Funerals by religion
Christian, Orthodox, Muslim, Jewish, Hindu, Buddhist or non-religious: we arrange the funeral according to your family's faith and customs.
Faith and custom
For a Catholic family, a service in the parish church goes without saying. A Hindu family wants to keep the coffin open and start the cremation themselves. A Muslim family asks for a grave facing Mecca. Every religion has its own idea of what should happen after death.
In Switzerland, the rules of the canton and the municipality apply as well: time limits, the requirement for a coffin, the minimum grave period, the choice of cemetery. In most cases the two fit together well. Where they do not quite, we tell you openly and look for the best solution with you.
This page sets out the key points for each faith, with the options available in Bern. We also arrange funerals in other cantons, where some of the rules differ; we check them for you.
Process
We ask which religion the person who died belonged to, what mattered to them and what the family would like. That includes families in which more than one faith comes together.
Minister, priest, imam, rabbi or temple association: we make the contact, or work with the person your family already knows.
We check which date cantonal law allows and register the death with the civil registry office and the municipality.
Depending on the faith, burial or cremation, in the appropriate grave section or a family grave. We make the reservation and coordinate times with the cemetery and the crematorium.
Church, chapel, funeral hall, temple or mosque: the order of service, prayers and music follow your religion. We take care of the arrangements.
If the burial is to take place abroad, we arrange the repatriation with all the documents.
In detail
In Islam and Judaism, the burial should take place as soon as possible after death. In the canton of Bern, however, a person may be buried no earlier than 48 hours after death. Only the cantonal health office can grant an exception, and only in special circumstances. So please get in touch as early as you can: we prepare everything so that the funeral can take place on the earliest permitted date.
Whatever the religion, the cantonal funeral ordinance (BSG 811.811, in German) applies in the canton of Bern:
The City of Bern has three cemeteries: Bremgarten, Schosshalde and Bümpliz. The grave sections for particular religions are all at Bremgarten cemetery. Bümpliz cemetery has had a funeral hall open to all faiths since 2004. The City of Bern gives an overview of grave types (in German); offices and fees are on our page Funeral in Bern.
The church service is led by a minister according to the order of their church; the family's personal wishes are included where possible. The national churches recommend contacting a minister as soon as possible. We make that contact for you. Burial and cremation are both common. What belongs to the service is described in the Bern churches' brochure "Abschied — Die kirchliche Abdankung" (in German).
National church contacts: Reformed Churches Bern-Jura-Solothurn, Altenbergstrasse 66, Bern, 031 340 24 24 · Roman Catholic via kathbern.ch/abdankung · Old Catholic Church, Kramgasse 10, Bern, 031 318 06 55.
How a service runs and what it costs is explained on our page Memorial service.
Serbian, Greek, Romanian and Russian families usually want a burial with the priest of their parish. The Greek Orthodox Church provides for burial only; after a cremation there is no church funeral service. The dead are traditionally remembered on the 3rd, 9th and 40th day.
There is no separate Orthodox grave section in Bern. Burial is in a row grave or a family grave. Many families wish the burial to take place in their home country; we then arrange the repatriation abroad.
Islam allows burial only. The person who died is ritually washed (ghusl), wrapped in a linen shroud and buried on their right side facing Mecca, as soon as possible after death.
Bremgarten cemetery has had a grave section for Muslims of all traditions since 1999. The graves face Mecca. They are row graves for coffins; the grave period is 20 years and cannot be extended. Because the whole section is always cleared at once, many graves remain for longer. As cantonal law requires a coffin, burial is in a simple wooden coffin.
If the family wishes the burial to take place in the country of origin, we arrange the repatriation and coordinate the funeral prayer with the community.
Judaism allows burial only, as soon as possible after death, not on the Sabbath and not on holy days. The community's Chevra Kadisha carries out the ritual washing (tahara) and places the person, dressed in a white shroud, in a simple wooden coffin. The grave remains in perpetuity.
The Jewish cemetery in Bern has existed since 1871 and has its own funeral hall. The rules of the Jewish community apply there, not those of the city. The first point of contact is the Jewish Community of Bern (031 381 49 92). The canton also has a Jewish cemetery in Biel-Madretsch.
For Hindu families, the viewing, the ritual washing and the cremation belong together; the ashes are given to flowing water. The rituals vary by region and family.
Bern is well prepared for this. According to the City of Bern information sheet (April 2024, in German), the person stays for a few days in the viewing room at Bremgarten cemetery; the service takes place on weekdays between 1 and 3 pm in the chapel, the coffin may stay open, and incense and candles are allowed. The procession must reach the crematorium by 3.30 pm; up to ten close relatives may be present and a family member may start the cremation. On the way, a short stop is possible at the Hindu funeral temple the city opened in 2019. The urn is ready for collection on the next working day.
Fees for residents of the City of Bern according to the 2024 information sheet: chapel CHF 281.10, cremation of an adult with a standard coffin and standard urn CHF 603. Higher rates apply to non-residents.
Customs differ by tradition, for example Thai, Tibetan or Zen. We ask what is usual in your family and arrange the viewing and the service accordingly.
Since 2018, Bremgarten cemetery has had the first Buddhist grave section in Switzerland, laid out in the shape of a lotus flower. It is a section for urns. Anyone wishing for a coffin burial chooses a different type of grave. More on laying the urn to rest: Urn burial.
People without a religious affiliation can be buried in all three of the City of Bern's cemeteries. The cemetery chapels are religiously neutral. A civil celebrant shapes the service after a detailed conversation with the family.
Where several faiths come together in one family, mixed forms are possible: a prayer within an otherwise non-religious service, readings in several languages, music from the culture of origin. More: Non-religious funeral and secular memorial service.
Questions & answers
As a rule, no. In the canton of Bern, a funeral is permitted no earlier than 48 hours after death. Only the cantonal health office can grant an exception in special circumstances. We prepare everything so that the funeral can take place on the earliest permitted date.
In the canton of Bern, the law provides for burial in a coffin or urn. Burial in a shroud only is not provided for. For Muslim funerals, a simple wooden coffin is therefore used.
Yes, at Bremgarten cemetery: a section for Muslims since 1999 and a Buddhist urn section since 2018. Jewish funerals take place at the Jewish cemetery in Bern, which is run by the Jewish community.
In public cemeteries in the canton of Bern, at least 20 years. In the Muslim section in Bern, the grave period cannot be extended; but the whole section is always cleared at once, so many graves remain for longer. At the Jewish cemetery, the grave remains in perpetuity.
Yes. We repatriate the person to the country of your choice and take care of the necessary documents. If you wish, a service or prayer can be held in Switzerland beforehand.
In Bern, yes. According to the city's information sheet, up to ten close relatives may be present at the furnace, and a family member may start the cremation.
Then we arrange a non-religious service, with a celebrant, music and words from the family. Burial is possible in all cemeteries, in an earth grave or as an urn.
Yes, throughout Switzerland. The rules on time limits, grave sections and fees vary between cantons and municipalities; we check them for you.
Guides
Burial, cremation, communal grave, woodland, lake — what the law permits and what the municipality decides.
Row, family, communal, urn graves — duration, cost and who has to maintain them.
What has to be decided, in which order — and what changes when part of the family lives far away.
Other services
Traditional burial in a coffin — grave, date, ceremony and every formality.
Learn moreCremation followed by urn interment, a natural burial or transfer of the urn.
Learn moreService, viewing and farewell — religious or secular, shaped the way you want it.
Learn more