cemetery, and their life stories make the history of the University of Freiburg tangible.”
The first protestant professor at the University allowed women to attend his lectures
One important point in the history of the university, for example, can be connected with an inconspicuous cross made of metal, the grave of Johann Georg Jacobi (1740-1814). Jacobi was the first protestant professor at the purely Catholic university, which then still belonged to Austria. He nevertheless gained in popularity in the city and the university rapidly, and in 1791 was elected the first protestant rector of the university. His lectures on literature were also open to women – more than 100 years before they were first allowed to matriculate to study.
Johann Georg Jacobi was the first Protestant professor at the University of Freiburg. Women were already allowed to attend his lectures in the 18th century. Photo: Klaus Polkowski / University of Freiburg
Thaddäus Rinderle was a mathematician and inventor. His interest in globes is also honoured on his gravestone. Photo: Klaus Polkowski / University of Freiburg
A gravestone illustrates the work of mathematician Thaddäus Rinderle
Only a few meters away is another grave with connections to the university. Above the inscription “Rinderle, Professor”, a butterfly adorns the heavy monument of red sandstone. “The butterfly is a symbol of resurrection and in art history terms represents a return to antiquity,” says Möhle. Thaddäus Rinderle (1748-1824) was a mathematician and inventor. He was particularly interested in the construction of clocks and globes. This can be seen in both the globe that sits atop the grave, and the inscription at its base: “Much he determined mathematically / with figure and letter / but the hour of death remains / more unknown than x.”
Georg Carl Staravasnig: Services to medical care of the city population
Even more lavish is the grave of the university professor and doctor Georg Carl Staravasnig (1748-1792), which shows him tending a patient. On a shelf above them is a row of books. “This depicts the transition of medicine from a more theoretical science to a subject that students were also taught practically through work at the sick bed,” says Möhle. “Staravasnig is known for these reforms at the university in the spirit of the Enlightenment as well as for his services to medical care of the city population.” The citizens of Freiburg honoured him at his funeral, which was accompanied by a massive procession.
Georg Carl Staravasning stands for university reforms in the field of medicine and for his services to the medical care of the urban population. Photo: Klaus Polkowski / University of Freiburg
Sharing ideas with the University
Besides tracing the past at the old cemetery, it is also important to Möhle to support the friends’ association by maintaining contact with the University and identifying shared research interests. “Many graves in the old cemetery are influenced by the enthusiasm for classicism. Last year, the archaeologists Prof. von den Hoff and Prof. Dickmann cast light on the historical influences on grave design for association members. And following a visit to the University’s archaeological collection we studied references to antiquity on monuments in the old cemetery – a fascinating view of the bigger picture.”
Möhle particularly wants to contextualise the old cemetery and make locals and university members aware of it as a key location for the history of the city and the university.
