About us
Durbanville Memorial Park
Durbanville Memorial Park is a privately owned and managed “cemetery” just 3.5 km outside the current Durbanville urban edge on the northern boundary of Cape Town. The total size of 12ha previous farm land was rezoned to cemetery use and bought by the Michl Group, a private group of companies owned by the Michl Family. Development of the land started towards the end of 2003 and on 1st September 2004 the 1st phase of Durbanville Memorial Park was launched and opened by Edi Michl, the founder of the Michl Group.
The Vision
It is the vision of the Michl Group to create a cemetery and facilities that can KEEP MEMORIES A LIFE in a setting that can be proudly associated with the beauty of the City of Cape Town, which is ranked as one of the top ten cities in the world. Hopefully one day in the near future this memorial park will be seen as a heritage & cultural site and that can be associated to the likes of the Ohlsdorfer Cemetery – Hamburg, Germany (http://www.friedhof-hamburg.de/ohlsdorf/index.htm) or even Recoleta Cemetery – Buenos Aires, Argentina (http://www.cementeriorecoleta.com.ar/) which both are land marks in their own way.
The Concept
The concept involves the establishing of a memorial park set in a landscaped environment providing a peaceful, tranquil, dignified and safe environment in which families can put to rest their loved ones, rather than a cemetery. Various park features such as a myriad of little ponds and a stream with its bird life add to making a visit at the memorial park a pleasant experience rather than a depressing experience. Traditional tombstones are replaced by classical rectangular granite plaques that are laid into the lawn covered burial blocks thus making by passers oblivious to the park actually being a cemetery. Special flower vases available at the park and securely embedded at the head of graves provide a neat appearance at all times. 24 hour security / 7 days a week enables everyone and especially more vulnerable elderly persons to safely visit the park on their own.
The Future
The future of the park will see further landscaping and development of the remaining land to eventually provide approximately 15 000 lawn graves and a further 10 000 ash graves. The establishment of a trust fund aims to provide secure and sufficient funds for the future generations to maintain the memorial park and its facilities at equally high standards as set today.