The Stahnsdorf southwest cemetery was opened in 1909. Here, the horticulturist Louis Meyer succeeded in creating a dignified combination of horticultural and cemetery architecture. In addition to San Michele “Island of the dead” in Venice and the Vienna Central Cemetery, Stahnsdorf is one of the largest grave complexes in Europe. There are 120,000 graves on the extensive site, including those of many prominent figures, such as the industrialist Werner von Siemens, the artist Heinrich Zille or the director Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau. The mourning chapel in the style of a Norwegian stave church as well as the unique gravestone art by famous architects. The facility had their own train connection with a special cemetary station. In it's early days, even the corpses were transported with trains.

Located outside the city borders of Berlin, it lost their main "customer base" due to the Berlin Wall. The small villages around didn't need a huge graveyard like this, so big parts of the ground were abandoned, lots of tombstones, old wells and architecture were overgrown by nature. Lichen, moss and ivy covered the stones, trees and bushes spreading everywhere between the old paths.

With the opening of the wall the times changed again. The now jungle-like ground became an attraction for photographers and gothic fans alike. Some parts of the cemetary are in use again, but even today, the place feels like a forgotten place.