Wundschuh Forest Cemetery

When your husband rests under a red oak tree

Only biodegradable urns are used in burial forests.(Bild: Christian Jauschowetz)

Monika Streitschwerdt received one of the first burial plots for her husband at the newly opened Wundschuher See forest cemetery. This new form of farewell is becoming increasingly popular in Styria. And most people make their decision while they are still alive.

There is a small natural paradise right next to Lake Wundschuher See: Nesting boxes on the trees, large mounds of earth as a habitat for stag beetles and golden foliage everywhere. And then, in the middle of the forest, there is a red oak tree tens of meters high. "This is where my husband lies," says Monika Streitschwerdt. Why did she choose this tree? "Because it stands there as mighty and proud as my husband was," says the 70-year-old.