THE ENGLISH CEMETERY IN MALAGA

You will find this charming cemetery in the area Malagueta only a few minutes’ walk from the city centre of Malaga. Here you can discover ancient tombs dating back to 1831 and you can even go on a guided tour at the English Cemetery in Malaga when darkness falls! Do you dare? In the old days in Malaga, individuals who were not Roman Catholic, was buried after dark on the seashore in upright position and then left to the wild dogs and the waves. It was too much for the British consul William Mark, who in 1829 was granted a small plot of land outside Malaga’s historic center. The first person to be buried on the English Cemetery was the protestant Robert Boyd in 1831. Today people are no longer buried in the cemetery, but it is still possible to have the ashes kept in an urn. The cemetery is struggling with pore economy and many graves are no longer maintained and some graves have been offer to vandalism, but in general the English cemetery is still very charming and known as a small oasis in Malaga and it is certainly worth a visit. Approximately 1100 people are buried at the English Cemetery with great preponderance of Brits and Germans, and a few Danes, Finns, Americans, Dutch’s and Spaniards. The famous Danish fairy-tale writer Hans Christian Andersen visited the cemetery back in 1862 and wrote about the place, “I went into a piece of paradise, a beautiful garden,” and we can only agree with him. Every Sunday there is still worship at the English cemetery, which since 1891 has been home to the St. George’s Anglican Church. As mentioned, you can go on a guided night time tour at the cemetery – if you dare. There is a limited to 30 persons and reservations are essential. The price is € 5.00 per person. Reservations can be made through the cemetery website www.cemeterioinglesmalaga.org The English Cemetery in Malaga is situated at Avenida de Pries 1, Malaga 29016 and is open Tuesday – Saturday between 9.30 and 14.00 and Sundays 10.00 and 13.00. There is free entry and if you want you can donate a modest fee to help maintain the English Cemetery in Malaga.