Ash destination, keeping cremation ashes in a columbarium

Ash destination, keeping cremation ashes in an urn gallery, columbarium or urn wall / niche

Many crematoriums have a columbarium (also known as an urn gallery, urn wall or funeral wall). The columbarium is an urn wall with individual slots for each urn and family. The urn is placed in a cove forming a mini altar. This is a space of about 40 x 40 cm, however, this is different per cemetery. This is a space that can be accessed by relatives and interested parties in which the ashes are given a place to rest. There are different types of columbaria and every cemetery and each crematorium site has a columbarium in its own way. It may be that the wall has open coves in which you can place the ashes. Some niches can be closed with a stone slab where the name of the deceased can be engraved on. If it is the wish to keep the ash container in such a way, then it is wise to start looking at the place beforehand.

More and more crematoria make an inner columbarium. This is the same as an outdoor columbarium but then completely covered and heated. If one wants to spend some time with the deceased, an inner columbarium is preferable to an outdoor columbarium. An example of an urn wall can be seen in the picture on the right.