Sepulkralkultur der Familie von Behr in Kurland

Latvian. Rakstā aplūkotas Baltijas aristokrātijai raksturīgās memoriālās kultūras formas un tradīcijas. Piemēri no fon Bēru dzimtas īpašumos izveidotajām piemiņas vietām un memoriālajai kultūrai raksturīgajiem atribūtiem ļauj izprast apbedījumu izveidi baznīcās un atsevišķās kapličās, kā arī ar piemiņas saglabāšanu saistīto artefaktu novietni mājokļos un dievnamos.

English. During the 16th and the 17th centuries family von Behr - one of the wealthiest noble families in the former Dutchy of Courland, purchased their estates in the western part of Latvia and established ensembles of economy buildings, representative living houses and sacral buildings. Due to their special function - to be places of worship and services - churches as the most artificial buildings of estates were turned into family mausoleums and adapted for burials. Traditionally, a crypt was built under the altar for richly decorated sarcophagi and coffins. On the other hand, sculpted tomb stones, painted and carved epitaphs hanging in the most visible places enriched church interiors with memorial inscriptions, biblical pictures, portraits and allegories. The most exclusive sacral interiors like church of Edwahlen had been decorated with memorial banners, personal armor of Hermann Friedrich I von Behr and an epitaph of Juliane Elisabeth von Behr. A wooden epitaph with baroque style carvings devoted to the early passed son of priest Johannes Simonis on the north wall of the church of Ugahlen insists on memorial devotion in Latin. Following patterns of landscape gardening, during the end of the 18th and all the 19th century cultural landscape of Latvia has been enriched with intimate parks and alleys, mausoleums and burial chapels in various architectural forms.