Sandy, First understand that real estate is at a premium in Europe. Towns have little or no space between them. There are no "wide open spaces" like in America. Cemeteries are full, hemmed in, and cannot expand. The original burial plot lease is for a certain period (variously 10-30 years). Close relatives plant the plot with flowers and frequently visit and tend the garden. The lease can be renewed indefinitely and, as long as someone pays for a renewal, nothing changes. Perhaps there is some absolute maximum time, I'm not sure, but eventually the deceased becomes a distant memory of current survivors, the lease is allowed to expire, and the grave is cleared. There is not much left of the human remains at that point. A German told me that any remains become part of road pavement. I don't know if he was joking or not, but it seems reasonable after all that time. Norm ----- Original Message ----- From: Sandy Passman To: BAVARIA-L@rootsweb.com Sent: Friday, June 17, 2005 9:48 AM Subject: [BAVARIA] burials I have been reading the thread about burial sites being 'rented' for a time period with interest. But, I am not sure that I completely understand. How does that work? What happens to the original body? - is the first body buried deeply and then others buried on higher levels? or is the first body removed when the time is up? And, if so, what do they do with the remains? Thank you for clearing this up for me. Sandy USA __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com ==== BAVARIA Mailing List ==== Going on Vacation? Longer than 4 days? Go to http://lists.rootsweb.com/index/intl/DEU/BAVARIA.html to unsubscribe