QR code grave stones keep a person’s story alive

qr code grave stones

A cemetery in Bad Oyenhausen, Germany is installing quick response codes to preserve history.

The administrator for a cemetery in Bad Oyenhausen, a riverside spa town in northwest Germany, is installing QR code grave stones. The purpose of the quick response codes is to help preserve the stories of the deceased.

These smartphone friendly barcodes will provide visitors with more information about those buried in the cemetery.

The process of bringing the QR code grave stones to the cemetery came with surprising challenges. When it comes to altering burial markers, there can be some red tape and bureaucratic obstacles. However, Paul Rosenbaum, the cemetery administrator, explained that quick response codes are an advancement that simply cannot be stopped.

Cemeteries around the world are adding QR code grave stones to their markers to enhance memorials.

qr code grave stonesIn Japan, quick response codes have become quite commonplace on grave stones. They make it possible to share the stories of the deceased in a much more detailed way. The stones themselves are limited to the person’s name, birth year and death year and little else. QR code scans make it possible to create entire web pages about the deceased. This can include pictures, videos, pieces written by the individual and memories written by those who knew him or her.

In Germany, the cemetery QR codes have focused primarily on the graves of celebrities. They provide visitors with additional information with devices that they already have. This is the type of advancement that the site in Bad Oyenhausen does not want to miss.

This is particularly true in the effort to preserve the information from older graves. There, the etchings and carvings have faded over the years, making it challenging for visitors to read. On those stones, quick response codes can provide that information much more clearly. That said, the barcodes can also be used on private tombs so families can memorialized loved ones beyond names and dates.

In order to be able to implement the QR code grave stones, the Evangelical Lutheran Church Office in Bielefeld has had to alter a municipal statute. This is a process that has taken some time with the next step taking place in December. This explains why the cemetery’s progress is occurring in stages.

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