Some new features are coming to the Altona Cemetery, including its first columbarium.
A columbarium is a structure for the reverential and usually public storage of funerary urns holding cremated remains.
Altona is one of the few communities in southern Manitoba that doesn’t have one, says to Councillor Tammy Braun, who also serves on the town’s recreation and culture committee that’s been hard at work making improvements at the cemetery.
Braun says this project is something that has been close to her heart, as she has had a number of very dear people pass away in the last couple of years.
“In my process of making cremation and burial plans, I realized that the Altona Cemetery did not have a place to lay the ashes of our loved ones. We felt it was time for a columbarium to be placed in the Altona Cemetery. It was not a new idea; there has been a plan in place, but it just needed a little push.”
The solid granite columbarium will be situated in the new cemetery expansion. Standing at approximately seven feet high and 3.5 feet wide, it will contain 48 niches, each measuring 12”x12”x12”.
Placing the structure at the cemetery is just the beginning, Braun says. A courtyard will be added to the new section of the cemetery, designed with input from Erin Sawatzky, a local landscape architect.
The courtyard will feature trees, decorative grass, and provide a serene place for visitors to reflect on their loved ones.
“I think it’s important to sit somewhere quiet and think about your loved ones, just to sit and relax and enjoy your surroundings.”
The columbarium was slated to go up this or next week.
