berlin bones is the personal journey of discovery, exploring the life around Berlin’s cemeteries and beyond. The project initiator is Katya Romanova, co-founder of re:imagine your city, designer, and project manager. What began as a podcast has grown into a research project with lively podcast episodes, cemetery walks & talks, an exhibition, and a university research week — and there’s so much more to come.
PODCAST
berlin bones is a podcast with stories from Berlin cemeteries told from the perspectives of urban planning, sociology, culture, ecology and religion. Most episodes are in English and occasionally in German.
While belonging to the intangible cultural heritage, cemeteries in Berlin are undergoing big transformations: they become social gathering spaces, cultural venues, and even homes to cafes and beehives, as the traditional purpose of a burial place fades away. Modern cemeteries shed light on different, often quite sensitive topics such as death, public space, remembrance, heritage, urban planning and rituals.
In this podcast, we look for stories beyond spooky and tragic narratives. Each episode features conversations with experts and enthusiasts who share their insights about the cemetery culture in Berlin and beyond.
CEMETERY WALKS & TALKS
2024, ‘Deadly Matters’ Exhibition:
Katya Romanova formed part of the Deadly Matters exhibition in the summer 2024 — a reflection on life in the light of death — at the Georgien-Parochial Cemetery II in Berlin-Friedrichshain. She explored farewell rituals involving food and eating by opening a pop-up café called “berlin bones” and inviting guests to join her at a long table on the cemetery’s green meadow. Exhibition funded by Senatsverwaltung für Kultur und gesellschaftlichen Zusammenhalt. Read more here.
2024, Teaching Seminar (University of Potsdam):
In November, Katya Romanova organized a week-long seminar for the students of European Media Studies at the University of Potsdam together with Anna Zaglyadnova. The seminar invited the group to reimagine Berlin’s cemeteries as spaces for community building and socio-cultural engagement. We explored cemeteries, had honest conversations with many of my podcast guests and inspiring professionals: Susanne Jung from Funeral Ladies, Isikali Karayel from Markaz Muslimische & Internationale Bestattungen, Anna Marte from Nonna Cafe Olaf Bartenstein, director of the Georgien-Parochial-Friedhof II.
2024, Audiowalk on Urban Rituals (in collaboration with C*SPACE & CiLENS):
We co-curated the program “What Do We Believe in?” around the topics of urban mythology, traditional beliefs and personal rituals. On the Sunday of the Dead (Totensonntag) we head out to a cemetery in Weißensee for quiet personal reflection and circle exchange with tea. LISTEN TO THE AUDIOWALK. The event is part of the “2024 Mobile Teahouse: Creating New Urban Living Rooms across Asian Communities and Beyond” funded by the Sociocultural Fund with funds from the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media.
SUPPORT & FOLLOW
Since the project is self-funded, please consider supporting it with a symbolic donation! Every contribution motivates the creator to continue investing countless hours in researching, recording, and editing new episodes ♥
Ideas for collaborations and new topics? — Send a message at berlinbones.podcast@gmail.com.
For updates, follow the project on Instagram, LinkedIn and join the newsletter for episode releases and invitations to events:
