The Evangelical Cemetery

Description

The Evangelical Cemetery, which the locals like to call ‘the Lutheran graveyard’, can be found in the area of Zgornja Ščavnica. The history of the cemetery goes back to the 1930s. Back then, some of the residents of the municipality identified themselves as Evangelicals. Between the World Wars there was an increase in resettlement from Prekmurje to the area of Slovenske gorice. Among them there were Evangelicals that wanted to keep their faith. The Evangelicals from the area of Sveta Ana were worshipping in the Evangelical church in Apače, where the Evangelical church was formed in 1929. The formation of the Evangelical cemetery goes back to 1930, when Štefan Kočar donated a piece of his own land to the Evangelical community and wished his eldest daughter, Gizela, who had been taken ill with leukaemia, to be buried in a proper way. At that time, two more residents in the area of Sveta Ana of Evangelical faith died and they were denied burial in the Catholic cemetery, but were interred, instead, on unconsecrated ground where they used to bury those who had committed suicide, criminals and members of other faiths. The Office of the Chief in Maribor issued them a permit for burial on 19th of May, 1931. On the 12th of July of the same year the cemetery was officially opened.