When it became apparent in 1835 that the cemetery in the English Garden was becoming too small for the up-and-coming residential town, the town of Meiningen began to build a new cemetery in the east.
Originally laid out as a simple cemetery, the Meiningen court gardeners extensively redesigned the burial site in 1880 and it is now one of the most beautiful park cemeteries in Germany. Today, curved paths and avenues with an old stock of trees, numerous graves of famous personalities and monuments characterize the image of the park cemetery. Many members of the House of Saxe-Meiningen found their final resting place here, including the theatrical Duke Georg II, his wife Helene and his sons Friedrich and Ernst.
The graves of many artists such as the director Max Grube or the artistic director Ludwig Chronegk can also be found here. In addition, there are countless graves of wealthy families, entrepreneurs and bankers from the 19th century with elaborate sculptures and inscriptions. The park cemetery can be reached via the neo-Gothic entrance portal on Berliner Straße and many side entrances. In addition to the entrance portal, the cemetery also had a richly decorated neo-Gothic chapel and a crematorium until 1945. Both buildings were destroyed during the air raids on Meiningen. The crematorium was rebuilt in neoclassical style.