Return to rural settlement of Yenice Köy
In the heart of Hamburg, Germany, a unique and poignant installation known as the "Cemetery of Good Ideas" serves as a powerful symbol of unrealized dreams and lost potentials. Although there is no official cemetery by that name, the concept resonates deeply with Hamburg's memorial culture, which is marked by sites that commemorate tragic losses and forgotten histories.
The city's memorial landscapes, such as the Neuengamme concentration camp and the Bullenhuser Damm School massacre sites, symbolize brutal interruptions of human potential and good intentions lost to horrific events during World War II and the Nazi era. The "buried good ideas" in the Cemetery of Good Ideas can be understood as the hopes, plans, and creative futures that were cut short by violence, oppression, and war.
Hamburg’s memorials, including the Neuengamme memorial complex, serve as powerful reminders of how good human potential was destroyed. The meticulous preservation and transformation of these sites into places of remembrance reflect a societal effort to confront the past and honor the lives and aspirations lost. The relocation of prisons from former concentration camp grounds and the establishment of exhibition spaces such as the House of Remembrance highlight a commitment to remember and learn from these lost stories.
The impact of these symbolic cemeteries or memorial sites in Hamburg is significant. They act as places of education and historical consciousness, ensuring that the memories of victims and their unrealized dreams remain part of public dialogue. They inspire reflection on the consequences of hate, violence, and authoritarianism, encouraging society to foster environments where good ideas and dreams can thrive rather than be buried. These memorials also contribute to Hamburg’s identity as a city that acknowledges difficult parts of its history through public memory.
The Cemetery of Good Ideas, created by artist Mark Wehrmann for the 2013 international garden show, is located in Wilhelmsburger Island Park. In this unique space, visitors' unrealized ideas are engraved on gravestones. Each gravestone bears an engraved idea, such as a television format about the world of aristocracy, a book about the morality of bankers, and covered bike paths for commuters. Approximately 20 gravestones are present, each with an engraved unrealized idea. Some gravestones may have been inscribed with ideas that were not appropriate and were removed.
One gravestone, with the inscription, "I go back to Yenice Village and build a house out of clay," suggests the comfort of returning to one's homeland. Another gravestone, missing its inscription, could symbolize the ideas, wishes, and dreams of those who were not asked or could not afford to visit the park.
The Cemetery of Good Ideas has captured the imagination of authors and journalists, including Olivier David, who has the idea of writing an essay in book form about good ideas that had to be buried on the Cemetery of Good Ideas. David, who has a diverse background that includes working in a supermarket, warehouse, as a waiter, and actor before becoming a journalist, sees the installation as a powerful reminder of the importance of nurturing and preserving good ideas, lest they become buried like seeds in a cemetery.
While the Cemetery of Good Ideas is a poignant reminder of unrealized dreams, it also serves as a beacon of hope, inspiring visitors to dream, create, and strive for a better future. As David puts it, "The Cemetery of Good Ideas is a testament to the human spirit's resilience and the power of ideas to transcend even the darkest of times."
The unique Cemetery of Good Ideas, located within Wilhelmsburger Island Park, serves as a home-and-garden tribute to unrealized dreams and lost potentials, much like Hamburg's memorial landscapes that commemorate tragic losses and forgotten histories. Visitors' ideas, engraved on gravestones, form a lifestyle reflection of the creative aspirations that remain buried due to various reasons.
