""After more than 42 years we have created a new framework that reconciles the individual ideas and wishes of the people in the state with a dignified act of bidding farewell," said Rhineland-Palatinate Health Minister Clemens Hoch, of the center-left Social Democrats (SPD)."
"From October 1, people in the western state will now be able to choose the Rhine, the Moselle, Lahn or Saar rivers as their final resting place. Until now, it has not been possible to scatter cremated remains in Germany rivers."
"The new legislation, introduced by the coalition government of the SPD, environmentalist Greens and the neoliberal Free Democrats (FDP), also caters for homebodies, giving loved ones the chance to keep an urn containing remains at home another first or opt to scatter the remains in the garden."
"The new laws in Rhineland-Palatinate and the eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt also allow for the creation of "memorial diamonds" from the ashes of the deceased. The synthetic diamonds are grown at high temperatures from the extracted carbon a process introduced in Switzerland two decades ago. Such keepsakes are growing increasingly popular. The conservative opposition in Rhineland-Palatinate, the Christian Democrats (CDU), is worried the legislation might ring the death knell for cemeteries with CDU politician Christoph Gensch accusing Hoch of being their "grave digger" in a state parliament debate."
Rhineland-Palatinate and Saxony-Anhalt overhauled burial legislation, with Rhineland-Palatinate taking the most far-reaching steps. From October 1, residents in the western state can choose the Rhine, Moselle, Lahn or Saar rivers as final resting places, ending a long ban on scattering cremated remains in German rivers. The reforms also permit keeping an urn at home or scattering ashes in private gardens. Both states now allow creation of synthetic "memorial diamonds" grown from extracted carbon. The changes were introduced by an SPD–Green–FDP coalition and have drawn criticism from the CDU and some Christian churches concerned about effects on cemeteries.
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