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Varied Reminders
In Swiss Cemeteries

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he sign said "Israelite
Friedhof' with a Star of
David under it. The gate
was open, so I walked in
— and found myself in what
seemed at first to be a beautiful
park.
Tall trees of many varieties
lined the gravel pathways. Col-
ored flowers were in bloom.
Benches were thoughtfully
placed along the pathways.
From any spot there was a
panoramic and unobstructed
view of the hills of Zurich and
the city itself far below.
As for sounds, there were
only those of birds chirping, and
every 15 minutes, a clock
chimed the quarter hour, its
tones echoing in the stillness.
But there were also tomb-
stones — simple gray rectan-
gular stones, surrounded by
flowers, plants and trees — for
I had wandered into a Jewish
cemetery, one of the most scenic
I'd visited.
It was by chance that I dis-
covered it. My hotel, the Sher-
aton Atlantis, had a location
overlooking downtown Zurich.
It was a change for me to be en-
joying the city from this high
perspective, and I was taking
frequent walks along the wood-
ed paths near the hotel.
I had set out this time along
a path appropriately called
"Panoramic Way." I soon found
myself at the gate of the ceme-
tery. Although I'd visited
Zurich's distinctive main syna-
gogue downtown and its busy
Jewish Community Center and
kosher restaurant, I wasn't
aware that just a 10-minute
walk from my hotel was a Jew-
ish site that had its own special
interest and appeal.
"People often say, 'This is a
garden, not a cemetery!' " said
Elan Dahan, chief gardener for
the cemetery. Working with a

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The hilltop cemetery in Zurich.

staff of three, he takes care of
trees, grass, flowers, the plant-
ing and watering and all the
care that grounds as beautiful
as this require.
"Some people come here just
to rest and relax for a few hours
because it's such a peaceful and
beautiful place," said Mr. Da-
han. An Israeli who was trained
in agriculture and lived on a
kibbutz, Elan Dahan came to
Switzerland two years ago.
With his background and ex-
pertise, he can easily answer
questions about the plants and
flowers. He can identify the
many types of trees; in all, there
are over 50 types of trees on the
grounds.
Many visitors are interested
in the beauty and variety of the
flowers and trees; but others, of
course, have come to remember
the dead who are buried here.
Established 42 years ago, this
cemetery is one of three that the
Jewish community of Zurich
maintains. It is the largest in
all of Switzerland.
Open every day, the ceme-
tery gets a variety of visitors,
particularly right before Jew-
ish holy days. Often visitors ex-
press surprise and pleasure at
the beauty of the cemetery. "But
some people don't prefer the
flowers and trees; they think a
cemetery should only be the
earth," said Mr. Dahan.
The chief gardener finds sat-
isfaction in the beauty of the
place. It's also home to him: He
and his wife and two children
live right on the premises, near
the street entrance. "I like very
much my work," he said. "What
I do is try to keep the place
green and clean and beautiful."
Several days later, I visited
another Swiss cemetery which
also had a distinctive — but
very different — beauty. By
then I was in the town of Baden,
•
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