Cremation & urn
The urn depends above all on where the ashes will rest. Which materials exist, what size is needed and what cemeteries require.
After a cremation, the ashes are placed in an urn. Which urn is right depends less on how it looks than on where it will rest: in the ground, in a niche, in a communal grave, in nature or at home. Some cemeteries require a particular material for certain graves.
This page explains the materials, the size you need, the requirements for each type of resting place and what an urn costs in Switzerland. How the interment itself works and which types of grave exist is covered under Urn burial.
The crematorium first places the ashes in a standard urn or a simple transport urn. In the City of Geneva, the free funeral for residents includes cremation and a standard urn. The City of Zurich gives its residents a wooden or clay urn free of charge, and in Basel-Stadt the Hörnli cemetery provides an official clay urn. At the Bern crematorium, a simple urn is included in the cremation price.
If you would like a different urn, you can choose it later. The Bern crematorium is happy to accept an empty urn brought in by relatives. And because Switzerland has no statutory deadline for interring an urn, there is time to talk it over with the whole family, including relatives abroad. Do check local time limits, though: the City of Geneva states that ashes can be kept for no more than one year from the cremation, after which they are scattered in its Garden of Remembrance. What happens during cremation is explained under Cremation in Switzerland.
Who decides on the urn and its resting place is a matter for the cantons. In the canton of Zurich, the urn is interred in the municipal cemetery unless the person entitled to decide declares otherwise. If the person who died left a wish, such as an urn made of their favourite wood or interment under a tree, the choice follows it.
A simple urn costs little, and in some cities it is free for residents. Reference points from public price lists:
The urn is usually a small item in the total cost. The grave and the funeral service weigh more heavily; the overview is under Funeral costs in Switzerland.
Urns come in many materials. They differ in whether they dissolve in earth or water, how heavy they are and how long they last:
For an urn grave in the ground, an urn that disappears over time makes sense; for a niche or a shelf at home, one that stays beautiful for a long time. Biodegradable urns have a downside, though: they break down quickly and cannot be exhumed later. A municipal leaflet on urn graves in the canton of Bern says so, for example. If you do not rule out moving the ashes to another country later, think about this before the interment.
For the ashes of an adult, the Bern crematorium recommends an urn with a capacity of 3 to about 4 litres. The City of Zurich's standard wooden urn for adults measures 24 by 19 centimetres.
Smaller models exist for children, in Zurich from 9 by 6 centimetres. If you buy an urn yourself, from a craftsperson or abroad, check the volume first: if it is too small, not all the ashes will fit. A niche also sets limits. Ask the cemetery office for the inside dimensions before ordering a large or unusually shaped urn.
Cemeteries decide which urns they accept for which type of grave. A few examples:
What is allowed for scattering and for interment in lakes and woods varies from canton to canton. The rules are under Scattering ashes in Switzerland. If the type of grave is still open, choose the place first and then the urn, not the other way round. Otherwise a beautiful metal urn that the cemetery will not accept for the communal grave goes unused.
In Switzerland the urn may generally be kept at home. The Bern crematorium states that relatives may keep the ashes at home without official permission. The municipality of Uzwil in the canton of St. Gallen writes that about one urn in four there is taken home, and that the obligation to use a cemetery applies only to burials in a coffin.
For the home, a durable, well-sealed urn of wood, ceramics, metal or stone is suitable. Think, too, about what should happen to it later, for instance if you move house, or if you may one day leave Switzerland, or when the next generation has to decide. How the cantons regulate what happens to the urn is described under Urn burial.
Some families want to divide the ashes: part in the grave, part at home or in their home country. The Bern crematorium describes this as possible in principle, but does not divide the ashes itself. Small keepsake urns are available in the City of Zurich, for example a mini urn of wood fibre holding up to 25 millilitres for approx. CHF 49 or a small silk urn for approx. CHF 35; the city offers memorial jewellery from approx. CHF 65.
Personal items can also go in the urn. The Basel-Stadt guide mentions small objects such as a wedding ring or letters, which relatives can hand in at the cemetery. The Bern crematorium leaves it to relatives to add jewellery to the ashes after the cremation, at their own responsibility.
Before dividing, bear in mind that in a communal grave the ashes are often interred directly and cannot be removed afterwards. If the urn is to travel by plane, an X-ray-transparent urn of wood or biodegradable material is suitable; metal and stone urns are often refused at security. The details are under Urn on a plane.
We show you biodegradable urns as well as wood, ceramic and metal ones, and tell you which your cemetery accepts for the chosen type of grave. We collect the urn from the crematorium and bring it to the interment or to your home. Everything about the next steps is under Urn burial.
Questions & answers
For an adult, the Bern crematorium recommends a capacity of 3 to about 4 litres. The City of Zurich's standard wooden urn measures 24 by 19 centimetres.
Simple urns cost approx. CHF 20 to 150; in the City of Geneva a standard urn is part of the free funeral for residents, and in the City of Zurich the wooden and clay urns are free for residents. Handmade urns in stone or ceramics cost more.
Generally yes. The Bern crematorium states that relatives may keep the ashes at home without official permission. Cantonal rules apply to interment outside a cemetery.
Usually a biodegradable one. In the City of Zurich, fired clay and copper urns are excluded there; in Basel special wooden urns are used. We check with the cemetery.
An urn made of soluble natural materials, wood fibres, silk or soluble clay that dissolves quickly in earth or water. It suits graves in the ground, communal graves and nature, but cannot be exhumed later.
The Bern crematorium describes dividing the ashes as possible in principle, but does not do it itself. For keepsakes there are small urns holding a few millilitres, or memorial jewellery.