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Crematorium
A crematorium, crematory or cremation center is a venue for the cremation of the dead. Modern crematoria contain at least one cremator (also known as a crematory, retort or cremation chamber), a purpose-built furnace. In some countries a crematorium can also be a venue for open-air cremation. In many countries, crematoria contain facilities for funeral homes, such as a chapel. Some cemeteries or crematoria also incorporate a columbarium, a place for interring cremation ashes.
Prior to the Industrial Revolution, cremation could only take place on an outdoor, open pyre; the alternative was burial. In the 19th century, the development of new furnace technology and contact with cultures that practiced cremation led to its reintroduction in the Western world.
The organized movement to instate cremation as a viable method for body disposal began in the 1870s. In 1869 the idea was presented to the Medical International Congress of Florence by Professors Coletti and Castiglioni "in the name of public health and civilization". In 1873, Professor Paolo Gorini of Lodi and Professor Lodovico Brunetti of Padua published reports or practical work they had conducted. A model of Brunetti's cremating apparatus, together with the resulting ashes, was exhibited at the Vienna Exposition in 1873 and attracted great attention, including that of Sir Henry Thompson, a surgeon and Physician to the Queen Victoria, who "returned home to become the first and chief promoter of cremation in England".
Meanwhile, Sir Charles William Siemens had developed his regenerative furnace in the 1850s. His furnace operated at a high temperature by using regenerative preheating of fuel and air for combustion. In regenerative preheating, the exhaust gases from the furnace are pumped into a chamber containing bricks, where heat is transferred from the gases to the bricks. The flow of the furnace is then reversed so that fuel and air pass through the chamber and are heated by the bricks. Through this method, an open-hearth furnace can reach temperatures high enough to melt steel, and this process made cremation an efficient and practical proposal. Charles's nephew, Carl Friedrich von Siemens perfected the use of this furnace for the incineration of organic material at his factory in Dresden. The radical politician, Sir Charles Wentworth Dilke, took the corpse of his dead wife there to be cremated in 1874.[clarify] The efficient and cheap process brought about the quick and complete incineration of the body and was a fundamental technical breakthrough that made industrial cremation a practical possibility.
The first crematorium in the West opened in Milan in 1876. By the end of the 19th century, several countries had seen their first crematorium open. Golders Green Crematorium was built from 1901 to 1928 in London and pioneered two features that would become common in future crematoria: the separation of entrance and exit, and a garden of remembrance.
In the extermination camps created by the authorities of Nazi Germany during World War II with the "final solutions to the Jewish question", crematoria were widely used for the disposal of corpses. The most technically advanced cremation ovens were those developed by Topf and Sons from Erfurt.[citation needed]
While a crematorium can be any place containing a cremator, modern crematoria are designed to serve a number of purposes. As well as being a place for the practical but dignified disposal of dead bodies, they must also serve the emotional and spiritual needs of the mourners.
The design of a crematorium is often heavily influenced by the funeral customs of its country. For example, crematoria in the United Kingdom are designed with a separation between the funeral and cremation facilities, as it is not customary for mourners to witness the coffin being placed in the cremator. To provide a substitute for the traditional ritual of seeing the coffin descend into a grave, they incorporate a mechanism for removing the coffin from sight. On the other hand, in Japan, mourners will watch the coffin enter the cremator, then will return after the cremation for the custom of picking the bones from the ashes.
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Crematorium
A crematorium, crematory or cremation center is a venue for the cremation of the dead. Modern crematoria contain at least one cremator (also known as a crematory, retort or cremation chamber), a purpose-built furnace. In some countries a crematorium can also be a venue for open-air cremation. In many countries, crematoria contain facilities for funeral homes, such as a chapel. Some cemeteries or crematoria also incorporate a columbarium, a place for interring cremation ashes.
Prior to the Industrial Revolution, cremation could only take place on an outdoor, open pyre; the alternative was burial. In the 19th century, the development of new furnace technology and contact with cultures that practiced cremation led to its reintroduction in the Western world.
The organized movement to instate cremation as a viable method for body disposal began in the 1870s. In 1869 the idea was presented to the Medical International Congress of Florence by Professors Coletti and Castiglioni "in the name of public health and civilization". In 1873, Professor Paolo Gorini of Lodi and Professor Lodovico Brunetti of Padua published reports or practical work they had conducted. A model of Brunetti's cremating apparatus, together with the resulting ashes, was exhibited at the Vienna Exposition in 1873 and attracted great attention, including that of Sir Henry Thompson, a surgeon and Physician to the Queen Victoria, who "returned home to become the first and chief promoter of cremation in England".
Meanwhile, Sir Charles William Siemens had developed his regenerative furnace in the 1850s. His furnace operated at a high temperature by using regenerative preheating of fuel and air for combustion. In regenerative preheating, the exhaust gases from the furnace are pumped into a chamber containing bricks, where heat is transferred from the gases to the bricks. The flow of the furnace is then reversed so that fuel and air pass through the chamber and are heated by the bricks. Through this method, an open-hearth furnace can reach temperatures high enough to melt steel, and this process made cremation an efficient and practical proposal. Charles's nephew, Carl Friedrich von Siemens perfected the use of this furnace for the incineration of organic material at his factory in Dresden. The radical politician, Sir Charles Wentworth Dilke, took the corpse of his dead wife there to be cremated in 1874.[clarify] The efficient and cheap process brought about the quick and complete incineration of the body and was a fundamental technical breakthrough that made industrial cremation a practical possibility.
The first crematorium in the West opened in Milan in 1876. By the end of the 19th century, several countries had seen their first crematorium open. Golders Green Crematorium was built from 1901 to 1928 in London and pioneered two features that would become common in future crematoria: the separation of entrance and exit, and a garden of remembrance.
In the extermination camps created by the authorities of Nazi Germany during World War II with the "final solutions to the Jewish question", crematoria were widely used for the disposal of corpses. The most technically advanced cremation ovens were those developed by Topf and Sons from Erfurt.[citation needed]
While a crematorium can be any place containing a cremator, modern crematoria are designed to serve a number of purposes. As well as being a place for the practical but dignified disposal of dead bodies, they must also serve the emotional and spiritual needs of the mourners.
The design of a crematorium is often heavily influenced by the funeral customs of its country. For example, crematoria in the United Kingdom are designed with a separation between the funeral and cremation facilities, as it is not customary for mourners to witness the coffin being placed in the cremator. To provide a substitute for the traditional ritual of seeing the coffin descend into a grave, they incorporate a mechanism for removing the coffin from sight. On the other hand, in Japan, mourners will watch the coffin enter the cremator, then will return after the cremation for the custom of picking the bones from the ashes.