The Piety Museum of Hungary

Piety Musem of Hungary

A fascinating find in Budapest is the Piety Museum of Hungary, a museum which illuminates the Hungarian way of death throughout recent history as well as hosting exhibitions on death around the world.

The museum hosts five exhibition rooms which display such diverse items as folk art and ethnographical material, mourning clothes and regalia, historical pictures and artefacts including death masks, coffins and urns, and three magnificent vintage hearses.

Established in 1991, the museum is one of a kind in Hungary - if not the world - and is well worth a visit not only for the Hungarian traditions, but also for the multicultural displays, ranging from pictures of Tibetan sky burial to Mexican Day of the Dead altars. 





Kerepesi Cemetery

It is located in the grounds of Kerepesi Cemetery, Budapest, which is one of the oldest Christian cemeteries in Hungary and one of the largest open-air statue parks in Europe. It is beautifully preserved and hosts stunning arcades, tombs and monuments, and protected green areas with interesting wildlife.

If you’re going that way or are interested, you can find more information here. on the National Graveyard Site.

Dealing With Our Dead in the 21st Century

Throughout history there seem to be three main means of dealing with and disposing of our dead: interment in a grave or tomb, cremation, and exposure to the elements and wildlife.

As technology has progressed during the 20th and 21st centuries, mankind has devised a whole host of alternative ways to dispose of the dead, ranging from the environmentally friendly to the bizarre. But our dead are not always 'disposed of' as such - in this day and age we have found some interesting ways to mark our departed loved ones' lives. And in some cases, they are not even considered dead when they are legally dead...

Over the next few posts we'll explore some of the ways we treat deal with mortal remains in the 21st century, starting with Cremation Diamonds.

Cremation Diamonds

If you want to keep your deceased loved one with you at all times, there are a number of companies that will transform cremation ashes into a diamond you can wear or carry around.

Carbon derived from the cremation ashes is purified and, in a manner emulating the production of natural diamonds, subjected to immense heat and pressure over a period of time, from a few weeks to a few months. The resulting diamond is then cut and polished and can be set in jewellery.

Far from this being the limit, one can have diamonds made from hair and nail cuttings of a living person in the same way, or even the fur from a pet.