Budapest Cemeteries Extend Opening Hours for All Saints’ and All Souls’ Days

Public cemeteries in the capital will have extended opening hours during All Saints’ Day (November 1st) and All Souls’ Day (November 2nd).

As in previous years, the Budapest Public Works Utilities -Funeral Division will ensure that relatives can commemorate their loved ones in a dignified manner on All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day.

Fact

In Hungary, All Saints’ Day has been considered an official holiday since 2000, and a holy day of obligation for local Catholics since 2013.

A grave at Farkasrét Cemetery in Budapest ahead of All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day, October 30, 2024. Photo: Zoltán Balogh / MTI

The following day, All Souls’ Day, has gradually moved from being a church festival to a general day of remembrance.

To this end, the New Public Cemetery, the cemeteries in Óbuda, Budafok, Csepel, Kispest, Megyer, Pestszentlőrinc, Cinkota, Pesterzsébet, Rákospalota, and Farkasrét, the Csömör Cemetery, the Tamás Street and Angeli Road Urn Cemetery, and the Old Cemetery in Kispest will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. from October 30 to November 2.

At the New Public Cemetery, the Farkasrét Cemetery, and the Óbuda Cemetery, a joint candle-lighting ceremony will be held with cemetery visitors on November 1 at 4 p.m., as part of the 5th National All Saints’ Day Candle-Lighting Ceremony.

The public cemetery offices will be open to customers with extended hours until November 1st.

Photo: Pexels

The company has drawn attention to the fact that from October 31 to November 2, it will again be prohibited to drive into the capital’s cemeteries. The exception to this is the New Public Cemetery, where, depending on traffic, vehicles will be allowed to enter free of charge from 7 a.m. on October 31 to 8 p.m. on November 2. Given the large area of the cemetery, a minibus will be available between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. on October 31 and November 1 to assist the elderly and those arriving at distant gravesites.

Visitors at Farkasrét Cemetery in Budapest ahead of All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day, October 30, 2024. Photo: Zoltán Balogh / MTI

Vehicles transporting visitors with a mobility card will also be able to enter publicly managed cemeteries without time restrictions during this period, if the density of pedestrian traffic in the cemeteries allows it.

Budapest Public Utilities asks elderly and mobility-impaired visitors to visit the capital’s cemeteries during the morning hours when traffic is lighter, if possible.

In order to ensure safe cemetery visits and uninterrupted traffic, reinforced security services will be provided in the cemeteries, and district police units, public space supervisors, and members of the civil guard will also patrol on busy days, they wrote.

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