Hans Grässel was a German architect

Architect

An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...

. Grässel studied and performed almost his entire career in Munich

Munich

Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...

, and as the council architect of the city he created a series of cemeteries of which Munich Waldfriedhof

Munich Waldfriedhof

The Munich Waldfriedhof is one of 29 cemeteries of Munich in Bavaria, Germany. It is one of the larger and more famous burial sites of the city due to its park like design and tombs of notable personalities. The Waldfriedhof is widely considered the first woodland cemetery.-Description:The Munich...

 (Munich woodlands cemetery), opened in 1907, is well-known for being the first woodland cemetery

Woodland cemetery

A woodland cemetery is a cemetery where the original landscape with existing trees has been given much influence on the landscape architecture of the cemetery, and where the graves are fitted in among the trees. A woodland cemetery is designed so that the landscape is given a more prominent...

. Grässel also wrote a pamphlet

Pamphlet

A pamphlet is an unbound booklet . It may consist of a single sheet of paper that is printed on both sides and folded in half, in thirds, or in fourths , or it may consist of a few pages that are folded in half and saddle stapled at the crease to make a simple book...

 on cemetery design, Über Friedhofanlagen und Grabdenkmale (1913). In 1914, he was given the order

Order (decoration)

An order or order of merit is a visible honour, awarded by a government, dynastic house or international organization to an individual, usually in recognition of distinguished service to a nation or to humanity. The distinction between orders and decorations is somewhat vague, except that most...

 Pour le Mérite

Pour le Mérite

The Pour le Mérite, known informally as the Blue Max , was the Kingdom of Prussia's highest military order for German soldiers until the end of World War I....

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