Grave of Caroline Walter – Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany - Atlas Obscura

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Grave of Caroline Walter

Michaelskapelle, Alter Friedhof

Flowers have mysteriously appeared on her effigy every day for the last 150 years. 

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In 1867, when she was just 17, Caroline Christine Walter died from tuberculosis. Devastated, her sister Selma commissioned a sculptor to carve an eerily beautiful memorial to remember her by.

The grave shows Walter as if she had just fallen asleep while reading. In the open book, visitors can read “It is certain in God’s wisdom that from our dearest loved one we must part.”

The grave itself is rather ordinary, as it isn’t unusual for a family member to create an ornate memorial to a lost loved one. However, what’s unusual is the fact that fresh flowers have inexplicably appeared on the grave every day since Walter died.

Walter has been dead for more than 150 years, and her sister and all the people that knew her in life have long since died as well. Still, each day, rain or shine, even on holidays, there are fresh new flowers carefully tucked beneath the statue’s arm.  

Know Before You Go

The location the grave is along the outer walls of the cemetery that border Stadtstraße, near the church.

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