Grave with the Hands

Grave with the Little Hands
Graf met de handjes
The monument in 2016
Map
51°10′52.1″N 6°0′0.5″E / 51.181139°N 6.000139°E / 51.181139; 6.000139
LocationBegraafplaats Nabij Kapel in 't Zand, Roermond, Netherlands
TypeFunerary monument
MaterialLimestone,[1] sandstone, hardstone[2]
Completion datec. 1888 (1888)[3]
Restored date1972,[3] 2015–2016[4][1]
Dedicated to
  • Josephina van Aefferden
  • Jacobus van Gorkum

The Grave with the Hands (Dutch: Graf met de handjes, lit. 'Grave with the little hands') is a 19th-century funerary monument in the Dutch city of Roermond. It comprises two almost identical tombstones on either side of a wall separating the Catholic part from the Protestant part of Begraafplaats Nabij de Kapel in 't Zand (Cemetery Near the Chapel in the Sand), each with a carved arm and hand that clasps the other across the wall. The monument marks the graves of Josephina van Aefferden, a Catholic, and Jacobus van Gorkum, a Protestant, who were married in life, but had to be buried in separate sections of the cemetery. It was listed as a rijksmonument (state monument) in 2002.

  1. ^ a b Mathijs, Armand. "Graf met de Handjes -Grave with tiny hands". Retrieved 5 March 2024. So yes, I'm proud that I did the restoration of this iconic grave. The headstone of the grave of the colonel and the hands that connects the two stones were carved in a similar limestone last year.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference Cultureel Erfgoed was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ a b "Restauratie 'graf met de handjes'" [Restoration of the 'grave with the hands']. oudekerkhofroermond.nl (in Dutch). Stichting Oude Kerkhof. Retrieved 5 March 2024. Het befaamde 'graf met de handjes' dateert waarschijnlijk uit 1888.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference WZ was invoked but never defined (see the help page).