Do you like Stephen King’s “Pet Sematary”? Then an excursion to Stockholm’s pet cemetery (Djurkyrkogården) might be just the thing for you.
Since the 1870s, pets have been buried in a wooded area in the east of Stockholm. Here lie not only cats and dogs but also budgies, rabbits, tortoises, hamsters, guinea pigs and even a horse named Don Juan that appeared in Ingmar Bergman’s movie “The Seventh Seal”.
Even though the cemetery was shut down for decades, Stockholmers still continued to bury their pets here. Since 1993 burials have been officially permitted once again. However, the pets must be first cremated. Those who don’t want a fixed burial place can scatter the ashes in the Minneslund (memorial grove).
Directions:
From central station (Stockholms Central), take bus 69 towards Djurgårdsbrunn and get off at the stop Kaknäsvägen. From there, it’s about a 1 km walk to the cemetery. Near the bus stop, turn onto a road called Kaknäsvägen. After a while, you’ll pass some sport fields behind which you need to turn right into the woods. Continue until the cemetery appears on your right.
A visit to Stockholm’s pet cemetery can be combined with a cycling tour or walk through Djurgården, a vast forest and park area, on the edge of which is the cemetery.
Djurkyrkogården online:
Naturally, Stockholm’s pet cemetery also has its own website, though only in Swedish: djurkyrkogarden.se