If you wish to have a family grave for the deceased, and there is no family grave, you have to reserve a new coffin or urn grave. Ashes can also be interred or scattered in a memorial grove without a marked burial plot. In this case, a memorial plaque can be placed on a shared memorial monument. The memorial plaques for the deceased whose ashes are in the columbarium of Kallio Church are placed on the wall of the church hall. When you pay for a grave, you will have it for 25 years. An additional fee is charged for opening and covering the grave. Price lists are available on the websites of Helsinki parishes. In some parts of the Helsinki cemeteries, the lawns of the graves are tended by the cemetery staff without a separate agreement. A basic maintenance fee will be charged for the entire period of the exclusive burial rights when a grave is reserved in one of these areas.

Graves for coffins

For the deceased resident in Helsinki, graves for coffins are available in the Malmi, Honkanummi and Östersundom cemeteries and in the nondenominational cemetery.

Graves for urns

The Malmi, Honkanummi, Maunula, Östersundom and nondenominational cemeteries provide graves for urns. The Kulosaari cemetery is reserved primarily for Evangelical Lutheran parish members living in Kulosaari. All the new graves there are for urns.

The Kallio Church columbarium is only for the members of the Helsinki parishes. New graves for urns sometimes become available in the Hietaniemi cemetery and are primarily for the residents of Helsinki.

Memorial groves and scattering areas It is not necessary to reserve a grave, but you can inter the ashes or urn in a memorial grove. In Hietaniemi, Honkanummi and Maunula, there are also separate areas where ashes can be scattered by the cemetery staff. Unlike in the interment of an urn or ashes, the family is not present in the scattering.

Apart from the anonymous memorial groves in Hietaniemi and in Maunula, memorial groves have a shared monument for memorial plaques. A memorial plaque is always optional.

Interment in a cemetery outside Helsinki

Residents of Helsinki can also be buried in cemeteries outside Helsinki. In such a case, contact the local parish office.

Interment outside a cemetery

According to the Funeral Act, ashes can also be buried or scattered outside a cemetery with the landowner’s permission. No monument is allowed on such a site, however. Permission to scatter the ashes at sea or on a lake must be obtained from the owner of the water area. The City of Helsinki has designated water areas west of Harmaja and northwest of Rysäkivi islands for the scattering of ashes.

War veterans

War veterans and their spouses who are residents of Helsinki are provided a grave for a coffin or urn for 25 years without charge. If a war veteran or his or her spouse is buried in a family grave, it is possible to obtain a free extension to the exclusive right of burial. A fee is charged for the interment. The Hietaniemi cemetery has an area designated for war veterans and their spouses resident in Helsinki. All the graves there are for urns.

Reserving a grave or extending the exclusive burial right is also free for veterans who served in minesweeping duties after the war and their spouses.