Alter Johannisfriedhof

The Alter Johannisfriedhof ("Old St. John's Cemetery") is the oldest burial ground in the city of Leipzig, Germany.

It was later attached to the Johanniskirche (St. John's Church), built in the 14th century and destroyed in World War II.

In 1476 the burial ground was enlarged, after the order of the Prince-Elector that inhabitants of Leipzig without citizenship should also be buried there.

In 1536 George, Duke of Saxony, ordered that it should become the common burial ground for the city of Leipzig.

In the fourth section are unmarked mass graves for victims of the Seven Years' War and of the Battle of Leipzig.

In 1883 the first and second sections were re-planned and converted to a park layout, during which process the only tomb to remain untouched was that of Christian Fürchtegott Gellert.

When the nave of the Johanniskirche of 1585 was replaced by a larger building in October 1894, the bones of Johann Sebastian Bach were discovered, which had been buried in the graveyard on 31 July 1750.

As the 20th century progressed the burial ground lost its fifth section as a result of the widening of the neighbouring streets and the construction of the Gutenberg School.