Sweden embarks on a search for more cemetery space in case of war

The preparedness guidelines have been put in a new light by Sweden's decision to join NATO and tensions with Russia in the Baltic Sea region.

Burial associations in Sweden are looking to acquire enough land for something they hope they’ll never have to do: bury thousands of people in the event of war.

The search follows recommendations from the Church of Sweden’s national secretariat, which reflect crisis preparedness guidelines from the Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency (MSB) and the Swedish Armed Forces.

The preparedness guidelines have been put in a new light by Sweden’s decision to join NATO and tensions with Russia in the Baltic Sea region.

According to the Church of Sweden provisions, supported by legal paragraphs in Sweden’s Burial Act, burial associations are responsible for ensuring the availability of enough land to bury roughly five per cent of the population within a parish, if needed.

The Goteborg Burial Association, which operates in Sweden’s second-largest city, is currently trying to navigate the challenge of acquiring at least 40,470 square metres of land to ensure it can handle urgent casket burials for some 30,000 dead in case of war. That is in addition to another 60,700 square metres of land needed for building graveyards for regular use in Goteborg.

“The (recommendations) mean that we need more land for burial grounds and this is a phenomenon in the big cities, and a problem in the big cities, where land resources are scarce to begin with and not always sufficient to meet burial ground needs even in times of calm and peace,” said Katarina Evenseth, senior advisor at the Goteborg Burial Association.

Together with the local municipality, which has a monopoly in making decisions about land usage in Goteborg, the burial association has identified a vast area appropriate for building a large-scale cemetery for the intended purpose.

But a lengthy approval and building process means it could take approximately 10 years to complete, posing further challenges in uncertain times.