Star garden
No event hits parents harder or more unexpectedly than losing a child before it's even born.
Mothers and fathers who were planning a "new" life are left behind and are now forced to say goodbye unexpectedly and painfully.
To offer these parents at least a little support, the Star Garden has been in existence at Mainz Main Cemetery for 20 years now.
A garden of stars, ...
... where tears, grief, anger, and other emotions have a place.
... where memories are close at hand and my gaze can turn toward the future.
... where I feel that I am not alone.
Twice a year, a joint burial ceremony for the children takes
place in this very special burial ground. Star-shaped nameplates can be attached to a communal gravestone.
As a sign of remembrance, but also as a memento if the bereavement is not connected with a current burial.
Parents and relatives are invited to organize the funeral service for the children together with pastors from the Protestant and Catholic churches.
Following the funeral service and burial, there will be an opportunity to meet, exchange thoughts, and offer comfort, accompanied by the association Trauernde Eltern & Kinder Rhein-Main e. V. (Grieving Parents & Children Rhine-Main).
In addition, other institutions are also involved in the Sternengarten.
The members of the cemetery association have covered the costs of landscaping and the construction of the tomb.
The site was provided and designed by the Mainz municipal utility company.
And the urns and coffins required for the respective burials are donated by the Mainz funeral home "Rech." (opens in a new tab)" (opens in a new tab)
"Stars That Never Fade"
The term “Star Garden” is inspired by a passage from the children’s book
*The Little Prince* by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, which reads:
“When you look up at the sky at night, it will seem to you
as if all the stars were laughing, because I live on one of them,
because I’m laughing on one of them.
You alone will have stars that can laugh.” And he laughed again.
“And when you’ve found comfort (one always finds comfort),
you’ll be glad to have known me.
You’ll be my friend. You’ll want to laugh with me...”
Star garden
Children's communal grave site "Sternengarten"
Free joint urn or earth burial for children who died before they could be born and are not subject to burial requirements. Burials take place twice a year, usually on the first Thursday in March and September at 2:30 p.m.
The next burial will take place on March 5, 2026, at 2:30 p.m. Parents are invited to organize the funeral service for their children with the pastoral care team at Mainz hospitals.
Contact person
Location: Mainz Main Cemetery, Untere Zahlbacher Straße
Contact
...... Hospital Chaplaincy of Mainz Hospitals
Phone: (06131) 1772-19 or -20 or (06131) 57 50
Email: evang.klinikpfarramt.mainzunimedizin-mainzde
kath.klinikpfarramtseelsorge.unimedizin-mainzde
... Grieving Parents & Children Rhine-Main, Inc.
Phone: (06131) 61 72 658
Email: kontakteltern-kinder-trauerde
... Wirtschaftsbetrieb Mainz
Cemetery Administration
Phone: (0 61 31) 97 15 0
Email: wirtschaftsbetrieb.mainzstadt.mainzde
... Hospital Chaplaincy of the GPR Clinic in Rüsselsheim
Phone: (06142) 88 12 72 or 88 19 00