Blessing Grounds at Der Stadt

Fredericksburg Standard-Radio Post

Rev. Jonathan Moellenkopf of Zion Lutheran Church, one of the three churches that oversees Der Stadt Friedhof, blesses one of the two eight-sided slabs that will be used for an open-air chapel and columbarium. — Standard-Radio Post/Ken Esten Cooke

A small group of volunteers helped dedicate and bless two new additions to the old city cemetery, Der Stadt Friedhof.

Two eight-sided slabs were blessed with water from the Jordan River as board members for the historic city cemetery plan for projects that will include a chapel and a columbarium — a building designed to hold urns containing the ashes of deceased loved ones.

“These eight-sided slabs will be modeled after the Vereins Kirche (on Marktplatz, the city’s original church, school and community spot),” said Susan Stroeher, chairman of the Der Stadt Friedhof board.

Stroeher said other plans include installing a 30-foot flagpole as part of the group’s restoration efforts.

Gathering last week to bless the slabs were, from left, Rev. Jonathan Moellenkopf, Glenn Koennecke, Susan Stroeher, construction supervisor Johnny Sanchez, Alan Saenger and former County Judge Mark Stroeher

The original city cemetery is overseen by the town’s three Lutheran Churches — Holy Ghost, Bethany and Zion.

Rev. Jonathan Moellenkopf spread water from the River Jordan that had been collected years ago by Rev. Ardene Wuthrich. He served as pastor at Zion from 1977-1994.

Water from the Holy Land’s River Jordan was used for the ceremonies.

Wuthrich was the one who brought the water from the River Jordan back to the U.S.

Glenn Koennecke, another board member, got the water from Ardene’s widow Burdine Wuthrich, which was still in its original bottles.

“Rev. Wuthrich used to take trips to the Holy Land and would bring back water to use in baptisms and ceremonies,” Stroeher said. “The beautiful part of this story is that Glenn tracked down Pastor Wuthrich’s widow, Burdine, in Temple. (Pastor Wuthrich died in March 2025.) Burdine, his wife of nearly 65 years, found some of the water he had collected and offered some for the cemetery.”

The two slabs were poured on an open space near the cemetery’s North Lee Street entrance.

The cemetery is governed by a five-member board and has one seat currently vacant.

Der Stadt Friedhof (which means “the city cemetery”) was established the year of the town’s founding in 1846. It’s the oldest known cemetery in Fredericksburg and is the final resting place for many original German colonists who arrived with founder John O. Meusebach.

There are more than 5,000 graves, some unmarked and others unidentifiable due to the passage of time.

Many of its original tombstones are written in German. The deceased have been buried

in chronological order rather than in family plots. The exception is the section where African American families buried their family plots.

In 2000, the state of Texas recognized Der Stadt Friedhof as a State Historical Cemetery.