The Cemetery Dieweg was constructed after a cholera epidemic ravaged Belgium in 1866. As the population grew and other cemeteries closed, Dieweg became overcrowded and the cemetery was abandoned in 1958.
A few decades later during the 1980s, the cemetery fell into a state of decay. Its maintenance was then limited to the pathways, which left the upkeep of the graves to the families. Ever since, nature has reclaimed many of the tombs, as they are covered in ivy and weeds. This creates a unique atmosphere and makes the cemetery one of the more unusual places in Brussels.
Although the cemetery isn’t functional anymore, a few exceptions have been made. For example, the famous cartoonist Hergé, from The Adventures of Tintin, was buried here. Every so often, a burial takes place in the cemetery.
Recently, plans have been made to maintain certain important gravestones. After all, architectural styles with funerary art dating from the late 19th-century to the 1950s are richly represented throughout the burial site.
