The Garden of Women in Ohlsdorf Cemetery, Hamburg
A cemetery is always taboo for Taiwanese people like me. The houses near it, if they ever exist, are always going begging. Except for visiting someone you know, usually, no one would even pass by the creepy field. The cemeteries in Europe are less scary to me, though. Probably it is because they are more like parks in my eyes. By this, I mean that one can always see people take a walk inside cemeteries. And this would be hardly imaginable in Taiwan (or even in the whole of East Asia). So, I guess, to some extent, I use the cultural barrier to overcome or ignore my fear.
The Garden of Women is a slightly different case. It resides in Ohlsdorf Cemetery — one of the biggest in the world. It is dedicated to the women who were crucial in the history of the city. Some of the women didn’t have a happy life forever and ever. But this memorial site has tried its best to celebrate the lives of these past residents. It is the main reason that I did not find this place frightening. (And, of course, there are some stories which are too sad to be celebrated.)
For instance, the photo below shows the corner of Lavinia Schulz, a German dancer/actress who also designed masks and costumes for herself. So here, they put two pieces of decoration derived from her works.
