Anny's Tomb
Anny
She moved to Wil in 1954. At that time, she was still known as Anny Freyland. She got married, became a mother of five, and established herself as a confident resident of Wil. She lived and worked in the eastern Swiss town until her death on 28 September 2018.
The five of us siblings couldn’t quite agree on what sort of grave she would have wanted. Some of us felt that she didn’t need a grave at all. I disagreed.
Anny was strong, pragmatic and fiercely sociable. She was also stubborn in a healthy way. For the last twenty years of her life, she had gathered people around her lunch table every Sunday. Cooking for others and fostering a community brought her the greatest fulfilment. There was no question about it: these Sunday gatherings had to continue at her grave.
It took me three years to come up with the idea, but I was eventually able to realise the memorial in collaboration with Dominik Hollenstein, a wood sculptor based in St Gallen. The quotations below are taken from the speech given at the unveiling ceremony.
Throughout her life, Anny wanted nothing more than to gather people around a table. Not a gathering of knights, but true fellowship. Not High Mass. Nor a four-star competition, but a heartfelt shared meal.
2020: Planning
During the planning phase, I researched the local building regulations regarding gravestones. They reminded me a little of the house that Anny had always wanted but never got.
Dominik and I submitted the construction plans. I designed the motif of people sitting around the table, while Dominik decided on the dimensions and construction method (oak with a copper roof and a stone plinth from Lake Constance), as well as the types of carving for the text and motif. The project was approved.
The oak block was made in the St Gallen workshop. Dominik carved the design into the wood and asked me to paint it in spring 2021. The finished piece ended up being more colourful and vibrant than we had originally intended.
She wanted a 'sit down and eat' sort of meal. Strangely enough, she didn’t like it when there was too much conversation at the Sunday lunch table either. It was supposed to be a quiet meal, enjoyed in silence. It was her way of practising mindfulness and turning inwards.
Everyone was welcome, even vegetarians, and everyone was tolerated. Perhaps Anny felt most at ease when the table around her shook, rattled and vibrated. She would then become quieter, lost in her own thoughts.
2021: Installing
One summer's day, Dominik and I met up at Wil Cemetery. He had brought the wooden monument, the plinth, and all the necessary tools. We carried them to the grave and began setting up. Just as we were placing the monument on the plinth, it started raining heavily.
At the cementary in Wil. Summer 2021
Anny had a solution to every problem in the world. She was a wise and sharp-tongued sun around whose table the heavens seemed to revolve.
2025. Renovating
By All Saints' Day in 2025, it needed a touch-up. The table setting had been damaged by sun, rain, heat and cold. Armed with sandpaper, paintbrushes, and acrylic paint, I worked outside in the cold for three hours.
Annys Wil
After the renovation work was completed, I walked back to the station. Wil now has its own little Europaallee, too. It begins just behind the former family home of Karin Keller-Sutter.
Built with Shorthand