The English Cemetery in Málaga...

has finally received official protection as a part of the region's cultural heritage.

Two years ago the agreement to make the cemetery a protected monument was made in principle but the official recognition came on Tuesday (20th November 2012). Founded in 1831 by William Mark on the then outskirts of the city, Avenida de Pries, the cemetery was a place of interment for Protestants, primarily British. Subsequently many notable figures from the British, Spanish and other foreign communities have been buried there including the Spanish writer Jorge Guillen, the Finnish author Aarne Haapakoski and the hispanist Gerald Brenan.

The British government withdraw financial support for the cemetery in 1904 and since then various forms of funding have been sought to maintain the beautiful gardens and its monuments. In 2006 the charitable Fundación Cementerio Ingles de Málaga was set up being officially recognised in 2010. The foundation now owns the cemetery and is responsible for its upkeep and as a result, raising the funds necessary for that upkeep.

The cemetery is a wonderful place of remembrance and it is its architectural, historic and artistic values that earned it the protected listing. The head of Culture for the Junta de Andalucía, Luciano Alonso, praised these values that "date[s] back to the mid 19th century and combine[s] the Neo-gothic and Neo-classical styles".



Details of the cemetery and foundation and how to become a friend of the cemetery can be found at http://www.cementerioinglesmalaga.org/