Fluntern Cemetery

Fluntern Cemetery stands in Zürich’s Zürichberg district, a quiet green space on the city’s eastern edge. The graveyard dates back to the 19th century and spreads across gentle slopes beneath tall trees. It is bordered by a low stone wall and iron railings that give it a calm, enclosed feel. Paths wind between flat graves and modest monuments, most marked with simple inscriptions. The layout is orderly, with sections divided by low hedges and gravel walks. A small chapel sits near the centre, its modest spire visible above the trees. The cemetery holds many figures whose work shaped science, art and literature. Nobel Prize winners Paul Karrer and Leopold Ružička rest here alongside the Irish novelist James Joyce. Swiss architect Karl Moser and biochemist Emil Abderhalden are also buried here. Feminist lawyer Anita Augspurg and actor Therese Giehse share the grounds with Swiss publisher Daniel Keel. The graves of Joyce’s wife Nora Barnacle and the writer Elias Canetti draw visitors interested in modernist literature. Visitors find a peaceful place for reflection among the graves. The oldest stones date from the 1870s, while newer markers blend into the landscape. The chapel’s stained-glass windows cast coloured light on the interior walls. A plaque marks the grave of Paul Scherrer, a physicist whose work shaped 20th-century research. The cemetery’s quiet paths invite slow walks, with benches placed where views open across the city. On clear days the Alps rise in the distance beyond the rooftops.